I wonder if anyone has niched down not into a vertical, but into a demographic. For example a lot of my clients are religious CEO's. And I'm contemplating just trying to niche into that demographic as opposed to an actual industry or vertical.
I had this experience early on (1998 around) when I accidentally stumbled on a rich client who was very religious and introduced us to his church where almost all men were rich business guys (only ceo's, investors and their families etc). It was a great niche money wise, but as my co-founders and myself were (and are) atheists, we really couldn't work with them as they continuesly mixed religion with business and we cut ties after a few projects.
But it is a good idea I think if you can get into a large (enough) group of a certain demographic that doesn't bite (too much?) with your own beliefs and values.
Think this is a great reinforcement of also requiring a guiding mission to what you do - otherwise it won't feel authentic.
So if your niche is for example custom IT security services for religious, well off business folks, if you don't align and empathize with that niche (e.g., you're an atheist), even if it's a monetary opportunity, you're going to feel dissonance.
At a broader level, this is why I think aligning with your company's mission helps when people can do that vs. taking a more agnostic approach to where you work.
> For example a lot of my clients are religious CEO's. And I'm contemplating just trying to niche into that demographic as opposed to an actual industry or vertical.
"as opposed to" doesn't make sense as I don't think you can avoid "an actual industry"
There is definitely sub-differentiation within each industry that cater to religious principals. Look at ESG finance, which has existed and persisted in the pre-modern sense, e.g. plenty of money managers that claim differentiation by investing in firms that screen out obvious vices or work around lending restrictions in the Koran.
Isn't doing business with people of the same faith a tens of thousands of years old practice? It would be hard to pull this off without embracing similar faiths.
