Christopher Lochhead Follow Your Different™ 404 Is Agentic AI the End of SaaS as We Know It? | DisrupTV
Vala Afshar, Chief Evangelist at Salesforce and an insightful author, joins a dynamic discussion on the transformative power of AI in business. They delve into the concept of the 'existing market trap' and its pitfalls, highlighting the importance of creating new categories instead of simply improving existing ones. Afshar emphasizes the role of agentic AI as a co-founder in innovation and how it can shift SaaS models, urging businesses to adapt and engage with the community to thrive in an evolving landscape.
45:50
The $13T AI Market Trap
- The $13 trillion existing market trap will cause massive investment losses in AI.
- Companies must create new AI markets instead of competing in existing ones.
AI Is Not Just an Add-On
- Stop trying to add AI as a mere assistant to existing products.
- Start building your career and company from scratch with AI as a co-founder.
Belief Shapes Market Categories
- Markets are groups sharing problems; categories are beliefs about solutions.
- Success comes from shifting beliefs, not just adding features or products.
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Intro
00:00 • 4min
Welcoming Insights: A Conversation with an Influencer
04:07 • 4min
Embracing AI as a Co-Founder
08:26 • 20min
Navigating the Cloud: From Niche to AI Integration
28:00 • 13min
AI's Transformative Role in SaaS
41:21 • 4min
#3132
• Mentioned in 11 episodes
Snow Leopard
How Legendary Writers Create A Category Of One
Category Pirates
Snow Leopard is the first writing advice book written through a Category Design lens.
It guides writers on how to frame their ideas, stories, and insights to resonate with the most people possible.
The book, written by the Category Pirates (Christopher Lochhead, Eddie Yoon, and Nicolas Cole), focuses on creating a category of one, mastering Obvious and Non-Obvious content, and monetizing writing in new ways.
It includes frameworks such as the 5 levels of content creation (Consumption, Curation, Obvious Connection, Non-Obvious Connection, and Category Creation) and how to apply these to achieve independence, creative freedom, and exponential financial upside.
#25746
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Boundless, A New Mindset for an Unlimited Business Success
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Vala Afshar
#11397
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
The 22 Laws of Category Design
Name & Claim Your Niche, Share Your POV, And Move The World From Where It Is To Somewhere Different
Christopher Lochhead
The 22 Laws of Category Design provides a roadmap for entrepreneurs and marketers to create new categories, redefine existing ones, and build lasting companies.
It offers practical advice and case studies on how to apply Category Design principles to achieve exponential growth and market dominance.
#1644
• Mentioned in 20 episodes
Pattern Breakers
Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future
Mike Maples Jr.
Peter Ziebelman
Pattern Breakers, written by Mike Maples Jr. and Peter Ziebelman, challenges traditional startup wisdom by revealing the hidden forces that drive extraordinary success.
The book is based on extensive research and real-world examples from transformative startups like Twitter, Twitch, and Lyft.
It emphasizes the importance of a different mindset and actions to harness developments that others might miss or initially see as crazy.
The authors provide practical advice on how to transcend ordinary thinking, capitalize on market opportunities, and build a community of true believers to revolutionize industries.
#5875
• Mentioned in 6 episodes
Niche Down
Hal, Austin Elrod
Heather Clancy
Christopher Lockhead
Niche Down, co-authored by Christopher Lochhead and Heather Hansen, provides a practical framework for businesses to achieve remarkable success by focusing on a specific target market.
The book emphasizes the importance of identifying a niche and tailoring your marketing and product development efforts to meet the unique needs of that audience.
It offers a step-by-step guide to defining your ideal customer, crafting a compelling value proposition, and building a strong brand identity.
Niche Down provides valuable insights and actionable strategies for businesses of all sizes.
The book's clear and concise approach makes it a valuable resource for entrepreneurs and marketers alike.
#8657
• Mentioned in 4 episodes
The Existing Market Trap
A Marketer’s Guide To Category DesignHow To Escape The "Better" Trap, Dam The Demand, And Launch A Lightning Strike Strategy.
Mary Grace
Jason Welcome
Al Ramadan
This book focuses on overcoming challenges of the existing market.
It is a practical guide for entrepreneurs and business leaders to get out of the existing market trap and build a new market.
This book emphasizes the power of challenging conventional wisdom and embracing innovative approaches.
It encourages a shift in mindset, urging readers to question established norms and explore uncharted territories.
Also, this provides actionable strategies and frameworks for identifying opportunities, disrupting industries, and creating lasting value.
#13494
• Mentioned in 3 episodes
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Surviving And Thriving In A World Of Digital Giants
Ray Wang
Ray Wang's "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" delves into the strategies employed by digital giants to achieve dominance.
The book explores how these companies leverage data-driven networks, extreme consolidation, and innovative business models to reshape the global landscape.
It also examines the challenges faced by traditional businesses in competing with these giants and offers insights into how to adapt and thrive in this new reality.
Furthermore, the book discusses the need for smart regulations to balance innovation with anti-trust concerns.
Finally, it provides a framework for businesses to transition from the status quo to market leadership.
#1038
• Mentioned in 28 episodes
Play Bigger
Pirates, Dreamers, and the Power of Decisive Action
Christopher Lochhead
Play Bigger, co-authored by Christopher Lochhead and several others, provides a framework for businesses to dominate their markets by creating new categories.
The book emphasizes the importance of defining a unique market space, crafting a compelling narrative, and building a strong brand identity.
It offers practical strategies for businesses to differentiate themselves from competitors and establish themselves as category leaders.
The book's insights on category design, brand building, and market leadership have made it a valuable resource for entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Its practical advice and real-world examples make it accessible and applicable to a wide range of businesses.
In a special episode from the DisrupTV studios, marketing visionaries Christopher Lochhead, Ray Wang, Vala Afshar, and guest Sunil Karkera dive deep into the themes of Christopher Lochhead’s latest book, The Existing Market Trap.
The conversation is a masterclass in modern marketing strategy, category design, and the seismic impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on business. If you’re a marketer, entrepreneur, or executive looking to future-proof your company and career, this episode is a must-listen.
You’re listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let’s go.
Understanding the Existing Market Trap
Most companies fail not because their products are bad, but because they compare their innovations to old market standards. This “existing market trap” forces them to compete in crowded, established categories, dooming them to incremental improvements and eventual irrelevance.
Lochhead warns that trillions in investment will be lost if companies keep chasing existing markets instead of creating new ones, and much of the 90%+ startup failure rate is due to the trap of incrementalism, trying to be “better” rather than “different.” The key is to stop benchmarking new products against legacy solutions and instead ask: What new problem are we solving, and how can we define a new category around it?
The Power of Category Design
Category design is the discipline of creating and dominating new market categories. It’s not just a marketing tactic, it’s a strategic mindset shift. Markets are groups of people with a shared problem, while categories are defined by what people believe can solve that problem. Companies like OpenAI and Nvidia didn’t chase existing demand, they created it. Legendary category designers start with a vision of a radically different future and work backward, understanding that the language used to describe a product and category shapes what people believe is possible.
Ultimately, the most powerful thing you can “ship” is a new belief about what’s possible. Rather than out-featuring competitors, the goal is to redefine the game and build the aisle, not just fight for shelf space.
AI as a Co-Founder, Not a Copilot
Treating AI as a mere “assistant” or “copilot” is a massive missed opportunity. AI should be the core foundation of your business and career. When AI is just an add-on, it leads to incremental change, but when it is treated as a co-founder, it enables exponential, net-new value creation.
The next generation will be “native AI”; they’ll expect AI to be at the center of everything. To take advantage of this, businesses should integrate AI deeply, building processes, products, and even company culture around AI from the ground up, and reimagine roles so that AI is seen as a creative partner, not just a tool.
To hear more of this amazing dialogue between marketing geniuses, download and listen to this episode.
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