ing for early adopters //
The traveling circus did not have to be appealing to everyone. They rode in town with the elephants and the Tasmanian Devil, as well as the bearded lady, the Tasmanian Devil and the bearded lady, and all who came followed them. The circus disbanded after the people who were looking for excitement had exhausted themselves.
When the circus becomes permanent, then the problem begins. If the company wants to scale. If the public markets demand that the company move beyond novelty seekers to reach the masses.
The dancing that used to be so easy is suddenly a problem.
The controversial and difficult-to-make Cybertruck was launched by Tesla years ago. This was a huge mistake for a public company. They lost the most popular segment of their car market to Rivian, Ford, and at the exact moment that they could have launched an electric vehicle with a reliable, boring design that would have gained significant market share. The company’s hyped FSD feature is now well-known and half of the major advertisers on Twitter have left. Public companies shouldn’t sacrifice mass to make it easier for early adopters. They are there to grow horizontally.
If you have the right scale, dancing for early adopters can be a great strategy. You can create a successful practice if you embrace your 1000 true fans and if you connect, challenge, and interest a group that can’t wait to see the caravan return.
Bob Dylan was known to have alienated the top 40 hit fans in order to start his own circus. When the Grateful Dead had their single and only hit, it shocked the touring community. This brought in a new generation of ticket buyers not from the tribe. It takes courage to say “no thankyou” to the masses, and then to return to your circus.
However, many tech companies and fashion brands lose their mojo to try to be the regular type. Either they make the product boring and uninteresting or return to a circus with more compromises.
