My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Demand-constrained businesses are better opportunities than supply-constrained businesses for most entrepreneurs
The Reasoning
Demand constraints can be solved through better marketing, sales, and value creation - skills that scale across industries. Supply constraints often require capital, logistics, or regulatory solutions that are harder to replicate
What Needs to Be True
- Entrepreneur has marketing and sales capabilities
- Market has sufficient demand potential
- Value creation opportunities exist in the category
- Competition isn't purely on supply-side advantages
Counterargument
Supply-constrained businesses often have natural moats and defensibility that demand-focused businesses lack, leading to more sustainable competitive advantages
What Would Change This View
Evidence that demand-generation skills don't transfer across industries, or that supply-side moats are easier to build than assumed
Implications for Builders
Focus on industries where customers exist but aren't being served well
Develop demand generation skills over supply chain optimization
Look for markets with proven demand but poor value delivery
Example Application
“Choose online education (demand constraint - need better marketing) over manufacturing (supply constraint - need capital and logistics)”