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Hello and welcome to the 186th edition of Fresh Salmon.

If you're new here, welcome aboard! 🧡
And if you’d like to catch up on past issues, click here.

Meet our primary partner for today’s edition: Roku. Check them out 👇

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Creating a Category of One

In 2014, Peter Thiel stood in front of a Stanford lecture hall and dropped a line that still rattles builders a decade later:

At first, it sounds wrong. Isn’t capitalism all about competition?

But his point is deadly simple: truly successful companies don’t win competitions. They avoid them.

Look at the numbers he cited:

• U.S. airlines: $195B in revenue, zero cumulative profit over 100 years.

• Google (2012): $50B in revenue, 21% profit margins.

Airlines create massive value but capture none of it.

Google creates less overall value but captures billions.

Why?

Because airlines fight brutal competition, while Google quietly owns its market.

Thiel put it bluntly:

Meet our secondary partner for today’s edition: AdQuick. Check them out 👇👇

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The Competitive Trap vs. The Monopoly Mindset

In perfect competition, economic theory says profits get competed away.

That’s why restaurants, gyms, and agencies grind on razor-thin margins.

Monopolists, on the other hand, invent something new. They get pricing power, fat margins, and endurance. Google’s search dominance since 2002 is an example of escaping the competition, and turning into a monopoly.

Competition makes you a little better. Monopoly lets you set the game entirely.

The Monopoly Paradox: Why Everyone Lies

Here’s the twist:

• Monopolists pretend they aren’t. Google insists it’s just one player in the “technology market,” not a search monopoly. Keeps regulators off their back.

• Non-monopolists pretend they are. A SaaS startup claims it’s “the only AI workflow tool for mid-size dental clinics”, slicing the niche as thin as possible to sound unique.

The truth?

Most “unique” businesses are generic. Most “humble” monopolists are printing money.

Lesson: Don’t take the narrative at face value. The companies that own markets rarely brag about it. The ones that don’t often exaggerate.

Start Small, Dominate, Then Expand

So how do you become a category of one?

Every legendary company started by cornering a niche others ignored:

• PayPal didn’t fight banks. It owned payments for 20,000 eBay sellers. Within months, it had 25–30% of that market. That foothold propelled it into mainstream e-commerce.

• Facebook didn’t compete with MySpace on day one. It dominated Harvard. Ten days in, 60% of the campus was on Facebook. From there it expanded Ivy by Ivy, campus by campus.

• Tesla didn’t launch with a Toyota rival. It built the $98,000 Roadster - a status symbol for wealthy Silicon Valley gearheads. That niche funded expansion into the Model S, 3, Y.

The pattern is consistent: own a pond, then enlarge it.

Amazon started with books. Uber with San Francisco. Nail a small circle, then push outward. By the time competitors notice, you’re already the default.

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Create Your Own Game

The real endgame is not being 10x better than rivals. That’s hard.

It’s being the only one doing the thing at all.

If you invent a new category - even a small one - your product doesn’t just compete. It redefines the playing field.

In Thiel’s words: “If you just create something totally new, it’s like an infinite improvement.”

That’s how you stop competing on price, features, or ads, and start winning by default.

How to Build a Category of One

• Aim for monopoly, not a marginal edge. Incremental wins fade. Category wins compound.

• Start narrow. Better to own 1,000 loyal customers in a niche than be another option to a million.

• Don’t position as “like X, but with Y.” Define a new problem only you solve. Reframe the problem.

• Embrace “small” opportunities. Bookstores, college campuses, eBay sellers - tiny ponds grow into oceans.

• Leverage a true advantage. Proprietary tech, network effects, distribution - something others can’t clone overnight.

The Key Takeaways:

“Competition is for losers” isn’t laziness. It’s discipline.

Don’t join the crowded race, gasping to finish first.

Design a race only you can run.

The best founders don’t just outplay competitors.
They write the rules, own the board, and win by default.

That’s what it means to be a Category of One.

Interesting Thing That I Wrote This Week

That’s it for this week! If you found this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend.

See you next time!

Do what is good for your soul ❤️

All the best,

Vivek

PS. Whenever you are ready, here are 3 ways in which I can help you and your business:

#1: B2B Marketing Consulting and Go-To-Market Advisory for your business.

#2: 1-on-1 Personal Coaching and Mentoring on anything related to Marketing and Go-To-Market Strategies for you.

#3: Promoting you or your brand via this newsletter.

For any of these things just shoot me a reply, and we will arrange a time to chat.