✍️ Essay
✓ Link checked
Free
Intermediate
Why we picked it Once you have decided it is time to move, this essay is the clearest short read on which direction to move in. Coelen lays out five concrete expansion paths (adjacent need, new vertical, up or down the value chain, new geography, new demographic) so you can see that expansion is not one decision but a choice between shapes. His honest line is the useful one: the market, not your preference, tells you which path actually works, so you test a few small before you commit.
Five expansion strategies from your beachhead market
From Doctor Market Fit (Jeroen Coelen) by Jeroen Coelen
- Expansion has distinct shapes (adjacent product, new vertical, value chain, location, demographic), and your original value proposition quietly rules some of them out
- Run small experiments into two or three candidate segments before committing, rather than betting the company on one guess
- Signals you are ready: repeatable wins and references in the first niche, plus inbound pull from a neighbouring segment you were not chasing