In short: Don't spend your savings guessing what people will buy. Investors, retailers and big brands have already paid to answer that question. Start with demand that's been proven, and win on execution.
The front desk
In high school I worked in a hotel. I was at the front desk, and I waited tables too. A server, a waitress, whatever you want to call it these days. Every day I watched people check in who lived very different lives from mine. Black cards. Diamond status. The kind of confidence that comes from never worrying about the bill.
A lot of them were big-shot investors, mostly stock-market people, spending serious money every day.
Something sparked. I didn't want to be them. I wanted to understand how an ordinary person, someone working the front desk, could get a share of the same flow of money they were riding.
▶ Watch: Watch: Robert Nikic on letting investors pick your product
I told that story on Brad Lea's show, and the line people remember is the simplest one: instead of selling products nobody knows about, why not piggyback on what these guys are already investing in?
What "let investors pick your product" means
It's not about buying stocks. It's about product research.
When serious money backs a brand or a category, a lot of expensive questions have already been answered:
- Do people want this?
- What price will they pay?
- How should it be packaged and described?
- Will they buy it again?
A first-time seller who starts by inventing something has to answer all of those questions with their own savings. A first-time seller who starts with proven demand gets those answers for free.
Why proven demand is safer
The demand already exists
You don't have to convince anyone they need toothpaste, batteries or dog food. The hardest part of selling, creating demand, is done.
Someone else paid for the research
Big brands spend heavily on testing products, prices and packaging. When you sell what they've proven, you're building on that research instead of repeating it.
The risk shifts to something you control
When you sell a proven product, the question isn't "will this work at all?" It's "can I sell it better than the next person?" That's execution: speed, service, pricing, reliability. Those are things you can improve every week.
This matters because most new businesses don't make it long. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that only about a third of private-sector establishments born in March 2013 were still operating ten years later (BLS). You can't remove that risk, but you can stop adding to it by guessing.
How to follow the money: a five-step method
Step 1: Start with what already sells
Look at what you and the people around you buy over and over. Then look at category leaders on the big marketplaces. Online shopping keeps growing as a share of retail. US e-commerce was 17.1% of total retail sales in the second quarter of 2026 (US Census Bureau). That's a lot of proven demand already moving online.
Step 2: Check who's backing the category
Are major brands investing in it? Are big retailers giving it more shelf space? Those are signals that the people with the most data expect it to keep selling.
Step 3: Check whether you can sell it legitimately
This is where many people trip. Proven brands are often gated. You'll need to buy from authorized sources and keep documentation. I explain why in Robert Nikic on Trademark Lawsuits.
Step 4: Check how crowded it is
If anyone can sell it, you may be entering a saturated market. The sweet spot is proven demand with some barrier to entry, like authorization, expertise or service.
Step 5: Decide how you'll win
Faster shipping? Better customer service? A niche audience the big players ignore? If you can't name your edge in one sentence, keep looking.
The SBA's market research guide is a useful companion to this method. It walks through demand, market size, saturation and pricing in plain language (SBA).
What's the catch?
Proven products attract competition, and margins can be thin. Following the money doesn't mean easy money. It means less guessing. You still have to execute, and you still have to start with an amount you can afford to risk.
I learned that the hard way. Before anything I built worked, I failed for years, starting with a small hosting company at 13.
Why I still tell this story
I've told the front-desk story many times because it's the cleanest version of a lesson I wish I'd learned sooner. Ideas are cheap. Proven demand is valuable. Execution is what separates the two.
▸ What I'd add now
The hotel story is where my interest in how money moves started. Today it shows up in my policy work on access. The products and markets that investors back are often the hardest for small sellers to reach: gated, bundled into big contracts, or sold only to companies with scale. Fair access to proven products for small businesses is one of the priorities I work on as an advisor on innovation and economic growth, so that following the money isn't an option only for people who already have it.
FAQ: picking a product to sell
What is the safest kind of product for a beginner to sell?
Products with proven, repeat demand that you can source legitimately and that aren't open to every seller.
Should I invent my own product?
It can work, but it takes more capital, time and risk. Many sellers learn on proven products first.
How do I know if a product is already proven?
Look for steady sales at major retailers, strong brand investment and customers who reorder.
Don't guess. Follow the money.
What is Robert Nikic's view on picking products?
Robert Nikic's view is that new sellers should follow demand that investors and established brands have already proven, source it legitimately and win on execution, rather than gambling their savings on unknown products.
▶ Watch: Watch the full Robert Nikic x Brad Lea interview
Related reading: Your Kitchen Is Your Product Research · Why Boring Products Pay · Robert Nikic Reviews the "Start Your Own Brand" Advice
