Boring default

Otto Jostens: invented the class ring in 1897

Shaan's first 'Billy of the Week': Otto Jostens, who invented the class ring in 1897 and built the upsell machine where graduating seniors get pressured into buying a $400-$600 ring on campus to commemorate the occasion.

“this guy is kind of like my Billy of the Week. I got two very boring business people that I'm going to feature here. So the first guy is called Otto Josten, and Otto Josten is the founder of Josten's, which is the number one class ring maker. And Otto Josten, he invents the class ring basically. So he started this thing in 1897 in Ottawa, right?”

Be the boring default that's a pain to leave

Sam's takeaway from the Jostens class-ring breakdown: the most durable, profitable businesses aren't innovative, they get customers locked into a position where switching is a hassle. Jostens has done it for 124 years with near-zero product innovation.

“when we think of entrepreneurship and we think of starting stuff, we think, how can I be innovative? How can I be new? In reality, in order to make a lot of money, it's how do I get locked into this to, to the point to where like it's going to be a pain in the ass to go anywhere else. And that's the takeaway here.”

Steal thisStop chasing novelty; engineer your product into a default that's annoying to switch away from.

Pantone makes $100M+/yr selling a color booklet

Shaan breaks down Pantone, which standardized ~2,500 colors into a numbered matching system used by manufacturers, fashion houses, and even Ben & Jerry's QA on brownie color. They make over $100M/year selling booklets that run $85 to $500, launching ~100 new colors a year to force re-buys.

“It's like 2,500 colors. They make over $100 million a year just sending out this little brochure, this little pamphlet, this little booklet with all the colors in it. And everybody buys these things.”