Build a Monopoly in a Niche—but Do Not Define the Market Too Narrowly

Originally published 2021-07-17Robin’s commentary (as of July 2021)

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Collected in Robin Shen’s Field Notes · Content type and attribution are shown above

English translation of the Chinese post originally published 2021-07-17. Translated 2026-10-31 with AI assistance. Historical figures and claims have not been updated or independently verified. 中文原文

Reading guide

Robin begins with the idea that people remember only number one. In the internet era, being first means monopoly, with neither oligopoly nor perfect competition. If a giant already occupies a position, create a new market through a better category: Facebook dominates social networking, while Twitter and Instagram carved out text- and image-based markets. PayPal, Square, and Stripe provide similar examples. He adds that a niche monopoly is sensible, but becoming number one on a particular road or in a particular building is meaningless if the market is too small. VCs still assess market size and growth potential.

Key points

In the internet era, number one often represents a monopoly.
A well-defined category can create an entirely new market.
Defining a market too narrowly makes it too small to matter.
VCs still assess market size, growth trends, and potential.

One clear path continues into the distance among several branching routes, suggesting choice and focus. — Entrepreneurship & strategyThematic illustration · AI generated

Full text — English translation

Let us talk about building a monopoly in a niche. Our memory tends to retain only number one. The first U.S. president, the first person in space, the first person on the moon—who came second often seems less important. Number one often signals market leadership: Coca-Cola, Gillette razors, or Pringles. In the internet era, however, being number one means monopoly. There is no oligopoly, let alone perfect competition. Find a way to make your company’s name a common noun, or even turn it into a verb: “I will Google it”; “I will LINE you later.” If an industry giant already firmly occupies that position, categorize the market differently. A good category means creating an entirely new market. Facebook dominates social networking, but Twitter and Instagram can still carve out markets through text and images. Even with PayPal, Square, and Stripe, entrepreneurship is about building a monopoly in a niche. Our memory tends to retain only number one. The first U.S. president, the first person in space, the first person on the moon—who came second often seems less important. Number one often signals market leadership: Coca-Cola, Gillette razors, or Pringles. In the internet era, however, being number one means monopoly. There is no oligopoly, let alone perfect competition. Find a way to make your company’s name a common noun, or even turn it into a verb: “I will Google it”; “I will LINE you later.” If an industry giant already firmly occupies that position, categorize the market differently. A good category means creating an entirely new market. Facebook dominates social networking, but Twitter and Instagram can still carve out markets through text and images. One caveat: a monopoly in a niche is fine, but if the niche is too narrow and the market too small, it is meaningless. You can define yourself as number one in a region, on a street, in a building, or on a particular floor. That may be possible, but it means little for entrepreneurship or the market. VC investors still examine your market’s size, growth trends, and potential. --- Posting daily is a little tiring. Considering weekly posts instead.

These articles are personal notes, book excerpts, and collected reprints. Figures and events reflect the time of the original publication, are not current information, and do not constitute investment advice.

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