Create a Category, Not Just a Product

That’s the essence of category creation—building something so unique that customers can’t compare it to anything else. Instead of fighting for a slice of an existing market, you create a whole new market around your idea.

Think about how Airbnb, Tesla, or HubSpot grew. They didn’t just sell better products. They redefined the rules of their industries and created new categories entirely.

Here’s how you can do the same—how to move from building a product to creating a category that customers remember, talk about, and rally behind.

1. Why Competing in Existing Categories Is a Trap

Most businesses fight in crowded markets where everyone looks and sounds the same. When you enter an existing category—like “coffee shops,” “fitness apps,” or “consulting services”—you’re immediately compared to others.

That comparison limits your growth. You end up:

• Competing on price instead of value

• Imitating rather than innovating

• Struggling for attention in a noisy space

But when you create a category, you shift the game entirely. Customers stop asking, “Which one should I choose?” and start asking, “How do I get in on this new thing?”

Example:

Before Airbnb, travel meant hotels. Airbnb didn’t try to be a cheaper hotel—they created a new way to travel: “belonging anywhere.” The category wasn’t “accommodation.” It was home-sharing.

They didn’t improve the old model. They built a new one.

2. What It Means to Create a Category

Creating a category means introducing a new frame of reference—a way for customers to think differently about a problem and its solution.

Instead of being another choice in an existing market, you define a new market space that only you occupy (at least at first).

That requires three key elements:

1. A unique problem definition – seeing a pain point others overlook.

2. A new approach or model – solving it in a way that changes expectations.

3. A compelling narrative – teaching the market to understand your vision.

Example:

HubSpot didn’t sell marketing software—they invented inbound marketing. By reframing how businesses attract customers, they built a movement that made their product essential.

Your category is born when your story changes how people think—not just what they buy.

3. Find a Problem the Market Doesn’t Fully Understand Yet

Every new category begins with a hidden or underappreciated problem.

Look for frustrations people accept as “normal” or needs that are growing but unmet.

Ask yourself:

• What pain points do customers complain about but tolerate?

• What outdated assumptions dominate my industry?

• What’s changing—technologically, culturally, or socially—that others ignore?

Example:

Before Peloton, home exercise was lonely and uninspiring. Gyms had energy, but home workouts lacked connection. Peloton didn’t just sell bikes—it solved a social problem by combining fitness, technology, and community into a new category: connected fitness.

Find that unspoken problem, and you’ll find the seed of your category.

4. Create a New Language Around Your Idea

Every successful category creator invents new words to describe their vision. Language shapes perception—and perception shapes markets.

Your audience can’t believe in something new if they don’t have the words to describe it.

Think about:

• Salesforce → “Cloud computing”

• Slack → “Team collaboration hub”

• Zoom → “Virtual meetings made human”

By naming a concept, you give it legitimacy. You make it real.

So craft category-defining language—terms, phrases, and metaphors that capture your innovation and separate it from the old way of doing things.

Pro Tip:

If people start repeating your phrases (like “inbound marketing” or “smart home”), you’ve begun shaping the conversation. That’s when category creation takes root.

5. Build a Movement, Not Just a Marketing Campaign

You can’t create a category alone—you need believers.

Your goal is to educate the market and rally a community around your vision.

Start by:

• Publishing insights that redefine how people view the problem.

• Hosting events, webinars, or content series to spread your philosophy.

• Turning early adopters into evangelists who spread your message.

Example:

When Drift launched, they didn’t just sell chat software. They created the conversational marketing movement—publishing books, blogs, and podcasts around the idea that marketing should feel like a two-way conversation, not a broadcast.

They didn’t sell a product. They sold a belief.

Movements turn brands into leaders and customers into followers.

6. Design the Experience That Defines Your Category

Your brand experience is your category’s physical proof. It’s how customers feel your innovation in action.

Ask yourself:

• What emotional experience defines our new way of doing things?

• How can our design, packaging, and tone reinforce our uniqueness?

• What rituals can we create around our brand that no one else offers?

Example:

Tesla turned car ownership into an identity statement. From over-the-air updates to minimalist design and referral programs, every touchpoint reinforces the feeling of belonging to the future of driving—not just owning a car.

Your experience should make customers say, “This isn’t like anything I’ve tried before.”

That’s how you define your category in their minds.

7. Educate Relentlessly

When you create a new category, your biggest challenge isn’t competition—it’s awareness.

You’re asking people to think differently, which means education is your greatest weapon.

Ways to do this effectively:

• Content marketing: Share thought leadership that redefines the conversation.

• Case studies: Prove your approach works in the real world.

• Community building: Encourage customers to share stories and feedback.

• Public speaking: Position yourself as the voice of a new movement.

Example:

When Dollar Shave Club entered the grooming industry, they didn’t talk about razors—they made a viral video about how ridiculous it was to overpay for them. That educational humor reframed the industry and made their new category (“subscription grooming”) instantly appealing.

Educate the market, and you’ll own the conversation.

8. Turn Competitors into Confirmation

Ironically, once you create a new category, others will copy you—and that’s good.

When competitors emerge, they validate your vision. Their presence confirms the market’s belief that your idea matters.

The key is to stay the leader by continuously innovating and reinforcing your category’s story.

Think of how Uber created “ride-sharing,” and then Lyft, Bolt, and others followed. Uber didn’t lose ground—they became the default name in the space because they defined the narrative first.

If you define the category, you define the competition.

9. Align Your Brand with the Category Story

Your category story should be at the heart of your branding—your visuals, messaging, and culture should all reinforce the new world you’re creating.

• Your logo and design should evoke the emotion of your new category.

• Your messaging should contrast “the old way” versus “the new way.”

• Your brand values should express the change you stand for.

Example:

Notion didn’t market itself as just another productivity tool. Its design, tone, and community reflect its mission: “All-in-one workspace for your life.” They made organization feel creative, personal, and empowering—a category of its own.

Brand and category are two sides of the same coin. One gives meaning to the other.

10. Play the Long Game

Creating a category doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a multi-year journey of belief, education, and momentum.

In the early days, people may not “get it.” That’s okay. The goal isn’t instant understanding—it’s persistent storytelling.

Stay consistent with your narrative. Keep innovating. Keep evangelizing.

Over time, your language becomes the market’s language. Your way becomes the way.

That’s when you’ve truly created a category.

Final Thoughts: Be the Market, Don’t Just Enter It

Products compete. Categories dominate.

When you stop fighting for market share and start creating market meaning, you don’t just win customers—you define the future.

Your goal as an entrepreneur isn’t to build something better than what exists.

It’s to build something so different that nothing else compares.

Because in business, the ultimate victory isn’t being number one in your market—

it’s being the only one in your market.