The Fast-Foodification of Everything

The next wave of big consumer companies will be community-based products: - Niche, not everything to everyone - Unique aesthetic - Built-in community - More memorable than big platforms - Rewarding loyalty - Unbundling large platforms - An experience not a transaction - Fun

Your business exists in the context of a marketplace, but also in the context of your lived experience.

Defaulting to the norms of your industry will shape your business to be similar to the rest, where the best entrepreneurs zero-in on their self expression. Do you have an eye for good design? Inject design into a tasteless industry. Do you have a ... See more

Individual personalities are often key to building community-first brands. Think fitness brand Peloton, which cited superstar instructors such as Robin Arzon in its IPO filing as key to its success. Other brands might fulfill this objective by behaving in ways that are simply more human, like Steak-Umm with its distinctive personality-driven Twitte... See more

The rise of community—a more directional aesthetic means that it won’t resonate with everyone. But those that do like it will really connect. This will create a smaller, more dedicated customer base, a community.

Any brand can cultivate a select group of people who are passionate about what it stands for and seeks to do in the world. Your focus might be hobbies like coffee making, running or self-care rituals; issues like gender equality and sustainability; or simply certain aesthetics.

The keywords are not necessarily prestige and exclusivity but identity and belonging.Membership is micro. To prevent reverse network effects and maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio, brands often focus on specific customer sub-segments and overdeliver for them. This works particularly well for brands that sell easily commodified products. For exam... See more