STEP 1.3: A CASE STUDY
Identifies His Niche Market
Leo's core concept is "to create durable leather goods for people who reject throwaway culture." But who are those people, really? A college student and a seasoned executive have very different needs. Leo needs to find his specific niche.
The Challenge
How does Leo find the specific group of people who are most frustrated with poor quality goods and willing to invest in an alternative?
The Action: Simplified Market Sensing
He starts by using Ki to generate keywords like 'durable wallet' and 'quality leather goods'. He then uses these keywords to guide his research across three areas:
1. Digital Listening
He browses the r/BuyItForLife subreddit and finds thousands of people sharing pictures of decades-old products and complaining about modern brands that fail after a year.
Key Finding:
There is an active, passionate community that values longevity and craftsmanship far more than branding or trends.
2. Competitor Analysis
He looks at mass-market wallet brands on Amazon. The 3-star reviews often say, "It looked nice at first, but the stitching came apart in six months."
Key Finding:
Competitors are winning on price but failing on durability. There's a clear gap for a product that is built to last.
3. Problem-First Searching
He googles "how to repair leather wallet" and finds countless articles and videos of people trying to fix their broken, low-quality items.
Key Finding:
People are investing their own time to fix bad products, proving the problem is painful and a high-quality alternative is needed.
The Outcome: A Focused Hypothesis
After pinning his key findings from each research area, Leo uses Ki to synthesize them into a sharp, focused 'First Audience Hypothesis.'
Leo's First Audience Hypothesis:
"My ideal first customer is a quality-conscious professional who is frustrated with mass-market accessories that constantly need replacing, and is currently trying to solve it by either repairing old items or endlessly searching for a durable alternative."
With this specific hypothesis, Leo now has a clear direction for his validation interviews in Step 2.