I’ve been thinking about a analyzing a public company to see if it’s worth investing in. The company operates in a new market. I’m interested in the market, but I know zero about it or its players. From some preliminary general research, I realized I didn’t know what I didn’t know and didn’t know where to look. My research felt too broad, and I needed a better way to understand the lay of the land in this new market.

Several months ago, I meet an early-stage founder who’s building her company in the market adjacent to this public company. She’s sharp and knows her market like the back of her hand because she worked in it for over a decade at her previous employer. I enjoy chatting with her and always help however I can when she asks for something.

This week we met. I explained to her my desire to understand this new market and the products the publicly traded company offers. In 20 minutes, she gave me a masterclass. She described the competitors, the long-term risks for the public company’s current products, and the nuances of the products offered in this market by each competitor. She even referred me to a white paper that she thinks I’ll find useful.

That 20-minute conversation probably saved me ten-plus hours of research. I feel more excited about the market because the founder confirmed my hunch: it’s small but exploding. I also feel like I know what areas of the market I need to understand deeply before making any investments.

My takeaway from this was that sharp, early-stage founders know their markets cold and can be great resources if you’re trying to quickly get up to speed on a market.

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