Tipping points

A tipping point occurs when there is mass adoption of a product or an idea. It’s the point beyond which irreversible change occurs. At the tipping point you have built sufficient momentum to take off.

In finance a tipping point happens when a firm breaks even or reaches profitability. At this point your product or service has attracted enough customers to remain sustainable.

Tipping points can be found throughout nature and life. Water changes state when it reaches it’s boiling point. A woman gives birth after nine months. A road construction spurs property prices in surrounding areas. An epidemic rapidly spreads when a certain number of people is infected. An expert is born after certain hours of practice. Political change happens when a particular ideology is adopted by the population.

To reach tipping point you have to create something so good that people are willing to share it. Then you need to find the right people with the right connections to spread the word. In his book called the Tipping Point, author Malcolm Gladwell calls these people connectors, mavens and salesmen. These people are responsible for most of the ideas which reach the tipping point.

Success happens beyond the tipping point. This means we should be willing to put in the work to create something useful and share it with the right people. Hopefully we shall then reach our tipping points.