Problem Solvers Win Your Category
4 snips
Mar 30, 2026 
Kevin Maney, author and advisor on category design, shares his simple formula for creating and owning new market categories. He explains why setting market rules beats competing inside them. He uses examples like the minivan, White Claw, Uber, and LinkedIn to show how context, unmet needs, and design create lasting leadership.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Simple Formula For Creating New Categories
- Category creation follows a repeatable formula: Context plus Missing plus Innovation equals a new category.
- Context is changing conditions (e.g., AI, geopolitics) that expose unmet needs, which reveal where new innovations can define categories.
Avoid Competing In Existing Categories
- Don't compete inside someone else's category; instead, find context-driven unmet needs to define your own.
- If you enter an existing category you inherit its rules; creating a category lets you set expectations and pricing.
Change Creates Category Opportunities
- Context constantly changes, creating new problems or new solutions for old problems.
- Monitoring technological and societal shifts reveals opportunities where an unmet need can be solved uniquely.
