Thread · 10 min read

Is it possible to be "too niche"?

Indie Hackers community · Indie Hackers Free Beginner

This thread is founders arguing out this exact question in public, with real numbers from real small businesses about when a niche was too small versus just hard to reach. It is useful precisely because it is messy and disagrees with itself, which matches how uncertain this call actually feels in practice. Read the comments, not just the top post, for the range of honest answers.

  • A niche can fail from being unreachable even when the total addressable market is fine on paper
  • Bootstrapped founders often succeed by starting in one very narrow niche and expanding to adjacent ones
  • Total addressable market size and customer reachability are two separate checks, not one
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The question it answers

  1. What's the difference between defining a niche and just being too small to matter?

Read with it

  1. The definitive essay on where good ideas come from: notice problems you personally have, don't force it. Use it as the lens for... paulgraham.com Essay · ~20 min read How to Get Startup Ideas Paul Graham
  2. The essay that put 'product-market fit' into the startup vocabulary. Read it for the gut-level description of what PMF feels... pmarchive.com Essay · ~15 min read The Only Thing That Matters Marc Andreessen
  3. The author of Crossing the Chasm explaining beachhead selection in plain, modern language, the fastest way to absorb the... Lenny's Podcast / Lenny's Newsletter Podcast · ~75 min Geoffrey Moore on finding your beachhead, crossing the chasm, and dominating a market Lenny Rachitsky & Geoffrey Moore
  4. The best book on positioning against competitors by understanding the alternatives customers actually consider. Directly turns... aprildunford.com Book · ~200 pages Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It April Dunford
  5. Altman's condensed operating manual for founders, including sharp guidance on focus, spending your time on what only you can... playbook.samaltman.com Article · long Startup Playbook Sam Altman
  6. This is the essay that forces the honest question underneath your idea: are you building a growth company or a good small... Paul Graham Essay · ~20 min read Startup = Growth Paul Graham
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