[tiniestcabbage]

There is an argument to be made that price-sensitive customers are a neglected market. Granted, marketing to them is very different - they're prone to being scooped if someone comes by willing to sell your same product to them at a loss (hi, Amazon and Walmart) - but there are a lot more of them and you're not fighting every startup on the planet for the same handful of clients.

Business have made a killing in China and India for a reason, after all.

[brudgers]

+ There’s an argument against every rule of thumb.

+ For what it is worth, the just-one-percent-of-all-Chinese is historically a poor business strategy.

+ As you point out, targeting price sensitive customers puts you in competition with Walmart and Amazon. Not only that but you are competing for their worst customers.

you're not fighting every startup on the planet for the same handful of clients

Not having access to good clients/customers suggests the business idea might not be viable. Chasing money from people without the wherewithal or will to pay, does not make your business idea viable.

But again it is a rule of thumb.

[tiniestcabbage]

That's fair. I wasn't coming for you and I'm certainly not trying to fight you from some kind of authority - I'm definitely not a businessperson.

The only point I was trying to get across is that even "bad" customers are still customers, and that there's still a lot of money to be made meeting people's needs doing the work others don't want to do. I feel like this applies from the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder all the way to the top - that's all. Perhaps I should've made that clearer, and that's on me.

An unsolicited side note: I think the bristling to this post was because of the language you were using. Talking about the poor as if they were to be discarded made you look a bit as if you have no empathy, which might not be fair to you. I get it - business require being hard-hearted if you want to get ahead because if you don't make tough decisions, someone else will - but it probably wasn't your best look, you know?

[brudgers]

Talking about the poor as if they were to be discarded

The context was Hashicorp pricing for a web service, I was not talking about the poor.

Not being able to afford a B2B service is not an injustice.

there's still a lot of money to be made meeting people's needs doing the work others don't want to do. I feel like this applies from the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder

Are you betting your breakfast on walking your talking?

even "bad" customers are still customers

That’s why I don’t recommend going out to find them. They tax your ability to provide high quality. You will have enough problems without trying to get lava from a turnip.

it probably wasn't your best look, you know

For better or worse, it’s not going to keep me up grieving on long winter nights.