3 ms·

Things don't "disappear," they economically polarize to normal and inferior states. I was just coming here to say this, just in less precise terms. I have a hi

Things don't "disappear," they economically polarize to normal and inferior states. I was just coming here to say this, just in less precise terms. I have a history of frequenting cafes as a regular, only to become disillusioned over time. A cafe has become either something which can be established for very little money and a modicum of knowledge or something which takes a certain level of fit and finish to appeal to a well heeled subgroup. Arguably, a quality middle is the effect of a temporary distortion or disequllibrium, where for whatever reason, quality has not been optimized out of an attractive price point. A good middle quality bistro doesn't compete on marginal price, it seeks to differentiate itself on features. So entrepreneurs should be on the lookout for the "quality middle" as a temporary market opportunity? Maybe this applies to some large fraction of all startups? It could be stated thus, "A shift in technology creates a new market opportunity for a 'quality middle' which hadn't existed before."

TeMPOraL 8y ago
> So entrepreneurs should be on the lookout for the "quality middle" as a temporary market opportunity? I guess very temporary, because the next step is for a typical entrepreneur to notice that there's a "quality middle" somewhere, which he/she can exploit by cutting some corners, selling for less, and taking over most customers.
motohagiography 8y ago
The distortion is often a quirk of geography, or taboo. There was a famous graffiti statement in a condo construction barrier growing up that was, "artists are the stormtroopers of gentrification." To take this further, that quality-middle is risk. It's possible that the sort of sick and uncanny aesthetics of corporate franchises are our reaction to the a disequllibrium of risk. Reacting to something that lacks skin in the game as a trap seems like a reasonable instinct. It's a representation or a simulacrum, something we recognize in nature as bait. The things we romanticize, like old cafes, are expressions of risks taken. Where there is little risk, perhaps on some animal level we expect scavengers and death. Gentrification is de-risking, as is franchising, and imho some portfolio management as well. There is probably an underlying aesthetics of risk theory in there, however, we should leave that one for Nassim Taleb.

TeMPOraL 8y ago

> So entrepreneurs should be on the lookout for the "quality middle" as a temporary market opportunity? I guess very temporary, because the next step is for a typical entrepreneur to notice that there's a "quality middle" somewhere, which he/she can exploit by cutting some corners, selling for less, and taking over most customers.

motohagiography 8y ago

The distortion is often a quirk of geography, or taboo. There was a famous graffiti statement in a condo construction barrier growing up that was, "artists are the stormtroopers of gentrification." To take this further, that quality-middle is risk. It's possible that the sort of sick and uncanny aesthetics of corporate franchises are our reaction to the a disequllibrium of risk. Reacting to something that lacks skin in the game as a trap seems like a reasonable instinct. It's a representation or a simulacrum, something we recognize in nature as bait. The things we romanticize, like old cafes, are expressions of risks taken. Where there is little risk, perhaps on some animal level we expect scavengers and death. Gentrification is de-risking, as is franchising, and imho some portfolio management as well. There is probably an underlying aesthetics of risk theory in there, however, we should leave that one for Nassim Taleb.