The relativity of values causes us to use money irrationally. I go to the supermarket to buy a $15 pen, and the clerk smiles and says, “You can buy this pen for $7 if you walk 5 minutes from here.” Then, most people walk five minutes and buy a $15 pen for $7. But if you want to buy a $1,000 jacket and the clerk smiles and says, “You can get a $992 jacket in five minutes from here,” most people simply buy the $1,000 jacket. Reasonably, walking for 5 minutes equals the effort, and the profit of $8 is the same. However, people might go to a store that sells pens cheaper, but not for the jacket, because the discount rate is too low. In other words, the relativity of comparing values makes us act irrationally. The pen’s discount rate is 55%, and the jacket’s is only 0.8%. Yet, the total amount is the same for all $8, and the effort to gain that profit is identical. Attitudes and misconceptions about consumption influence how we build wealth. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Only a few founders genuinely grasp the essence of their businesses from the start. After launching, they often start to grasp the core of their ventures as their customer bases expand. If startups had a clearer insight into their businesses from the outset, they could significantly lower their chances of failure. The sooner you identify your business’s essence, the greater your chances for success will be. Furthermore, if you can quickly pivot your business direction—even if you realize it later—the likelihood of failure diminishes. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”