The Best Ideas are Born Out Of Pain

Issue #2

Author

Sefunmi Osinaike
March 07, 2025

For many people, writing a book can be a noble, creative pursuit.

For me, it was an opportunity.

In 2020, I wrote How To Product for two major reasons:

  1. I Was Tired of Repeating Myself: During my first year as a Product Manager, I had what felt like a million coffee chats with MBA candidates who wanted to break into tech. MBA folks are great. Smart. Ambitious. Willing to drop six figures on a degree to prove it. But I didn’t buy into the idea that an expensive diploma was the golden ticket to a product job.

    After answering the same questions over and over, I thought to myself, What if I just wrote it all down and sent them a link instead? And boom! The idea to write a book was born.

  2. I Needed to Feel Like I Was Enough: I had Apple and Microsoft internships on my resume. It should’ve been easy to land a full-time job, right? Nope! Hiring managers weren’t impressed. Recruiters ghosted me. My inbox was a graveyard of “We’re sorry, we’ve decided to move forward with another candidate” emails. It was frustrating.

I started wondering if I was the problem. Maybe I wasn’t as good as I thought. Maybe I needed something to prove my worth. So, I wrote a book. Not for the glory or the money (although that would have been nice), but because I needed something solid to point to and say: Look, I did this.

Today, it has crossed 20,000 downloads. It also became the foundation for Co.Lab, the company I built to help aspiring PMs break into tech. It’s pretty interesting that the book I wrote to get a job made me an employer.

This experience taught me that your biggest frustrations might be the blueprint for what you should build. You might be sitting on a million dollar idea right now, but you are unable to see it that way because it is frustrating you. Well, instead of running from your problems, why don’t you use them to push you into action?

I strongly believe the best ideas aren’t born out of inspiration. They’re born out of pain points.

Also, if you’re answering the same question more than three times, maybe you should write a book! (lol).

Introducing: The Builder’s Playbook!

This segment breaks down powerful strategies and business models used by successful businesses to help you build and scale your businesses.

This week, we will start with the basics, the Razor & Blade Model.

The Razor & Blade Model: How giving something away can make you millions 🪒💰

In the early 1900s, King C. Gillette (yes, that Gillette), invented the safety razor. To make money through the business, he decided to sell the razor handle cheap and make money on the blades. This became known as the razor-and-blade model, a pricing strategy where customers buy a base product at a low cost (or for free) but must purchase high-margin consumables to keep using it.

How it works:

  1. Make the initial product cheap or free to attract customers.

  2. Ensure customers need repeat purchases to keep using it.

  3. Get profit from selling the refills, accessories, or add-ons.

Who has used this playbook?

  1. Gillette – Cheap razors, expensive replacement blades.

  2. HP & Epson – Affordable printers and pricey ink cartridges.

  3. Keurig & Nespresso – Low-cost coffee machines, expensive coffee pods.

  4. Xbox & PlayStation – Sell consoles for cheap, make money on games & subscriptions.

How can you apply it to your business?

  • If you offer a product, think about recurring revenue opportunities (subscriptions, add-ons, consumables).

  • If you run a service, consider upselling or exclusive features that keep customers engaged.

  • The key? Hook them with value upfront, then monetize over time.

For more breakdowns like this, stay tuned for the next edition of The Builder’s Playbook.

Helpful AI 🤖✨

Each week, we spotlight a digital tool, AI resource, or business hack that can help you streamline processes and boost productivity.

This Week’s Pick: AthenaHQ 🌐🚀

AthenaHQ is an AI marketing tool that specializes in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), ensuring your brand is prominently featured on AI-driven search platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. As AI adoption grows, AthenaHQ will help your business adapt and thrive.

With AthenaHQ you can:

  • Ensure your brand stands out on AI search platforms.

  • Gain insights into how your brand ranks compared to competitors.

  • Stay ahead as search behaviours shift from traditional to AI-driven methods.

Stay tuned for next week’s Helpful AI spotlight. 🚀

This Week’s Content

I’m currently sharing a video series on LinkedIn where I’m breaking down the highs and lows of my entrepreneurial journey. If you’d like to learn more about this story or see it in a different format, follow along. I drop 2-3 videos weekly.

Check out the videos below:

Have a fantastic weekend,

Sefunmi Osinaike.