Knowledge Marketplace
My First Million

My First Million

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

Back to Mental Models

Freaks to Mainstream Adoption Curve

Technology/trend adoption follows predictable pattern: Freaks/Geeks → Early Adopter Wannabes → Smart Reasonable People → Late Majority → Laggards

Decision Rule

Identify what the 'Freaks and Geeks' are doing, then position for the 'Early Adopter Wannabes' who copy them but want easier/mainstream versions

How It Works

Early adopters watch extremists, then adopt watered-down versions. When this shifts to 'smart reasonable people,' mainstream adoption accelerates rapidly.

Failure Modes

Staying in freak/geek niche too long instead of scaling to early adopters

Jumping to mainstream too early before early adopters validate

Misidentifying which segment is actually adopting

Building for wrong segment's needs and preferences

Example Decision

“Health startups moving from biohacking freaks to early adopter health optimizers to mainstream preventative care, indicating major market expansion opportunity”