Mediocrity Doesn’t Win: Pick a Side

In business, the worst place to be is in the middle. It’s where dreams go to die. It’s where brand identity becomes muddy, messaging gets watered down, and value propositions feel like a shrug. If your product or service is “kind of for everyone,” then it’s truly for no one.

Winning in today’s market demands clarity and courage. You must choose between two proven paths:

1. Solve high-value problems for a few rich people and charge a premium, or
2. Solve mass-market problems for a lot of people and scale aggressively.

You can be premium and exclusive, or you can be mass and affordable. But you cannot be both. Let’s dig into what picking a side looks like—and why not doing so can quietly sabotage your business.

The Premium Play: Deep Value for a Few

When you solve expensive, high-stakes problems for people with money, you don’t need volume—you need precision. You’re not just offering a product or a service; you’re offering transformation, exclusivity, access, or security.

This model thrives on quality, trust, and positioning. Your clients aren’t just paying for what you do—they’re paying for how you do it and who you are.

Example: Tesla (early years)

Tesla didn’t roll out a $30,000 sedan in year one. It launched the Roadster, a sexy electric sports car that cost more than $100,000. Why? Because the battery and drivetrain technology were expensive, and economies of scale weren’t there yet.

But instead of competing on price, Elon Musk chose to go after affluent early adopters—people who cared about innovation, sustainability, and status. Tesla created a sense of exclusivity and performance around electric vehicles, which at the time were considered slow and boring.

That early success funded the development of more accessible models like the Model S and eventually the Model 3. But make no mistake: Tesla started by solving a high-value problem for a high-end audience.

This path requires patience, long-term thinking, and an obsessive focus on craftsmanship and customer experience. But the payoff is high margins, loyal fans, and brand prestige.

Other great examples:

• Rolex: They’re not trying to compete with Casio. They’re selling timeless luxury, not just timekeeping.
• Salesforce: It’s not the cheapest CRM on the market, but enterprises pay a premium for robust features, integrations, and support.
• Private jet charter companies: Solving the ultimate high-stakes problem—saving time—for people whose time is worth thousands per hour.

The Mass-Market Play: Solve for Millions

At the other end of the spectrum is the mass-market model: serve millions, make it easy, make it affordable, and build systems that scale.

Here, you aren’t focused on elite performance—you’re focused on accessibility, volume, and operational efficiency. You make your money not on the margin, but on the multiplication.

Example: McDonald’s

McDonald’s didn’t invent the hamburger. They invented a system. Ray Kroc saw potential in the McDonald brothers’ simple, fast, and consistent process—and scaled it across the globe.

They didn’t try to be gourmet. They didn’t offer artisan buns or grass-fed beef. They doubled down on fast, cheap, and reliable. A McDonald’s burger in New York tastes the same as one in Tokyo or London.

By doing one thing extremely well—delivering consistent fast food—they became a global empire. It wasn’t about impressing food critics. It was about feeding millions.

Other mass-market winners:

• IKEA: Stylish furniture at affordable prices, flat-packed for self-assembly. Their systems are as innovative as their designs.
• Walmart: Always low prices. They didn’t try to be Target. They built a business on volume, efficiency, and cost-cutting.
• Spotify: Instead of selling $10 albums, they made music free (or cheap) for the masses, and monetized through ads and subscriptions.

This route requires operational excellence, lean pricing models, and relentless focus on reach and ease of adoption. But when done right, it creates unstoppable momentum.

The Dead Zone: Trying to Be Both

Now let’s talk about what not to do.

Straddling both worlds—trying to cater to both the premium and the mass market—might seem like a good way to “maximize opportunities.” In reality, it weakens your brand and confuses your market. You lose clarity, and worse, you lose trust.

Let’s look at a cautionary tale.

Example: J.C. Penney

In 2011, J.C. Penney hired former Apple retail executive Ron Johnson to revive the struggling brand. His vision: reposition J.C. Penney as a more upscale, stylish retailer—one that offered “everyday low prices” rather than constant discounting.

The problem? J.C. Penney’s customer base didn’t want that. They loved coupons, flash sales, and bargain hunting. Meanwhile, the more affluent customers Johnson wanted to attract weren’t interested in shopping at a brand they saw as mid-tier.

The brand was stuck in the middle. It didn’t go all in on luxury, nor did it double down on its existing value shoppers. Sales nosedived by over 25% in a single year. The stock price crashed. Johnson was fired.

They didn’t pick a side, and the market punished them for it.

Other examples of brand confusion:

• Sears tried to become both an appliance showroom and a discount department store—and failed at both.
• Yahoo couldn’t decide whether it was a media company, a search engine, or a tech platform—and lost ground to Google, Netflix, and Facebook simultaneously.
• BlackBerry tried to appeal to both enterprise and consumers, while Apple doubled down on user experience and won the smartphone war.

The Psychology of Picking a Side

So why do businesses resist picking a lane? Because it’s scary. It feels like you’re leaving money on the table.

“If we only target high-end customers, aren’t we ignoring 90% of the market?”

“If we only serve the mass market, aren’t we capping our margins?”

But here’s the truth: you’re not supposed to serve everyone. Trying to appeal to everyone waters down your message, weakens your product, and leaves you vulnerable to stronger, more focused competitors. On the other hand, when you go all in on one path, you can build systems, stories, and strategies around it. You gain traction. You get known for something.

Picking a side creates momentum. Momentum builds brand. Brand creates loyalty. Loyalty brings growth.

How to Decide Which Side Is Yours

Still not sure where you belong? Here are three questions to help you choose:

What kind of problem are you solving?

1. Is it high-stakes, complex, or emotionally charged? (Premium)
2. Is it frequent, widespread, or convenience-driven? (Mass-market)

Who is your ideal customer?

1. Affluent, discerning, and willing to pay for quality? (Premium)
2. Budget-conscious, value-driven, and seeking simplicity? (Mass-market)

What are your operational strengths?

1. Do you excel at craftsmanship, service, and experience? (Premium)
2. Do you crush systems, automation, and logistics? (Mass-market)

You don’t have to guess. Study your industry. Look at what’s working. And most importantly, get brutally honest about what kind of business you’re really building.

Final Word: Mediocrity Is a Death Sentence

If there’s one truth that holds across every market, every product, and every generation, it’s this:

The middle is dangerous.

The businesses that win are the ones with the guts to say, “This is who we’re for—and this is who we’re not for.”

They either go deep and premium, solving big problems for high-paying clients. Or they go broad and scalable, solving everyday problems for the masses. They don’t hedge. They don’t compromise. They commit.

So pick a side. Own it. And stop trying to please everyone. Because in the market, clarity wins. And mediocrity doesn’t.

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Further reading: Attracting long-term investors: A strategic guide for founders