D2C brand Playbook - Part 1 - Thinking of finding a gap in a crowded market for your business?

 Building a D2C brand? 

Here are 6 dilemmas that haunt every founder & marketer 👇

1️⃣ Thinking of finding a gap in a crowded market?

Start with the customer’s pain. That’s where the white space lies.

2️⃣ Starting to build a new product?

Don’t build from get-go. Steal this Amazon trick. Write a PRFAQ doc First.


3️⃣ First product in a new category; go mass or go premium?

You can inspire by magic; not by price. First stop - 1000 raving fans.


4️⃣ Have a WIP product; but no budget for marketing?

You don’t need money. You need honesty. Build in public.


5️⃣ Building your product in public; but why build your founder brand along?

Because people trust people. Face is your moat against faceless MNCs.


6️⃣ Crafting your brand; go niche or cater to everyone?

You can't build emotional connection with everyone. Unless you’re God.


Lets unpack the first one -

"How to position a new brand in a mature market dominated by 2-3 giants?" Feels impossible, right?

Honestly, that's most categories today.

🚕 Cabs – Ola, Uber
🍔 Food delivery – Zomato, Swiggy
💸 UPI apps – PhonePe, GPay, Paytm

Take UPI.
There are 200 apps for UPI.
But still there are gaps to build one!

Let's start with the consumer.

What matters to her?
✅ Speed – It should finish in a flash
✅ Reliability – No glitches, no drama

But, that’s table stakes. Everyone’s doing that.

So, what could currently be consumer pain points?
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🔍 1. I can't find the 'point to QR' button when I need to pay fast!

In current apps, at times it's like doing a treasure hunt in Chandni Chowk.

🎁 2. I feel cheated with those fake rewards & coins?

When you complete a txn, what do you get:
-“Win up to ₹100” = ₹1 most times
- Coins you can only shred
-Coupon spam

Why call them rewards? Call them spammy messages, no?

🧘 3. I feel lost in the sea of tiles & banners, when i open that super app for simple stuff - like finding txn history!

What the consumer needs is:
-Cleaner UI,
-Minimalistic functions.
-Not your super app to sell them more.

That's 3 axes for differentiation out of user behaviour!!

And we haven’t even touched demographics or attitudes yet.

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💡 The insight:
There’s always room for a new entrant.
If you think consumer-backward, not category-forward.