Market Research Pitches (series)
Four startup pitches use the same 'if we capture just 1% of a huge market' logic for terrible products, ending with a founder who pitches only the logic itself.
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Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2022-01-01-market-research-pitches/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)Transcript
[1] "Our market research says U.S. book sales are almost $30 billion annually." [$30B] "If we can capture just 1% with our patented Wet-and-Sticky Books, our annual revenues will be $300 million." [$30B → $300M] Investor: "Pass."
[2] "Our market research says the global GDP is almost $85 trillion." "If we can capture just 0.1% of that with our patented Whiffle-Ball Soup Bowls, we'll be one of the most profitable companies on the planet." [$85T → $85B] Investor: "Next."
[3] "Our market research estimates that there are 18 billion inhabited planets in the galaxy." "If our spider-filled gloves become popular on just 0.01% of them, we will be the most valuable entity on Earth." [18B → Profit!] Investor: "Please leave."
[4] "Our market research says that, under the right conditions, a small fraction of a very large number is still pretty large." [Big → Still Big!] "Unfortunately, that's our whole business plan. We blew our budget on market research consultants." Investor: "Honestly, this is best pitch I've seen today."