Postcard 29: Specific and Niche

Hey Team,

Today I announced on LinkedIn (of all places) that my brother and I decided to join forces to help build and co-found Nines.

Over the last few weeks, we have been coding hard on this, and the MVP is coming together incredibly well. The app looks and feels beautiful. It's responsive and speedy.

First, the problem is super niche. If I have learned anything over the last year, it's that niches work incredibly well on the internet.

We are going after affluent homes, most of which have estate managers to start. There is nothing like this on the market for these people. We will help them create a fantastic living experience for the residents and guests of those homes. We will be looking up not around copying competitors; they don't exist.

Then when that works well, the problem itself is a superset of general household management. Many of us have lawn or cleaning professionals, and it's not too different from what is required to manage a rental home. So if we can solve the problem for this niche, who knows what we might be able to do next.

This tweet by Zach sums up a big part of the why this area is ignored.

A lot of the best innovation in the world has started with this strategy. Tesla started with expensive luxury cars. Uber started with stretch Limos. And on and on.

So, in short, I decided to merge UpHome with Nines because I love the vision of creating a great living experience for people. I love the incredible niche starting point. I love that we are carving our own path, but the problem and need are there. And as a heavy Chess player, I find the strategy to be solid.

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Onto a few ideas from others this week:

I love this thread summarizing the idea of Specific Knowledge from Naval.

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Of course, a big way to build specific knowledge is to listen to your intuition about what you love to do. Chase the things you love. This beautiful essay by my friend and fellow WoP Mentor Salman Ansari dives deep into this topic; it's a great read.

“Your instincts, your human personal intuition — always whispers; it never shouts. So you have to, every day of your lives, be ready to hear what whispers in your ear.” —Steven Spielberg

Listen to Yourself

We notice the most subtle cues from the world around us. Yet we miss the signals that come from within. With a little courage and a lot of practice, we can learn to follow the guidance of our inner North Star.

Salman Ansari

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This week's Meme comes from Kristen:

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One idea from me:

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Thanks for reading and as always, my inbox is open; feel free to reply to this email if I can help in any way.

Have a great weekend,

Louie