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

Market Selection Over Execution Excellence

The idea that picking the right market with good timing matters more than having the best product or execution

Decision Rule

Prioritize market opportunity and timing over product perfection when choosing what to build

How It Works

A rising market tide lifts all boats - even mediocre products in great markets outperform excellent products in poor markets

Failure Modes

Choosing competitive markets that seem obviously good

Focusing too much on product without considering market dynamics

Missing market timing by entering too early or too late

Example Decision

Flow founders chose women's health tracking over other app categories because it was underserved despite having huge demand, rather than trying to build the best app in a competitive category