September 1, 2026

What if my target market is purposely hiding?

Last week, I asked everyone who read my positioning book to send in follow-up questions so I can answer them in an expanded second edition.

I tackled “What if I don’t know where my target market hangs out?” in my last message.

In this message, I’m going to address a common variation, which is:

What if my target market is defined by something secret that they can’t tell anyone?

For example, let’s say you want to find non-technical people who are seriously thinking about founding a startup but are still working a full-time day job and are afraid they’ll get fired if their boss finds out.

In that case, I’d make a list of observable signals these people might exhibit 12-18 months before they’re ready to hire me.

For example:

They might talk publicly about an app they vibe coded
They might ask about “how to find a technical co-founder” on Quora, Reddit, etc
They might be active in user forums for no-code, low-code, or vibe-code software (e.g., Zapier, Airtable, Notion, Lovable)
They might be followers of people who have already done what they hope to do ( e.g., Jason Cohen, Rob Walling, Justin Jackson)
They might be talking about a particular book somewhere online (e.g., The Mom Test, The Lean Startup, Crossing The Chasm)
They might be subscribed to a related podcast/substack (e.g., Lenny’s Podcast, Acquired, My First Million)

I’d also ask myself what they might be worried about 12-18 months before they hire you and create content that would resonate.

For example:

What to look for in your employment contract if you’re thinking about starting a SaaS on the side.
Top 3 surprises of starting a SaaS side-hustle while you’re still employed.
If you work at one of these three companies, DO NOT start a side hustle without reading this first
The 10 WORST companies to work for if you want to found your own startup

I’d also consider coming at it from a completely different angle:

Make a list of domain experts in high-paying, non-technical job roles - e.g., partner, VP, director, managing director, principal, head of sales, head of operations, strategy, investment banking, management consulting, law, medicine.

Then, find these people on LinkedIn and search their feeds for “founder-curious” language - e.g., technical cofounder, MVP, side project, startup idea, building something, vibe coding, no-code, YC, Startup School, thinking about starting, entrepreneurship, founder journey, product idea (plus any of the books, podcasts, influencers, or apps listed above)

If you find a corporate attorney who’s spent 15 years talking about securities law and suddenly starts posting about building an app over the weekend, you should probably say hello.

None of this is guaranteed to work, AND it’d probably be smarter to just pick a target market you’re already intimately familiar with, but hopefully I’ve gotten your gears turning.

Yours,

—J