14- Taig Mac Carthy @GIK - Blue ocean strategy turned into blue wine

Aug 22, 2018

Taig Mac Carthy is a graphic designer who decided to become an entrepreneur to realize his creative vision. As many designers, he wasn't fond of business but changed his mind once he started to get more into entrepreneurship. After reading the Blue Ocean Strategy, he came up with the idea for blue wine GIK and Hola Plate, which are today very successful products.  

In the episode we covered:

• why is Taig focusing on providing meaning instead of solutions,
• how to test your product idea with a press release,
• and why did Taig decide to attend a business school.

Show notes:

• 2:35 How did Taig start his first business 
• 5:10 How Taig developed a distaste for business and how he turned that around
• 6:35 Why is Taig focusing on providing meaning instead of solutions
• 13:35 Entrepreneur as a cultural provocateur
• 15:15 Where does the idea for blue wine come from?
• 16:35 The pricing exercise from the book Blue Ocean Strategy
• 20:40 The pricing strategy of GIK 
• 23:20 How did Taig validate the idea before spending two years developing the wine
• 29:10 How did Taig test his 20 business ideas
• 31:30 The launch of Hola Plate with the PR strategy
• 34:15 How to test your product idea with a press release?
• 39:30 The importance of profit margins
• 42:35 Challenges that designers face when trying to become entrepreneurs
• 44:30 Why did Taig decide to attend a business school
• 48:35 How does blue wine sustain competitive advantage?