The hottest Market research Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

The Bear Cave #315

The Bear Cave • 1492 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26
💰 Finance Market research
  1. Multiple activist and short-seller reports this week accuse several companies of overvaluation, accounting tricks, regulatory or safety issues, and overstated asset quality.
  2. A string of high-profile departures — especially CFOs — at smaller public companies suggests notable leadership turnover and potential instability in those businesses.
  3. The newsletter highlights a flurry of social media posts and screenshots, showing that tweets and public reports are driving market narratives and investor attention.

What I Learned From Editing Substack Reads

Castalia • 2378 implied HN points • 20 May 24
📚 Literature Market research
  1. Substack is packed with all kinds of content, making it hard to find what matters to you. It's better to think about how to reach a wider audience rather than just focusing on your own style.
  2. The platform seems to have more older writers than younger ones. Younger writers might not realize how useful Substack can be for launching their careers.
  3. Substack shows the power of democratic expression with lots of voices and ideas. However, the vast amount of content can make it feel overwhelming and make each writer feel less unique.

When To Kill A Project

Jacob’s Tech Tavern • 1749 implied HN points • 20 Nov 25
💼 Business Market research
  1. Know when to stop a project that's not working. Sometimes it's better to cut your losses and move on rather than keep putting effort into something that won't succeed.
  2. Always do market research before launching an idea. Talking to potential users can help you understand their needs and avoid mistakes.
  3. Even successful projects can have an end date. Recognizing when something has outlived its usefulness allows you to focus on your next opportunity.

Learning from Failure🛑

The VC Corner • 519 implied HN points • 02 Aug 24
💼 Business Market research
  1. Startups often fail due to initial mistakes, like a mismatched founding team. It's important for co-founders to share a common vision and work well together.
  2. Strategic errors can lead to failure too, such as not clearly showing what makes a product special. If customers don't see the value, they won't buy it.
  3. Operational failures also play a big role. Companies must pay attention to customer feedback and keep an eye on their competition to survive.

The Bear Cave #300

The Bear Cave • 699 implied HN points • 16 Nov 25
💰 Finance Market research
  1. Recent reports highlight concerns about several companies, suggesting they may be overvalued and facing liquidity issues. Investors should be cautious with their investments in these firms.
  2. Several companies have recently lost key executives, which might indicate instability or internal problems. Frequent leadership changes can be a red flag for investors.
  3. There are paid promotional activities for various stocks, which can sometimes mislead investors. It's important to be aware of these promotions when making investment decisions.
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How to get to Product Market Fit: what it is, step by step guide and success cases like Notion, Canva and Stripe

The VC Corner • 659 implied HN points • 04 May 24
💼 Business Market research
  1. Product Market Fit (PMF) means having a product that people really want or need. It's not just about making the product; you also have to learn how to sell it well.
  2. To achieve PMF, start by identifying a specific problem people face and create a strong solution. It’s important that the problem is significant enough for people to want to pay to solve it.
  3. Successful startups often follow a process to reach PMF, which includes finding a niche, validating pricing, and continuously improving the product based on customer feedback.

250 Roche Axelios Instruments In the First Year Possible?

ASeq Newsletter • 14 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26
💼 Business Market research
  1. Informal polls on Discord and LinkedIn had low response and are hard to interpret, but they did identify a small group of respondents who actually have purchasing influence.
  2. Even though Roche's Axelios pricing isn't much better than Illumina's, the product still appears compelling to a subset of potential buyers.
  3. Using rough assumptions about market size (>2000 instruments) and the poll results, a back‑of‑the‑envelope projection yields about 250 Axelios units in the first year, but that number relies on several optimistic assumptions and substantial uncertainty.

Delusions of grandeur

Kenny’s Sub • 239 implied HN points • 21 May 24
💼 Business Market research
  1. Having big ideas can be exciting, but it's important to ground them in reality. You might be really enthusiastic about your dreams, but they need to be achievable in the real world.
  2. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and ignore warnings. Just because something feels good doesn't mean it will be successful.
  3. Learning from failure is okay. Taking risks and experiencing disappointment can teach you valuable lessons for the future.

The Bear Cave #277

The Bear Cave • 443 implied HN points • 08 Jun 25
💼 Business Market research
  1. Recent research has raised serious concerns about several companies. For example, Abacus Global Management might be overstating the value of its assets.
  2. Many executives are leaving their positions, especially CFOs from companies like Hallador Energy and BigBear.ai. This could reflect instability in those companies.
  3. There are issues with how some companies report their user metrics and finances, such as Yalla Group and Sharplink Gaming, which might mislead investors.

What Does It Take To “Do Things That Don’t Scale” For Your Startup? | VC Remote Jobs & More

Venture Curator • 359 implied HN points • 28 Dec 23
💼 Business Market research
  1. To succeed as a startup, focus on solving unique problems that others haven't addressed.
  2. Embrace doing tasks that may not scale initially, like manual sales calls, to validate your business model.
  3. Founders of successful startups often start small, handle unglamorous tasks, and focus on learning and building their product before seeking rapid growth.

⤴⤵ Up Wing/Down Wing #34

Faster, Please! • 639 implied HN points • 08 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Market research
  1. A new tool in ChatGPT can help with deep research by quickly analyzing information and providing organized reports. This makes it easier for people in schools and businesses to get useful insights.
  2. France is benefiting from its strong nuclear energy production, which keeps electricity prices lower compared to Germany. This helps France avoid the high costs associated with gas and coal.
  3. The push for cleaner energy is gaining speed, as countries like France are moving away from expensive fossil fuels. This shift is important for both economic stability and environmental health.

Introducing PricingSaaS MCP

Good Better Best • 2 implied HN points • 26 Feb 26
💼 Business Market research
  1. Connect PricingSaaS MCP to your LLM (Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini) to query PricingSaaS data directly; setup takes about two minutes.
  2. Use it for pricing, packaging, and product research to see what other companies have done and get tailored feedback for launches, credit models, or price changes.
  3. Monitor competitor pricing and get market summaries — pull recent pricing changes, request additions for missing competitors, and produce instant benchmarks consultants can use with clients.

Why build when you could buy?

Kenny’s Sub • 159 implied HN points • 18 Mar 24
💼 Business Market research
  1. Buying a business takes time and patience. It's important to understand that finding the right one isn't quick and you might go through many options before finding the right fit.
  2. Having clear criteria for what you're looking to buy is crucial. It's better to focus on specific areas that interest you rather than being too broad in your search.
  3. Expect to sift through a lot of possibilities. The process can be frustrating, but staying logical and not letting emotions lead your decisions will help you find the right business.

New Study: People Dislike AI-Labeled Products

The Algorithmic Bridge • 201 implied HN points • 30 Jun 25
🕹 Technology Market research
  1. People generally don't like products labeled as AI, even if they are equipped with it. They prefer labels like 'cutting-edge tech' instead.
  2. The dislike for AI labeling is stronger for high-risk products, like cars or medical services. This shows that trust is a big issue when it comes to AI.
  3. Many people find AI tools can be helpful but also unreliable, which makes them cautious about AI-labeled products.

AI Pricing Strategy 101: How to Use ChatGPT, Claude & Perplexity for Pricing Research — AI-powered refresh of your successful pricing frameworks post

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 10 implied HN points • 01 Feb 26
💼 Business Market research
  1. Use each AI tool for its strength — Perplexity for fast market research, Claude for customer psychology and messaging, and ChatGPT for scenario math and modeling so your pricing work is faster and more accurate.
  2. Shift from effort-based to value-based pricing — charge for the customer impact and outcomes you deliver, not the hours you spent, and let AI help quantify and communicate that value.
  3. AI streamlines the pricing workflow by summarizing competitors, simulating tough customers, and running pricing scenarios, and you can automate much of this with ready-to-use prompts.

Nailing Release 1.0

Running Lean Mastery • 314 implied HN points • 03 Jun 23
💼 Business Market research
  1. Focus on balancing speed, spend, and scope for a successful release 1.0.
  2. Understand the Kano model to prioritize essential product features like must-haves, delighters, and performance factors.
  3. Maximize your startup's unique value proposition by minimizing features using the Kano model.

data-driven VC is over

State of the Future • 323 implied HN points • 25 Feb 25
💼 Business Market research
  1. The way we research and develop investment ideas in venture capital is changing. Now, smaller firms can compete with big players because information is easier and cheaper to access.
  2. As everyone starts using the same data and insights, decision-making might become more about trusting your instincts than just following numbers. Investors might need to rely on what's not obvious or data-driven.
  3. The most successful investors in the future will be those who combine experience and wisdom with their specialized knowledge. It's not just about the data anymore; understanding what truly matters will set them apart.

Daily Brief: MECE & Hilbert Spaces

Math Meets Money • 4 HN points • 21 Aug 24
💼 Business Market research
  1. The MECE principle helps organize complex data into clear categories that have no overlap. This is crucial for making sense of complicated systems, like businesses or markets.
  2. In business, customer demographics can be viewed as various sets that can show how different characteristics are related. Understanding these relationships can help companies better target their products.
  3. Using concepts from physics, like Hilbert spaces, can help refine how businesses analyze and transform customer data. This approach can lead to better insights into customer preferences and behaviors.

A Different Approach to Revenue Estimates Leveraging Alternative Data

The Data Score • 138 implied HN points • 24 May 23
💰 Finance Market research
  1. Leveraging alternative data for revenue estimates goes beyond traditional transaction data, focusing on customer acquisition and retention insights.
  2. Applying the customer acquisition funnel framework to alternative data can help identify early trends and potential growth issues in a business.
  3. Monitoring the journey from awareness to loyalty using alternative data sets can offer valuable insights for predicting sustainable revenue growth beyond the short term.

#2 Bootstrapping a hardware product - Ideation

Mountain Labs Newsletter • 39 implied HN points • 02 Apr 24
💼 Business Market research
  1. To come up with a hardware product idea, being obsessed with solving a problem can help generate creative thoughts. Jotting down these ideas is important to revisit them later.
  2. Understanding market trends and competitor products is key. Looking into the market size and checking sales numbers can help you decide if your product idea is worth pursuing.
  3. Finally, evaluate your ability to develop and manufacture the product. Creating a list of necessary components and their costs can give you a clearer picture of whether your idea is feasible.

How to find industry problem as young founder

Recontact • 39 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
💼 Business Market research
  1. Start by finding a common interest field, building hypotheses around it, and validating them. It helps provide direction in problem-solving.
  2. When searching for industry problems, focus on non-core issues that companies face. This approach can lead to valuable insights and potential solutions.
  3. Conduct interviews with a variety of people in the industry, from executives to lower-level employees, to gather a diverse set of perspectives and understand the depth of the problem. It can help in identifying the right problem to tackle.

Five steps to get and evaluate startup ideas

A Bit Gamey • 13 implied HN points • 30 Nov 25
💼 Business Market research
  1. Start with a problem instead of an idea. This helps you understand what people really need and keeps you motivated.
  2. Find people to discuss problems with. Collaborating with others can sharpen your ideas and potentially lead to great partnerships.
  3. Create a simple version of your product first. This way, you can learn quickly from real users and improve it based on their feedback.

The Jargonator T-800 Newsletter Entry

The Data Score • 59 implied HN points • 02 Oct 23
💼 Business Market research
  1. The newsletter offers insights into data-driven decision-making for a range of professionals.
  2. The newsletter includes a section where jargon related to finance, data, and technology is defined in simpler terms.
  3. Top 5 most viewed articles from the Data Score Newsletter offer valuable insights on revenue estimates, alternative data, evaluating data partners, and more.

The Paradox of Finding Surprising Insights in Alternative Data

The Data Score • 59 implied HN points • 22 Jun 23
💼 Business Market research
  1. Institutional investors need to find surprising insights in data but also be skeptical of them to ensure accuracy and avoid errors.
  2. When using alternative data to make predictions, it's crucial to verify if the insights answer the right questions and differ from the market consensus.
  3. Digging into the data through various methods like independent validation, error margin assessment, and data integrity checks is essential for investors to ensure the reliability of surprising insights.

The $20k decision that turned into $7m...

Grant & Co • 39 implied HN points • 09 Dec 23
💼 Business Market research
  1. Investors appreciate regular updates from entrepreneurs to stay informed about their investments.
  2. Market research costing $20k before launching a company can save millions by avoiding building the wrong product and lead to significant revenue growth.
  3. Distinguishing between VC and PE funding strategies, along with the importance of having a clear exit plan, is crucial for successful investments in the business world.

Does Generative AI Pose a Threat to Industry Analyst Firms?

The Security Industry • 20 implied HN points • 04 Aug 25
🕹 Technology Market research
  1. AI can help with many tasks that industry analysts do, like researching and analyzing market conditions. This means analysts might use AI more and improve their work.
  2. While AI is good at some things, it can struggle with completeness, like listing all companies in a market. Analysts still have an edge in this area if they have complete data.
  3. The future of industry analysis might shift as AI changes how information is processed and shared. Analysts will need to adapt to this new landscape to stay relevant.

Finding Product-Market Fit

Build To Scale • 39 implied HN points • 19 Aug 23
💼 Business Market research
  1. Being honest about product-market fit is crucial for startups. Make sure people care about what you're building.
  2. Spend time understanding customer pain points early on. Don't assume you know what they need before talking to them.
  3. Listen actively to customers, uncover their real problems, and focus on solutions that address their urgent needs.

Homebuilder Earnings Update

Erdmann Housing Tracker • 42 implied HN points • 06 Dec 24
💰 Finance Market research
  1. Homebuilder earnings are being updated, which is important for understanding the housing market. This update can give insights into how homebuilders are performing financially.
  2. Keeping track of homebuilder performance can help in making informed decisions about buying or selling a home. If builders are doing well, it might indicate a strong housing market.
  3. The information provided is available through a subscription service, which offers more detailed analyses and insights. Exploring these resources can be beneficial for those interested in housing trends.

User Interviews Considered Harmful

Likely Wrong • 3 HN points • 15 Jun 24
💼 Business Market research
  1. Users may not always be truthful about their needs and preferences during interviews, leading to unreliable feedback.
  2. Identify if users are making genuine efforts to solve the problems they complain about, as lack of actions may indicate low urgency or value for a solution.
  3. Users often believe their problems are unique and require custom solutions, when in reality, they might just need common tools or products.

The Collection of Every Report Mentioned In The Social Juice Newsletter in 2024

The Social Juice • 31 implied HN points • 22 Nov 24
💼 Business Market research
  1. Studies show that consumers want brands to respond quickly to their questions. Fast responses can lead to repeat business.
  2. Marketing needs to focus on how consumers feel about their products. Emotional advertising can make people more willing to pay more.
  3. Research indicates that consumers prefer sorry offers over loyalty points or credits when brands make mistakes. An apology can go a long way!

Would You DEFINITELY Buy A Sequencer That Was...

ASeq Newsletter • 65 implied HN points • 23 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Market research
  1. The post discusses a poll for what people want in a sequencer, without vendors guiding the surveys.
  2. Considerations in the polls include the idea of a sequencer being identical except for one magical different feature from a new vendor.
  3. The poll asks if you would definitely buy the sequencer, potentially changing a planned purchasing decision.

Why Product Data Beats Company Data

The Security Industry • 18 implied HN points • 24 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Market research
  1. Product data is more useful than company data. Knowing what products a company offers helps you find competitors better.
  2. You can categorize products accurately to see how they stack up against each other. This way, you can identify direct competition more effectively.
  3. Having detailed product information helps customers find the right solutions for their needs. You can easily search by features or requirements.

Academia vs Business

inexactscience • 19 implied HN points • 02 Mar 23
💼 Business Market research
  1. Academia and business both use data to solve problems, but they focus on different aspects. In academia, getting the right answer is more important than how fast you get it.
  2. The speed-quality frontier shows that in academia, quality matters a lot, which means projects can take years. In business, speed is key, so decisions often get made quickly.
  3. Feedback loops are faster in business. Companies test ideas against real market data quickly, while in academia, feedback often comes later from peer reviews, slowing down the process.

12/5/22: Temu - Pinduoduo's Cross-Border E-commerce Platform

Tech Buzz China Insider • 19 implied HN points • 05 Dec 22
🕹 Technology Market research
  1. Pinduoduo's Temu app is a significant player in cross-border e-commerce by targeting the U.S. market, mirroring Shein's strategy.
  2. Temu operates with a focus on a strong supply chain, including recruitment from Shein and rigorous merchant selection processes.
  3. To succeed in the competitive market, Temu needs to improve customer acquisition efficiency, logistics, and after-sales services while expanding globally.

My YouTube/Website Business Strategy | #2

The Pole • 19 implied HN points • 03 Jan 23
💼 Business Market research
  1. Finding the intersection between what makes money and what you are interested in is crucial for a successful business strategy.
  2. Consider being a content creator if you are passionate about certain topics, as it offers flexibility and the opportunity to profit from what you enjoy.
  3. It's important to carve your own path and not solely rely on conventional advice, especially when pursuing a business endeavor that aligns with your interests.

Building CAUSL - Episode 3: Ideal Customer Profiles

CAUSL Effect • 19 implied HN points • 10 Mar 23
💼 Business Market research
  1. Finding your ideal customer is important but not easy. You need to identify who can truly benefit from your product and has the budget to spend on it.
  2. It's crucial to consider factors like location, job title, and company size when defining your ideal customer. This helps you focus your efforts on the right leads.
  3. Don't limit yourself to specific industries; every problem can have a solution. Keep an open mind about potential customers to avoid missing out on opportunities.