10.25
The small petty inconveniences shoppers are too embarrassed to talk about

Life is filled with things — problems and inconveniences, however trivial or consequential, that get in the way.

Some things, such as a cracked windshield, are obvious and expensive. Others, such as a drop of piss on the edge of your toilet seat, are social. Still more, such as a dining table with a slight wobble, are harmless but irritating.

I’m drawn to a category of things so small and petty that when you interact with them, you don’t fully realize it. They blend in but not like a chameleon camouflaged on the bark of a tree. More like air temperature. They’re out there, constantly controlling you, but you don’t think to get rid of them.

Fortunately there are entire markets dedicated to doing exactly that.

The most striking example I know of is the market for faucet extenders for kids. My wife recently bought one. It saves me the 15 seconds I used to spend awkwardly holding my 3-year-old son up so he could wash his hands. There are dozens of faucet extenders for kids on Amazon. One has over 13,000 reviews.

How do you spot small petty things?

I try to pay attention to moderately annoying tasks that don’t appear to warrant intervention – yet if you asked me if I would pay to make them go away I would say “Yes, absolutely.” This sounds easy because it’s straightforward. But it’s hard because these tasks are only briefly annoying. And why would anyone want to pay more attention to something that’s annoying?

If you’re looking for startup ideas (and some fun) try to find a minimum viable thing: an inconvenience so pathetically minor you’d be embarrassed to mention it publicly. 

One example — again on the topic of male bathroom activities — is the issue of where a man peeing into a urinal should put the booger he just picked. At work, while standing at the urinal, I’ve noticed a few dried boogers smeared on the wall. It occurred to me that trying to zip your pants with a booger on your finger would be a thing, and smearing the booger on the wall the obvious solution.

(Unless someone invented, “The Booger Pad: A urinal-adjacent booger disposal for booger-free zipping.”)

Once you’ve found a small petty thing, you need to describe it and your solution. Not all Founders and marketers can do this, just like not every piano player can print out a Debussy score and play it. Whoever came up with “Pee-pee Teepee for the sprinkling wee-wee” – an inch-high felt tent that you place over your son’s ‘wee-wee’ while you change his diaper – is no amateur.
 

Small petty things are all around you. There’s something like Schumpeter’s creative destruction at play. Each era of innovation removes things only for new things to emerge, and on and on.

I’ve learned, as a parent first and market researcher second, to never underestimate small petty things. They’re as omnipresent and powerful as the weather, so dress accordingly.

You don’t want to get caught in a shower.