Be a Category Creator or Regret It Later. I Did.

Apple, Amazon, and Google created markets that didn't exist. When I saw flaws in the traditional business networking model, I created my own category. There is no better time to be a category creator.

Dec 01, 2023

Twenty-five years ago, I had a vision.

I wanted to create a new category in professional networking.

I envisioned professionals networking online and connecting through degrees of separation. In the Spring of 1999, I even bought the domain name tipclub.com to setup the website.

The naysayers told me it couldn’t be done.

They said professionals only wanted to connect through face-to-face meetings.

You would not be able to build genuine relationships, I was told.

There’s no way it would work was the response I got from nearly everyone.

So, I gave up.

A few years later, someone else developed a website for professional networking.

I stood on the sidelines as Reid Hoffman launched LinkedIn and created a new category in professional networking.

And it did very well.

Eventually, LinkedIn was acquired by Microsoft for $26 billion and is now approaching 1 billion users.

But I’m a big believer in second chances … more on that later.

How is a Category Created?

There are no rules or instructions on how to create a category.

I laughed when I first read the comical posting below of a sign at a library:

That is, until HBO released a show called Westworld that received numerous awards, winning nine Primetime Emmy Awards.

What was it about?

It is an inspirational American dystopian science fiction Western television series.

Bam! A new category is created!

Category Creators Just Do It Better

Nike may have said “Just Do It”.

But category creators say “Just Do It … Better.”

Most of the most successful companies in the world were not “Inventors” but rather “Improvers”.

Apple didn’t invent the cell phone.

But Apple did create it’s own category with the iPhone.

Google didn’t invent the search engine.

But Google still revolutionized search.

eBay didn’t invent online auctions.

But eBay’s online marketplace became the market leader and created a new space in online commerce.

My guess is the world is full of potential category creators.

They just need to take the leap and just do it.

Or do it better.

Nobody Knows Anything

How do you know a if a new category will be successful?

Marc Randolph, a co-founder of Netflix, said it best when he stated, "nobody knows anything".

Category creators simply identify a problem and solve it.

Or, better yet, they create a need:

“Some people say, "Give the customers what they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.”

― Steve Jobs

The category I am obsessed in creating now is strategic networking.

I envision strategic networking helping people in ways never seen before, such as:

Connecting to the unreachable
Engaging with untouchables
Discovering the unknown

We may not all be Steve Jobs.

But I believe we need more people like the unknown Hymen Lipman (inventor of the modern pencil) or Robert Kearns (creator of windshield wiper speeds).

What category are you ready to create?

Upcoming Events

Interested in growing your business network and sharing knowledge?

Check out our upcoming events:

Local Business Networking Meetings: https://www.tipclub.co/events
Community Networking Event: https://tipclub-jan-10-2024.eventbrite.com
Government Networking Event: https://gov-jan-2024.eventbrite.com
LinkedIn Workshop: https://LinkedIn-jan-2024.eventbrite.com

Week 10 of “The Experiment”

As I enter the final month of the 100 Days of Social Networking Experiment, I am still undecided on a final strategy for 2024. With 2/3 of the experiment completed, I have been disappointed with some of my observations but, quite frankly, pleasantly surprised by other developments.

Here are some of the Networking Tips I posted this past week on social media: