Travis Kalanick intentionally cut prices to trigger a growth flywheel: lower fares led to more riders, which attracted more drivers, enabling even lower prices. This strategy didn't just steal share from taxis; it fundamentally expanded the total addressable market for personal transportation.

The biggest opportunities often address needs that don't appear on a customer's "calendar" because no good solution exists. Products like Lovable for web design unlock latent demand by finally providing an accessible way to accomplish a goal that was previously too difficult.

Real demand isn't a wish list; it's an active struggle. "Coping" customers are fighting a subpar solution right now, while "blocked" customers would act immediately if a viable option existed. Both represent a "spring-loaded" market ready to adopt a new product that solves their problem.

A 'dam' represents pent-up demand where users are frustrated and merely 'coping' with the status quo. Introducing a 10x better solution, often via new tech, doesn't create demand; it bursts the dam, releasing a flood of customers who see it as a magical fix for a problem they already have.

Some of the largest markets address needs customers have completely given up on because no viable solution existed. This powerful latent demand is invisible if you only observe current activities. You must uncover the high-priority goals on their mental "to-do list" that they have quit trying to achieve.

Pull isn't just a problem; it's a state of active struggle. Think of it as physics: the customer is applying force toward a project, but their existing options are applying a counter-force. Your product's role is to unblock this potential energy, which is often invisible until a viable new solution is presented.

Investors err when they size a new market based on its predecessor (e.g., Uber vs. taxis). A fundamental supply-side change creates new capabilities that unlock massive, previously invisible demand, making initial market size calculations dangerously conservative.

Since "blocked" demand is unobservable, you must ask questions that reveal it indirectly. Asking "If I spent $100M to build something for you, what problem would it solve?" forces customers to consider their most critical, unaddressed needs, bypassing their current behaviors and revealing latent demand.

The best market opportunities are problems customers aren't actively solving because they assume no solution exists. When you surface both the dormant problem (like paper forms) and a viable solution, you "activate" their pain, creating an immediate need with little competition.