Bootstrapping and the Law of the Few

Filed in archive Bootstrapping Trends on May 31, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Karl Dolenc


Whether you're bootstrapping in the music business as discussed in the previous post or in any other market you can think of, it's wise to remember what Malcolm Gladwell calls the Law of the Few.

In his book The Tipping Point, Gladwell argues that generally a small percentage of the people in any given environment have a disproportionately large impact by virtue of something economists call the 80/20 principle.

According to this principle, Gladwell writes, 20 percent of the people in any given situation will:
• Commit 80 percent of the crimes
• Cause 80 percent of the accidents
• Drink 80 percent of the beer
• Do 80 percent of the work
• Etc.Etc.Etc.

In some cases, Gladwell says, as in the spread of an infectious disease, the actions of an even smaller number with extremely unhealthy and dangerous behaviors can have an even larger impact on a population with whom they interact.

But what could all of this have to do with bootstrapping a product or service? Gladwell writes:

Social epidemics work in exactly the same way. They are also driven by the efforts of a handful of exceptional people.

For good or ill, Gladwell explains, sometimes small groups can have an outsized impact whether in spreading a dangerous disease or in spreading a new idea...or product.

Don't worry that you don't have a huge sales force or a huge advertising budget. What you need is a great idea, product or service and a small group of passionate people to spread the word.