Step 12: Find your personal angle

Your idea can be copied. Your angle can't. The aim here is to uncover the reason why your version of the idea is yours.

Most ideas can be copied, but the way you approach them - and the story behind them - cannot. You're not writing brand positioning. You're simply naming what you care about, how you see the world, and how that perspective shapes what you're building.

Your personal angle might come from:

  • Lived experience: You've walked the path your audience is on.
  • Frustrations with the status quo: You see what's broken and refuse to repeat it.
  • Underserved people: You notice who's left out - and design for them.
  • Values & ways of working: You choose human-first methods over "professional theatre."

It's what makes someone choose your version over the polished alternative that's one Google search away. Think about what you bring to this that someone else wouldn't. Maybe it's your background, your values, your way of working, or simply your refusal to do things the "professional" way when the professional way doesn't work for real people.

Psychologists call this authenticity signalling - when people detect genuine experience or conviction behind what you're building, they trust it more than polished marketing. It's not about being "authentic" as a brand strategy. It's about the fact that your real perspective is harder to fake than any positioning statement.

This isn't about being unique for the sake of it. It's about being honest about the lens you're looking through. That lens—your particular mix of experience, opinions, and give-a-shit—often turns a decent idea into something people actually want.

Edge-finder prompts

  • What do you refuse to do (even if it would grow faster)?
  • Where do you disagree with "standard advice"—and why?
  • What constraint (time, health, energy) do you design around on purpose?
Most founders try to sand down their edges to appeal to everyone. But your edges are often your positioning. The thing that makes you slightly difficult to categorise is probably the thing that makes you worth paying attention to.

What's next

You should now have a clearer picture of whether your idea solves a real problem, how it compares, and what makes your version distinct. This clarity is the foundation for deciding whether to move forward, reshape the idea, or let it go. Next up: testing how clearly you can communicate this idea.

This isn't a branding exercise or origin-story crafting. You're not trying to sound inspiring or write your About page. You're identifying what makes your approach yours—the perspective, experience, or attitude that shapes how you see the problem and its solution.

Authenticity signalling is a concept from social psychology - when people detect signals that someone has genuine lived experience or conviction, they assign higher trust. Research by psychologists like Brené Brown and studies on consumer trust show that people are surprisingly good at spotting genuine perspective versus manufactured positioning. Your "personal angle" isn't just marketing - it's a trust signal.

This is why founders who've actually experienced the problem they're solving often build more loyal audiences than "professional" alternatives. The signals are everywhere: the language you use, the details you notice, the trade-offs you refuse to make. People pick up on these without consciously analysing them.

Example: A productivity coach who openly discusses their ADHD and designs their entire system around energy management (not willpower) signals authenticity. Compare that to a generic "10x your productivity" coach who's never struggled with focus. The first one's "limitations" become their credibility - because the audience knows this person genuinely understands the problem.
Practical takeaway: Your personal angle isn't just "nice to have" - it's a trust mechanism. The more specific your perspective (shaped by real experience, frustrations, or values), the stronger the signal that you're not just another polished alternative. Don't hide your edges. They're doing the work.

Plain English: People can smell when you've actually lived what you're talking about. That smell is trust. Your personal angle - the real one, not the manufactured one - is what makes people believe you can actually help them.

The Spark: Rory Sutherland often says, "The opposite of a good idea is also a good idea." What works in one context can fail in another—not because the idea is bad, but because the fit is wrong.

The Real Lesson: Validate your edges. There are no universal rules. Your energy, health, time, and values are your operating system; if your business conflicts with them, it will fracture.

Resources:
- The power of reframing problems — TED Talk
- Alchemy — Book by Rory Sutherland

  • "I'm struggling to figure out what's personal or different about my version of this idea. Can you help me dig into what I bring to this based on my experience, frustrations, or way of seeing things?"
  • "I know what makes me different but I'm worried it's not 'professional' enough. Help me see why my particular angle might actually be an advantage."

Your structural limits aren't weaknesses to hide—they're filters that help you build something sustainable. The boundaries you won't cross often become the boundaries your customers value most.

Reflection: What would you refuse to do while building this—even if it meant growing slower or making less money? That refusal might be your positioning.