Ask HN: How to Disrupt? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to Disrupt?

8 pointsChirag5 comments

Thoughts, ideas and suggestions?

We have great articles on "How to become a hacker":ESR and "How to start a start-up":PG. I though it would be interesting and useful to explore "How to Disrupt?"

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You should read a book called "Blue ocean strategy"; it is about this exact thing. The core part of any disruption in my opinion is to eliminate the value cost trade off. Companies usually compete on 2 grounds; lower price or increased utility. But when a someone enters the market and breaks the value cost trade off (increased utility w/ lower price) the result is usually disruption within the market.

Yes, I know the above stuff is ovious; what you need to know is how to do this. I have put some methods below.

1. Reconstruct market boundaries: you can do this by looking across alternative industries or across strategic groups in an industry. What are your customers alternative? What if they trade up? What if they trade down?

Drawing a strategic canvas and applying the 4 actions framework is useful.

2. Focus on the big picture and not just the numbers

Data driven decision making is good but sometimes people get lost in the numbers; epically the market leaders. By focusing on the big picture (context and consumer intent) instead of just the numbers you are more likely to be able to see outside of the existing market paradigms.

3. Reach beyond existing demand

First tier: “Soon to be” non-customers who are the edge of our market; waiting to jump ship

Second tier: refusing non-customers who consciously choose against our market

Third tier: “unexplored” non-customers who are in markets distant from ours

There are many other ways as well e.g.: Get the strategic sequence right etc...but these were some of my favorites.

This book has some interesting ideas:

http://www.squeezedbooks.com/book/show/5/lateral-marketing-n...

The Innovator's Solution: http://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Solution-Creating-Sustainin...

By challenging (finding another solution to) one parameter everybody takes for granted. I think of Skype challenging the phone paradigm (ie we have to pay for it, per minute, the further on Earth the more expensive). If you come accross a pain that people "accept" as part of life, there is room for power disruption (imo).

Disruptive ideas should be push enough to make then your new need. Now days we use google, for almost everything online search, bookmarking, history, cache, research... essentially google disrupted market so much that it has become a daily need(if you are online).

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