The Library of Minds The #1 Reason Startups Fail: The Existing Market Trap with Al Ramadan
31 snips
Nov 6, 2025 
Al Ramadan, a category design expert and co-author of 'Play Bigger,' discusses why startups often fail by competing in existing markets rather than creating new ones. He emphasizes the importance of aligning product, category, and company to capture a significant market share. Al shares insights on AI's role in category durability and the need to prioritize initial customer pain points. He explains how founders can identify new opportunities and avoid irreversible mistakes, ultimately guiding them toward sustained category leadership.
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Positioning Locks You Into Existing Markets
- Positioning places you in an existing market and forces you to compete within its rules.
- Al Ramadan's research shows the category king captures 76% of a category's market cap, leaving 24% as scraps.
Quoco: Building A New Aisle
- Quoco (1995) framed itself as a digital sports media company to avoid fitting into old categories.
- Al Ramadan recounts they created a new aisle rather than competing with ESPN or the New York Times.
Align The Magic Triangle
- Align category design, product design, and company design — the magic triangle — for sustained success.
- Balance all three: product must deliver, company must execute, category must reframe the problem.
