Target vs Market: Fear-driven broadness

New companies kill themselves trying to be everything to everyone from day one. “If we only target busy parents, what if busy parents don’t actually want this?” So they expand to busy professionals, students and anyone else who might be interested.

The problem is that a solution that’s amazing for busy parents will naturally attract busy professionals and anyone else juggling priorities. But a solution designed for “everyone who’s busy” will be mediocre for all of them.

Going broad feels safer because it seems like you’re hedging your bets. But you’re actually making a much riskier bet. You’re betting you can out-execute every focused competitor who’s solving the specific problems you’re trying to solve generally. The restaurant that tries to serve “food for everyone” ends up with a massive menu that’s mediocre at everything.

Fear-driven broadness is the opposite of product-market fit.