Wedge

Also called Wedge Strategy

A narrow, sharp initial product or use case that gets you into a market, earns you a foothold, and then lets you expand into a bigger opportunity.

Why it matters

A good wedge is easy to adopt and hard to say no to, which is how startups break into markets dominated by broad incumbents. Choosing the right wedge, small enough to win, connected to something big, is a core early-strategy decision.

For example

Superhuman entered the giant email market through a narrow wedge, blazing speed for power users, before expanding outward.

Worth your time

Related terms

Go deeper

See how founders actually handle this on Growing and marketing, part of the Starting Up hub.

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