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The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.

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Cultural Shift Detection Framework

Reusability

A systematic approach to finding business opportunities by identifying cultural shifts or macro trends that have impacted some categories but missed others

How It Works

Cultural changes spread unevenly across industries. By spotting where a trend has succeeded in one category but hasn't reached another similar category, you can predict and capitalize on that gap

Components

1

Identify a cultural shift or macro trend that's gaining momentum

2

Find categories where this trend has been successful

3

Locate similar categories where the trend hasn't appeared yet

4

Assess the gap between where the trend is and where the category sits

5

Position your product/service in that gap

When to Use

When entering established markets that appear saturated, or when looking for low-risk innovation opportunities in consumer products

When Not to Use

In rapidly changing tech sectors where cultural shifts move too quickly, or in highly regulated industries where trends can't easily transfer

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Trying to apply trends that are too niche or too earlyForcing trends into incompatible categoriesIgnoring why the trend hasn't reached the category (there may be good reasons)

Example

Method soap identified that 'lifestyling of the home' and health/wellness trends had hit personal care but missed home cleaning products. They positioned eco-friendly, beautifully designed cleaning products in that gap.