Can entrepreneurs create demand? | Hacker News Reader

Can entrepreneurs create demand?

elementalchange.wordpress.com

2 pointsk0mplex2 comments

Demand creators take a risk that demand fillers (or even revealers) never do. They have to have the conviction to believe that demand will emerge once people “wake up.” They have to be thought leaders as well as innovators. Motivators as well as inventors. Mentors as well as managers. And if it is about ego (i.e., “I know what’s best”) instead of a genuine attempt to guide people to a new beneficial perspective, then they’re likely to fail.

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nice article though there is a very thin line between revealing the demand and creating demand ... just like inventing a PC (as author said) - before PC was invented the work was still going on w/o any problem, it was just taking little bit longer to finish .... so anything that saves time or money or energy (or all) will create demand automatically. Most of the time it is said that create/produce/develop something that people want it but sometime people dont even know that they need something (say computer). So when you create something that even people don't know that they need it then you're surely hitting a jackpot or you will fail terribly.

But sometime there are companies which just creates demand even though there is no need - for example soft drinks, alcohol, cigarette, most of the cosmetic products etc. There are solid arguments available that human being doesn't require these things but still multinational companies has created it to fill their pockets... but it doesn't do any good to human civilization. then is it even worth to create that kind of demands ??????

Need/require is so misleading. People just want to feel good more and feel bad less. So:

-soft drinks taste good and the sugar/caffeine boost is nice (the low comes later so it's not as obviously associated)

-alcohol is relaxing and loosens inhibitions, so it gives you something that normally takes a lot of willpower. If you're addicted (cigs too), it also relieves the withdrawal symptoms

-cosmetics make you prettier, which makes people pay more and better attention to you, which makes you feel happy.

In short, these products match up to psychological characteristics of people in general. The fact that these are multi-bajillion dollar industries shows that these psychological characteristics are in a whole lot of people.

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