Hi there,

How would it be to tell your grandkids that you met your wife on Youtube? Weird? Yes, that’s why that did not take off. The video streaming service, Youtube, was initially a dating website where people could upload videos of themselves talking about their ideal partner. The founders even offered $20 for women who uploaded videos of themselves, but nobody came forward. 

So, instead of telling people what to upload, the founders decided to let people decide what they wanted to upload. Then it came. 18 seconds footage of elephants, the tsunami, how to build a pool, name it, and you got it. Soon Youtube was welcoming over 30,000 viewers a day. Within six months, there were over 2 million users on the website every day. 

Many businesses make the mistake of assuming that they know what their customers want. But if you listen closely to the market and follow the breadcrumbs your customer leaves, you might see something very different. It might as well be the yellow brick road to disruption. In this week’s Compass, let's take a look at some untapped opportunities.