---
title: "The Opposite of a Good Idea is a Good Idea"
description: "Discover why successful startups break out by defying conventional wisdom. Learn how counterintuitive strategies drive growth in SaaS and consumer brands alike."
categories: ["books"]
keywords: ["counterintuitive strategies","SaaS growth","consumer brands","Rory Sutherland","brand agency","product-led growth","Dyson marketing","RedBull advertising","Theory Ventures"]
ai_summary: "Explore how counterintuitive strategies can drive growth in startups by defying conventional wisdom."
date: 2024-03-08
lastmod: 2026-07-28
canonical_url: https://www.tomtunguz.com/the-opposite-of-a-good-idea-is-a-good-idea/
author: "Tomasz Tunguz"
---

For those of us who love logic, the paradoxical title of this post should catch your eye, just as it did mine.

In [Alchemy](https://www.amazon.com/Alchemy-Curious-Science-Creating-Business/dp/0062388428), the founder of a major brand agency describes the way many of the major consumer companies in the world created brands. 

We call it breaking out : a double entendre which means both growing faster than competitors but also in a different way than their competition.

Rory Sutherland, the author explains it this way :

> "The fatal issue is that logic always gets you to exactly the same place as your competitors."

So he advocates to

> "Test counterintuitive things, because no one else ever does."

He cites examples like Dyson (people really want cool vacuum cleaners) & RedBull (sell a drink whose taste consumers broadly dislike). Ad campaigns with fuzzy animals draw more users & more non-profit contributions. 

There are other gems : we buy brands to satisfice is a reformulation of the trope No One is Fired for Buying Software from the Incumbent. 

The book argues that the unexpected drives consumer behavior. I wonder if the analogy holds for software purchases where procurement teams likely quash the counterintuitive magic in a sales process through discipline.

But some of the observations might very well suit the bottoms-up PLG motion. 

The insights echo of category defining PLG companies like Slack & Notion which challenged utilitarian incumbents through personality & design.