GM. Welcome to The Highline - Spotting Opportunities in High-Growth Markets.

Podcast Link:https://thrive-spotting-opportunities-in-high-growth-markets.simplecast.com/episodes/2-vaping-e-ciggarettes

Top Ideas From The Podcast:

• Eyes Open in Fast Growing Overseas Markets.

• Why We Need To Study Unfavoured Markets.

• What Gets Banished by the Old Gets Reinvented by the New.

• What is success?

This Chart Made Kate Wang a Billionaire

Spotting a thriving market overseas is an art that offers a blueprint for success back home. When a product shows high penetration in one region, it often signals an unmet need elsewhere. By introducing a similar product in your own market and executing well, you can potentially replicate the overseas growth rate. The key lies in recognizing the opportunity early and acting decisively. This strategy works! RELX Technology grew its sales from 19 million to 585 million USD in 2 years!

Why We Need To Study Unfavoured Markets

Something very counter-intuitive about markets is that when you first think of government intervention, you first assume that the companies operating in that market are facing an existential threat to the business and that the best course of action is to exit the business. And in some cases, you would be right, but this wasn't correct in the tobacco industry.

The introduction of plain packaging, taxes, and bans on advertising and marketing made it impossible for smaller companies to stay in business. The bigger companies bought them for cheap, using their scale to lower the cost of production. Now, the big tobacco companies have little competition, and they will never face a new competitor. It’s impossible to start a new tobacco company. How would you market the product? Get new customers? You can’t. 

By focusing on the potential opportunities within heavily regulated markets, businesses can find niches or avenues for innovation that others might overlook. Attacking areas where the incumbent is weak. This strategy could allow for early entry into spaces where competition is reduced due to stringent regulations, offering a competitive advantage. Furthermore, as industries evolve and adapt to these regulations, there's a chance for technologies or solutions to emerge that redefine the market itself.

Checkout the podcast for more on this idea: https://thrive-spotting-opportunities-in-high-growth-markets.simplecast.com/episodes/2-vaping-e-ciggarettes

Whatever Gets Banished By The Old Gets Reinvented by the New

Some breakthrough products, particularly products that are addictive or can be easily abused by consumers. The companies that provide these products tend to abuse their power significantly, so much so that the government has to come in and regulate the industry to protect consumers.

The early adopters in the category are negatively affected, and they pass on their lessons to their children. Think of smoking and credit cards.

Take smoking as an example; many Gen Zs have been beaten to death about how bad smoking is blah blah until Juul created a new product, framed it differently and innovated in the distribution of the product. They used the same tactics as cigarette advertisements in the 1960s-1970s to attract a new consumer, and they got more people smoking than any other tobacco company in the last 50 years!!

Think about how insane that is. Every. Single. Person. Knows smoking is bad for them, yet they still do it only because it’s been re-branded. The same thing happened with credit cards and Afterpay, and I predict the same thing will happen with social media.

MiniBit (What is Your Success)

My definition of success is knowing what you want and getting it. Defining success hinges on recognising your desires and achieving them. Truly understanding what you want is challenging, requiring authenticity and embracing your aspirations without external judgment. For instance, while societal pressure might disparage ambitions like accruing wealth if it aligns with your genuine intent, others' opinions shouldn't deter you. You gain clarity on your goals by acknowledging and understanding the root of your desires. With this insight, strategise your path to attain them. Stay unapologetically true to yourself.

My Product Idea: Vape with a Timer

Imagine you have a vape, but you can only smoke from it five times per day. It might make the addiction easier to deal with

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