Christopher Lochhead

In most categories, 8-10% of buyers are responsible for the vast majority of profits — and they're the zeitgeist everyone else looks to. Find your super consumers. They are your real growth engine and your WOM machine.

Lightning strikes vs. peanut butter: Most marketers spread budget evenly all year. Category designers concentrate spend into 1-3 massive moments. I'd rather matter for one week a year than be irrelevant for 52 weeks. Borrow Hollywood's movie launch model.

The magic triangle: To build a legendary company, you must get product, company, AND category right — at the right time. They're equal in importance. Products fail not because they're bad, but because they weren't category designed.

The company that creates the languaging for the category wins. Starbucks taught consumers to say 'double grande latte' so they could charge $3 for something that cost a dime. OpenAI created 'LLMs' and 'training data.' New language creates new thinking, which creates new value.

Nobody cares about your founder journey. They care about themselves — their problems, needs, and opportunities. The #1 category of nonfiction books sold is self-help. Not biographies. Not startup stories. Build for their needs, not your narrative.

Word of mouth is the most powerful form of marketing — and I've never once seen it in a marketing plan. Category design is the only business strategy whose primary execution focus starts with WOM.