Mediocrity Doesn’t Win: Pick a Side

In business, there’s one fatal trap that ambitious entrepreneurs often fall into: trying to please everyone. The result? Mediocrity. And in the market, mediocrity doesn’t win. If you want your business to thrive, you need to pick a side—and pick it decisively.

That means choosing between two distinct and powerful strategies:

1. Solve high-value problems for a few rich clients and charge a premium, or

2. Solve mass-market problems for a lot of people and scale aggressively.

Straddling the middle—trying to sell average products at average prices to everyone—is a surefire way to get lost in the noise.

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The Premium Side: Fewer Clients, Bigger Profits

Serving a niche of wealthy clients means you focus deeply on delivering exceptional value to a small group of people who can afford to pay top dollar. This approach relies on exclusivity, quality, and trust.

Example: Tesla (early years)

When Tesla first entered the automotive market, it didn’t try to compete with Honda or Toyota. Instead, it launched the Roadster, a sleek electric sports car priced well above $100,000. Elon Musk knew the technology was too expensive to serve the mass market at first.

By focusing on affluent early adopters who wanted a status symbol and an eco-conscious image, Tesla carved out a premium brand identity. That brand equity later helped them move downstream with more affordable models like the Model 3—after they had already built a cult following and a robust business.

The Mass-Market Side: Scale Over Margin

Alternatively, you can target the mass market with a product that’s affordable, accessible, and easy to adopt. Here, the play is all about scale. You win by selling to millions, not thousands.

Example: McDonald’s

Ray Kroc didn’t set out to create gourmet burgers. He built a system. McDonald’s revolutionized fast food by prioritizing consistency, speed, and affordability. The model was simple: feed a lot of people quickly and predictably. And it worked. With over 38,000 locations worldwide, McDonald’s became the symbol of scalable success. No frills, no fine dining—just volume and systems.

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What Happens When You Don’t Pick?

Trying to be both premium and mass-market at once usually backfires. You confuse your brand, dilute your message, and end up serving no one well.

Example: J.C. Penney

In the early 2010s, J.C. Penney hired Apple executive Ron Johnson to revamp its image. He attempted to eliminate discounts and reposition the brand as more upscale—without actually changing the product or customer experience. The result? Middle-class customers who loved discounts felt alienated, while wealthier customers weren’t convinced it was worth their attention. Sales plummeted, stock collapsed, and Johnson was ousted. J.C. Penney tried to be everything to everyone and ended up being nothing to anyone.

Pick a Lane and Own It

Whether you’re launching a tech startup, building a product line, or running a service business, you have to make a strategic choice:

• Are you Chanel or are you H&M?

• Are you Apple (early Mac) or are you Xiaomi?

• Are you solving complex problems for the few, or simple needs for the many?

Both paths can lead to massive success. But the middle? It’s crowded, noisy, and filled with forgotten brands that tried to hedge their bets instead of going all in.

So pick a side. Go deep. And build something remarkable.