Existing-Market Piggyback
Build for demand created by a larger platform or behaviour
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 90%
Start with a market force larger than the startup, such as widespread smartphone use, then look for practical problems that force creates. Quad Lock attached itself to the need to use a phone during activities where holding it is impractical. The market already contained smartphone owners and people trying to navigate, ride, drive, or run; the company supplied the secure mounting layer. Existing demand does not guarantee buyers will search for the new category, so the method distinguishes market existence from solution awareness. If direct search is limited, demonstrate the problem and solution to people who recognise the need once they see it. The output is a product whose demand is pulled by an established behaviour rather than solely by the founder's promotion.
Origin
Extracted from The Foundr Podcast
Core principles
- 01Borrow demand instead of creating it from zero
- 02Solve a concrete problem around an established behaviour
- 03Separate an existing market from an existing search category
- 04Expect education when buyers do not yet know the solution
How to run it
- 1
Find the larger pull
Identify a growing platform, device, habit, or activity with a market much larger than your proposed business.
Pro tip Look for behaviour people already repeat rather than a trend they merely discuss.
Watch out A fashionable topic without active users is not reliable demand.
- 2
Observe the friction
List specific tasks that become awkward, unsafe, slow, or impossible within that established behaviour.
Pro tip Prioritise problems users can recognise immediately when demonstrated.
- 3
Attach a focused solution
Create a product that removes one meaningful friction without requiring customers to adopt an entirely new behaviour.
Watch out Do not confuse a broad market with demand for every accessory around it.
- 4
Test recognition and search
Check whether customers actively search for the solution or only recognise the problem after seeing a demonstration. Use the result to choose search capture or market education.
Pro tip Use customer language when naming and presenting the product.
In the wild
The founders saw that smartphones and mapping had become integral to travel, while cyclists and other active users could not safely hold a phone. They built a secure mounting system around that existing behaviour and later extended the core idea to motorcycles, cars, and running.
→ The product could serve several activity markets without having to create smartphone adoption.
Common mistakes
Mistaking market size for search demand
A large underlying market may still need education because buyers do not know the solution category exists.
Choosing a novelty without durable need
An impulse product can attract attention without producing the repeat trust and active problem-solving demand of a functional product.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for founders exploring accessories or services around established platforms and behaviours.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when the underlying platform is shrinking or can eliminate the accessory need itself.
From the transcript
“there's a pool for this from a market that's already made”
“we're not making the market so to speak”
From the episode
221: Zero to $9 Million in 4 years: How Chris Peters & Rob Ward Built Quad Lock From a Kickstarter Campaign
Chris Peters