How to spot what others will build while you're busy scaling

Introduction

Every organization, whether a startup or a market leader, must make strategic tradeoffs. But those choices, while deliberate, create blindspots. Blindspots are not failures. They are simply the spaces others can use as stepping-stones to disrupt, innovate, or differentiate.

This blog attempts to introduce the concept of the Strategic Blindspot Radar and distills powerful lessons from real-world disruptions across industries. Importantly, this is not about framing one strategy as better than another. Instead, it’s about cultivating awareness of where your tradeoffs may be unintentionally opening opportunities for others.

1. Tradeoffs are not mistakes, but they are vulnerabilities

Lesson: Saying "no" to a feature, segment, or delivery model today creates opportunity space for someone else tomorrow.
Analogy: If you build a highway for high-speed travel, someone else may build bike lanes that reach places you overlooked.
Real-world example: Slack prioritized knowledge workers in tech; Discord targeted gamers. Eventually, Discord began eating into broader team communication use cases.
Balanced view: Neither approach was wrong. Slack optimized for enterprise. Discord rode community-first engagement. The tradeoffs were valid, but awareness of overlap became crucial.

2. Transparency and extensibility are strategic surfaces

Lesson: Being open, modular, and easy to extend is not just a developer-friendly practice, it's a competitive strategy.
Analogy: Think IKEA. Their innovation wasn't just in furniture, but in letting customers co-create the final product.
Real-world example: Meta open-sourced LLaMA models; OpenAI stayed closed. Meta won open-source loyalty. OpenAI maintained control and monetization.
Balanced view: Meta gained developer goodwill and rapid iteration; OpenAI gained trust from enterprise partners. Both are valid. The lesson: know the tradeoffs and monitor shifts.

3. Speed to Adoption Beats Technical Perfection

Lesson: Early usability and community traction often outperform long-term superiority.
Analogy: Beta tools that solve 80% of the problem may dominate before a polished version catches up.
Real-world example: Notion rose with rapid, scrappy iteration. Microsoft Loop took years to polish and integrate into Office.
Balanced view: Notion won creators and startups early. Microsoft Loop may win large orgs long-term. Strategy isn’t about speed vs perfection, it’s about knowing what phase you are in and what risks you tolerate.

4. Brand DNA defines strategic perception

Lesson: Your original story shapes expectations. Changing course opens the door for challengers to take your place in the narrative.
Analogy: If Netflix went back to DVD delivery, it would confuse users and create space for new-age streamers.
Real-world example: Google framed itself as an AI-first, open research company. When it slowed open releases, companies like Anthropic and Mistral stepped in to reclaim the openness mantle.
Balanced view: Strategic shifts are normal but must be narratively managed. Otherwise, competitors define you by what you no longer do.

5. Innovation isn't just about building bigger, but smarter

Lesson: Incremental scale is predictable. Strategic scale is finding overlooked adjacencies: underserved users, regions, formats, or cost layers.
Analogy: Tesla didn’t just make electric cars. It redefined charging infrastructure and vertical integration.
Real-world example: Zoom scaled video for business. Discord scaled it for community. Each innovated in different lanes.
Balanced view: Zoom prioritized enterprise reliability. Discord prioritized community, fun and flexibility. Different tradeoffs, different strengths.

6. Aspirational strategy must coexist with practical wins

Lesson: Focusing only on what's next (e.g., AGI, IPO, multi-modal, Series D) creates dissonance with what users need now.
Analogy: A company may dream of building a space elevator but forget to improve its website's search bar.
Real-world example: Twitter (pre-X) focused on product experiments (Spaces, NFTs) while neglecting core feed quality. Substack leaned into simplicity and writer tools.
Balanced view: Being future-facing is essential. But users live in the present. Winning both timelines requires strategic duality.

7. Don’t just benchmark success, benchmark blindspots

Lesson: Traditional metrics (ARR, MAU, CSAT) don’t show what you left behind. Strategic foresight comes from auditing what you chose not to optimize.
Analogy: You’re measuring road length but not noticing the number of unpaved paths your users are forging themselves.
Real-world example: Adobe focused on creative professionals. Canva grew by democratizing design for non-designers and students.
Balanced view: Adobe remains a pro tool powerhouse. Canva identified a user blindspot and expanded the market. Both playbooks are valid; one emerged from the other's blindspot.

The Strategic Blindspot Radar

A simple tool to spot risk and innovation zones. It can be extended to include more factors, based on your needs.

2x2 Radar Matrix

	Low Internal Priority	High Internal Priority
High Market Demand	*Disruption Zone*	Core Growth / Must Win
Low Market Demand	Low Risk / Ignore	R&D / Long-Bet Experiments

Disruption Zone: Where you deprioritize, but others find unmet demand.
Use Case: Run quarterly radar reviews. Plot roadmap items, customer feedback, and observed market trends.

Strategic Blindspot Awareness Checklist

Category	Checklist question	Why it matters	Status (✔/✖)	Notes / Actions
1. Strategic Deprioritization	What features, segments, or markets have we consciously said “no” to?	Tradeoffs create white spaces that others can build in.
	Have we reviewed these “no” areas in the last 3–6 months?	Blindspots evolve, yesterday's “low ROI” may now be viable.
	Is anyone monitoring market traction in these areas?	Passive monitoring is the first step to proactive defense.
2. User Workarounds & Behavior Drift	Are users hacking or using the product in unintended ways?	These are signals of hidden demand or poor fit.
	Are workarounds increasing in support tickets, forums, or online communities?	When unofficial use becomes common, a new market may be forming.
	Do we have a process to validate or productize emerging behavior?	Could prevent churn and unlock new value streams.
3. Competitive Traction in our gaps	Are startups growing where we chose not to build?	Others often turn your deprioritized zones into their differentiation.
	What do their users say about their experience vs ours?	Hearing “they’re more open,” or “easier” indicates a perception blindspot.
	Are former users migrating to alternatives in these zones?	Migration is a loud signal, track not just why, but where.
4. Assumed Tradeoffs	Which tradeoffs are embedded in our roadmap or org culture?	Unchallenged assumptions are the root of persistent blindspots.
	Have we explicitly tested these assumptions recently (e.g., via experiments)?	Tradeoffs made 12 months ago may no longer hold in market conditions.
	Do we track the opportunity cost of these tradeoffs visibly?	Without visibility, blindspots become status quo.
5. Blindspot Radar Practice	Have we mapped our current roadmap priorities against market demand?	Reveals the Disruption Zone (low priority + high demand).
	Are we investing at least 10–20% in exploring potential blindspots?	Keeps you nimble while focusing on core bets.
	Do we run cross-functional radar reviews (Product + Sales + Support)?	Insights often live at the edge of disciplines.
6. Signals from the Edge	Do we listen to power users, lost deals, or partner feedback regularly?	Blindspots often show up first in edge cases.
	Is there a quarterly “blindspot sync” in your product strategy cadence?	Institutionalizing awareness prevents institutional blindness.
	Do we reward teams that surface and explore uncomfortable truths?	Culture of curiosity defends against stagnation.

Meta-Lesson: Strategy = Prioritization + Perception

💡

It’s not just about where you focus, but how your users interpret it. A well-intentioned no can feel like neglect. Awareness prevents surprise.

Blindspots aren't failures. They are natural outcomes of focus. The key is recognizing them before others capitalize on them.

If you're a founder, strategist, or product leader:

Audit your blindspots regularly.
Build a radar, not just a roadmap.
Invite feedback from unexpected users.

Tradeoffs are necessary. Being unaware of their second-order effects is not.