I recently went on a trip with around 30 entrepreneurs, mostly in e-commerce. My main takeaway? The vehicle you're in determines your success more than almost anything else.
Looking at the group, a lot of them were actually very similar. The ones running the most successful businesses weren't working the hardest. They weren't the most confident or the most alpha. They weren't more intelligent than the rest.
The main difference was simply what they were selling. There was more demand for it. They launched products at the right time, which meant they could scale quickly. That was it.
What the successful ones had in common
If anything, the most successful were notably humble. No showing off, very matter-of-fact. They understood the logic behind their business and didn't overcomplicate things. They were patient. They took action, but once they had initial success, they were already actively looking for the next opportunity.
The other thing that stood out was the depth of research they did before launching anything.
There's common advice to just start, get moving, figure it out as you go. I agree with that, especially for beginners. But as you become more experienced, it's critical to sharpen your senses and understand where opportunity actually lies.
This doesn't come from magical inspiration. It comes from constantly looking, analysing, and weighing up where demand waves are heading. The best entrepreneurs I met had notes upon notes on where they thought opportunities existed. What's out there, where they could add value, what customers are unhappy with. Some would scour every review in a category to understand what was missing.
The takeaways
Be ambitious about the vehicle you choose. The best opportunities are where it's hard to execute, where you're solving real problems and adding massive value. Understand that there's a ceiling on how big you can get if you're selling something people don't desperately want.
Always be analysing. Where are people spending money? Where are the trends heading? Where are customers frustrated with existing options?
But here's the tension: don't just jump whenever you see something shiny. Bide your time. Throw away 99% of ideas. Keep detailed notes, analyse what's good and bad, and wait.
Then, when something ticks every box and you're early to a genuine wave, move fast and pounce.
Slow until it's time to be quick. That's probably the hardest skill in entrepreneurship.