Identify the Gap
Every industry has a wide-open gap — stop replicating and step up to fill it.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 88%
Identify the Gap is Roach's method for finding a differentiation wedge in any market. Rather than asking how to copy competitors, you catalogue the persistent problems, complaints, and failures the whole industry has tolerated for years, then build your business specifically to solve them. Roach argues the gap exists in literally every industry because incumbents rarely invest the time or money to innovate. Filling the gap is what turns business owners into multi-million-dollar successes very quickly.
Origin
Roach saw the pattern first as a business-growth executive and then applied it to the coaching industry, where she noticed peers dumping clients into unsupported Facebook groups. She built the opposite and her business exploded, cementing the gap concept as something she has taught for years.
Core principles
- 01There is a wide-open gap in every industry — big issues no one has taken the time, concern, or money to solve.
- 02Ask 'what are the issues in my industry and how do I fill them?' instead of 'how do I replicate what my industry is doing?'
- 03Filling a real gap can produce near-instant, multi-million-dollar growth.
- 04The extra mile is not crowded — most people won't do it, which is exactly why it stands out.
How to run it
- 1
Audit the industry's tolerated problems
Look at every peer and competitor and list the issues customers complain about, the things that are inconvenient, and the failures everyone has accepted for years. In coaching, Roach saw people paying $100k and ending up right where they started with no accessible support.
Pro tip Study the customer experience directly — the gap usually hides in what people quietly put up with.
- 2
Reframe from replication to solution
Consciously stop asking 'how do I replicate what my industry does?' and start asking 'what are the issues in my industry and how do I step up to fill them?' This single reframe is what surfaces the opportunity.
Watch out Copying competitors' models guarantees you compete on sameness, where you can only lose.
- 3
Build the solution and let it sell itself
Commit the resources to actually solve the gap — for Roach that meant a full-time 30-person support team giving every client one-to-one help on top of the group program. Then sell what you built rather than complaining about what others do wrong.
Pro tip Go the extra mile — it is 'so not crowded' because most people won't, so it becomes easier to stand out as you rise.
Watch out Don't just point out what's broken in the industry; the value is in doing something about it, not running your mouth.
In the wild
The taxi industry was 'off the rails' with issues for decades — inconvenient, unreliable, impossible to get one when you needed it — and no one fixed it. Uber filled the gap and growth was like 'spontaneous combustion,' later spawning private car fleets and luxury options.
→ A tolerated, decades-old gap became the foundation for an industry-defining company.
Seeing peers dump clients into Facebook groups with no support ('the blind leading the blind'), Roach built a full-time team of 30 support members so every program participant got one-to-one accountability and accessibility. She flipped the whole model on its head.
→ Her business exploded off the back of solving the industry's support gap.
Common mistakes
Trying to replicate instead of solve
Asking how to copy the industry keeps you competing on sameness rather than owning an unmet need.
Complaining about the gap instead of filling it
Getting bitter and shouting about what's wrong wins nothing; the growth comes from quietly building and selling the solution.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders entering a crowded industry who want a fast, defensible growth wedge.
Not ideal for
Brand-new industries with no established norms yet, where there is no incumbent gap to exploit.
From the transcript
“there's a gap in every industry it's not hard it's just instead of you saying how do i replicate what my industry is doing you…”
“the extra mile is so not crowded it's crazy like it's not crowded”
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