Shape the Conversation

Venturing outside of a niche can be the right decision to make. On this episode, Nicole and Jon talk about the power of having a successful niche but also lay out some scenarios where you may want to diversify your product, service or marketing. During the conversation they covered some of their own experiences and the founding stories of Twitter and Slack to outline how there can be benefits to looking outside your niche.

Show Notes

It's common to hear there are ‘riches in niches’.  But you should be on the lookout for signs that indicate maybe you should look beyond whatever niche you find yourself in. Jon and Nicole talked through some of the indicators there might be good reasons to venture out:
  • Your niche is limiting your growth potential in painful way.
  • Your niche is at risk of being fundamentally altered by a shift in the market beyond your control. 
  • Your product has a customer base submitting feature requests that overwhelming indicate you should build something outside of your niche.
  • Your team is bored with solving the challenges of your current niche. 
  • Your niche creates seasonal revenue spikes that are tough to manage. 
  • Your niche is being better served by a bigger, faster, stronger competitor.
The best takeaway from this episode is, beware of mirages. Really really prove it to yourself before you make the big decision to leave a niche. Use data, get feedback from your team, talk to advisors. Do the work to prove to yourself that the effort to go outside of your niche is worth it. 

Reach out to us with any ideas, questions or feedback on the podcast!

✉️ Nicole@shape.io
✉️ Jon@shape.io

What is Shape the Conversation?

A shape.io podcast hosted by Nicole Mears and Jon Davis. Broadcasting from Bend, Oregon.