Mo Shafieeha

The most attractive startups are those that have counterintuitive behavior plus traction. These ideas often develop at the seam between "natives" and "immigrants". Instagram-natives are likely to see a new retail space or ecomm brand differently than those who aren't exposed to the same thousands of pictures.

2. Market Structure "Market structure" also matters, as does market size. Airbnb's success was attributed to releasing a new market of inventory for travelers tired of paying too much for hotels. Less than 10% of Public Storage's $2.4 billion in sales are controlled. After a year in the market, MakeSpace's biggest issue was CAC (customer... See more

5. Leverage influencersKey question: Who are influencers of your target users, and how could you get them to talk about your product? Instagram, Twitter, and Producthunt can be examples.

In order to make an expensive product appear affordable, a company may use a decoy. It is easier to sell greenfield customers than to win one away from a competitor because of the endowment effect, which causes people to overvalue things they already have. Enterprise companies should be aware of this.

The downside of blockchain and edtech1. Blockchain uses a lot of energy

An overly detailed map won't be useful. Maps omit details that the artist—or user, if the map is interactive—deems irrelevant. In some cases, details are exaggerated to reflect importance. The map doesn't just need to be useful, but it needs to be usable. TED's Christina Wurman has created a concept model of the Tokyo subway based on a... See more