The Efficiency Gap
1 of 4
Paras Chopra introduces a concept he calls Delta 4: your product needs to be at least four times more efficient at satisfying a core desire than whatever your customer is currently using. This sounds extreme. But consider: if your product is only 10% or 20% better, the switching cost — learning a new tool, building a new habit, convincing a team to move — is rarely worth it. Four times better removes the switching cost as an objection. It makes the improvement so obvious that it overcomes inertia. The implication for builders: do not aim to be slightly better. Ask what four times better would actually look like, and build toward that. If you cannot identify how to be four times better, you are probably in the wrong space or targeting the wrong desire.