Great morning read. I run a niche natural wine brand, and this felt like a timely confidence boost.
That said, building ultra-niche from the inside is not romantic, it’s endurance. You deliberately narrow your market, grow slower, and carry conviction long before the numbers validate it. In the young wine scene especially, where anti-alcohol sentiment is reshaping consumption, the margin for error feels razor thin.
I’ve caught myself wondering how long you can push deeper into niche before you have to widen again, not out of strategy, but survival. At what point does focus become fragility..
This is spot on. I run an ultra-niche business and success is found by leaning into the hyperfocus and the obsessive. We don’t pay for SEO because our content has naturally risen to the top
the thing that stayed in my mind the last few weeks is a friend of mine who at a dinner table said that his life goal is to save the rivers. I was like what a weird thing to say, and how beautiful at the same time. Weird interests paired with ambition goals, simply makes me listen to someone all day long.
this line struck me: "The status now comes from resisting this sameness through deep, idiosyncratic commitment to something the algorithm would never surface." in my little corner of the world, i'm seeing this ethos play out in real-world (not digital) commitments—more hyper-niche small businesses, pop-ups, events, etc. it gives me hope!
I love still seeing the Francis example referenced! I lead the strategy on this back in 2022 at Highsnob!
Also manifesting that my gaming x style niche grows, but to the point others have made here, going for this kind of niche is a slow burn, but my somewhat delusional conviction keeps me going.
📸SelfMagic is a daring, demanding and doable branding framework for women ready to reimagine and reintroduce themselves.
💃The Divine Darlings, goddess avatars made from Legos, art pieces on their own right. Then I take them to the beach and play with them, in all weather, sand and waves. That creates unpredictable, visual materials. It’s my way to grapple with the question: how do we build, break apart, and reinvent identity on our own terms?
So I am that niche creator, creating my own culture. I never considered lending this lens to other brands. That thought alone sparked so much.🙏
Great morning read. I run a niche natural wine brand, and this felt like a timely confidence boost.
That said, building ultra-niche from the inside is not romantic, it’s endurance. You deliberately narrow your market, grow slower, and carry conviction long before the numbers validate it. In the young wine scene especially, where anti-alcohol sentiment is reshaping consumption, the margin for error feels razor thin.
I’ve caught myself wondering how long you can push deeper into niche before you have to widen again, not out of strategy, but survival. At what point does focus become fragility..
Would love your take on that tension.
This is spot on. I run an ultra-niche business and success is found by leaning into the hyperfocus and the obsessive. We don’t pay for SEO because our content has naturally risen to the top
the thing that stayed in my mind the last few weeks is a friend of mine who at a dinner table said that his life goal is to save the rivers. I was like what a weird thing to say, and how beautiful at the same time. Weird interests paired with ambition goals, simply makes me listen to someone all day long.
Depressing but so well articulated. Thank you for trying to wake us up.
this line struck me: "The status now comes from resisting this sameness through deep, idiosyncratic commitment to something the algorithm would never surface." in my little corner of the world, i'm seeing this ethos play out in real-world (not digital) commitments—more hyper-niche small businesses, pop-ups, events, etc. it gives me hope!
I love still seeing the Francis example referenced! I lead the strategy on this back in 2022 at Highsnob!
Also manifesting that my gaming x style niche grows, but to the point others have made here, going for this kind of niche is a slow burn, but my somewhat delusional conviction keeps me going.
Thank you for this!!!
I have 2 creative/obsessive practices.
📸SelfMagic is a daring, demanding and doable branding framework for women ready to reimagine and reintroduce themselves.
💃The Divine Darlings, goddess avatars made from Legos, art pieces on their own right. Then I take them to the beach and play with them, in all weather, sand and waves. That creates unpredictable, visual materials. It’s my way to grapple with the question: how do we build, break apart, and reinvent identity on our own terms?
So I am that niche creator, creating my own culture. I never considered lending this lens to other brands. That thought alone sparked so much.🙏