The most powerful companies and leaders in the world don’t win by being “better.”

They became Category Kings and Queens by creating entirely new markets.

At Category Pirates, we show you how to do exactly that. You'll learn Category Design — the discipline behind shaping markets, creating new demand, and becoming known for a niche you own. Think of it as business and career strategy for radically different thinkers.

• Non-paid subscribers get free previews of every newsletter

• Paid subscribers ($200/year) get the weekly newsletter and access to an archive of 200+ mini-books and podcasts

• Founding members ($350/year) get everything in paid PLUS exclusive access to our AI Pirate Librarian who instantly answers your category design questions, invites to founder-only events, and a free copy of our 4 full-size books.

What you’ll get

Every Friday, we send you a mix of category design deep dives, frameworks, and “different” thinking to help you become the obvious choice in your market.

Here’s what lands in your inbox:

• Original mini-books, audiobooks, and exclusive interviews that uncover how today’s most powerful companies apply category design to become market legends.

• Conversational “jam session” videos where we riff on a single category strategy, break down big ideas, or share what most “thought leaders” get wrong.

• Roundups of the best category conversations from our Category Design Academy community about the business world (with our take on what matters most).

What makes Category Pirates different

No fluff. No copy/paste templates.

We don’t do “10 tips to grow your business.” We share breakthrough ideas that help you escape competition and dominate a category of one.

Future-forward thinking.

Because Category Designers create the future, our insights hit your inbox 6–18 months before they reach the mainstream business press. (Like when Pirate Eddie predicted Tesla and Netflix would become Category Kings.)

Built like a book — not a blog.

We publish 3,000-8,000 word mini-books that dive deep into a topic. Every post is designed to sharpen your thinking and amplify your strategic advantage.

Proven playbooks

Our ideas aren't theoretical. We've helped companies generate $8B+ in revenue and created billions in market cap for real businesses.

A Beginner's Guide To Category Design: How To Create A Category For Yourself And Your Business

Category Pirates 🏴‍☠️

·

January 23, 2023

Our research shows the Category King of a given market captures 76% of the economics. It’s a winner-takes-all game. Most marketers, entrepreneurs, creators, and investors spend their entire careers competing for only 24% of the value opportunity of a given category. And they don’t even know it. This means that if you aren’t creating net-new territory for yourself, you are making the unconscious decision to compete over a small sliver of someone else’s plot of land. 

Read full story

Join 35,000+ subscribers

You’ll be in good company with Category Designers across startups, VC firms, and category-leading businesses like:

• Sequoia

• Nestlé

• Salesforce

• Oracle

• Floodgate

• Nike

• Proctor & Gamble

• GitHub

• Clari

• DUDE Wipes

• Amazon

• HubSpot

• Lomi

• Danone

• Geneo

• BODi

• Cisco

• John Deere

• General Mills

• Bloomberg

• Mighty Networks

...and 35,000+ smart, radically different thinkers shaping the future.

Who’s behind Category Pirates?

Category Pirates is a writing band, co-authored by Christopher Lochhead, Eddie Yoon, and Katrina Kirsch.

Christopher Lochhead is the "godfather" of category design, a #1 Apple Business Podcaster, a co-creator of Category Pirates, and co-author of Play Bigger and Niche Down.

Lochhead is a dyslexic paperboy who got thrown out of school at 18. He’s also a former 3-time Silicon Valley CMO (Vantive, Scient, Mercury Interactive) who has helped create billions in market cap — and been fired a bunch.

The Marketing Journal says he’s "one of the best minds in marketing." The Economist calls him "off-putting to some" (which he considers a compliment).

He thinks whisky is a good thing, The Ramones are legendary, and social media “influencers” and “hustle porn stars” are a scourge on the earth. Lochhead lives in Santa Cruz, California with his wife, a flock of hens, and three wild cats.

Eddie Yoon has written more for the HBR on category strategy than any other person.

Eddie is the founder of EddieWouldGrow, a think tank and advisory firm on growth strategy, and a co-creator of Category Pirates. His work has driven over $8 billion in revenue growth, with 8 clients doubling or tripling revenue in under 8 years.

He’s the author of Superconsumers and one of the world’s leading experts on finding and monetizing Superconsumers to grow and create new categories. He has appeared on CNBC and MSNBC and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and Forbes. He has also been a keynote speaker in the U.S., Canada, Kenya, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the UK, and Japan.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Eddie now lives in Chicago with his wife and three children.

Katrina Kirsch is the “editor for entrepreneurs” who runs Category Pirates and the Category Design Academy.

Katrina helps entrepreneurs position, edit, and publish category-defining content. She has created over 500 articles and dozens of books as a ghostwriter and editor. Her work (if not byline) has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Business Insider, and Forbes.

Born and raised in Chicago, Katrina began traveling the world at eighteen. After a brief battle with traditional office life in 2015, she switched to a remote work lifestyle and became known as the “crazy” one who was constantly traveling. Wherever she is, Katrina helps category designers get their work out into the world.

Together, we've:

• Advised 50+ venture-backed startups

• Created billions in market capitalization

• Published 70+ HBR articles on category creation

• Written multiple category-defining books

• Been keynote speakers at super-ding dong events

• Helped countless companies become Category Queens & Kings

We believe the difference between the companies everyone talks about and the ones no one remembers comes down to one thing:

Category Design.

What our readers say ❤️

"Every Category Pirates edition is of immense value. Seriously, it’s like a $100,000 MBA with every read." - Steven Olsher, Founder of Podcast Magazine

“Let me start by confessing that I’m a Category Pirates Superconsumer. I devour each and every essay they write since Play Bigger came out. I could not recommend it more highly.” - Gina Bianchini, Founder and CEO of Mighty Networks

"I have learned so much from the excerpts that I get in my inbox." - Cheri S., paid subscriber

“Every single person is unique in their own way - why do they then need to get 'branded'. You Pirates continue to produce rock-solid, well-backed, funny, and deeply informative material. Keep going!” - David Loewen, Author of Box Cutter Co. Substack

"I love your work. Your insights are provocative and contrarian, right up my alley! You offer depth on topics most people skim over or ignore altogether. You are opening my eyes to a different way of thinking and I really like that! Thank you for telling the truth about the way things are. It's so refreshing. " - MaryLou K., paid subscriber

Join a crew of legendary founders, executives, and entrepreneurs

Category Pirates is for people who are done playing small.

If you're ready to see the world through a different lens, unlock new growth, and build a different future, come aboard.

Join today to get radically different business thinking every week. 🏴‍☠️

That’s it from us. We’ll see you in your inbox.

Arrrrrr,

Category Pirates