If Lamine Yamal Can Master Football at 17, You Can Master Your Market

It’s been a happy week, especially if you’re a Barcelona fan like me. Last weekend, Barcelona FC clinched the La Liga title thanks to 17-year-old Lamine Yamal.

If you don’t follow football, just know this teenager is already showing the kind of promise we used to only see from the likes of Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

In this short brain dump, I’ll explain why Yamal’s rise makes perfect sense and what every entrepreneur can learn from it.

What has everyone talking is how good he is at such a young age. In my opinion, what makes Yamal special isn’t just his raw talent. It is the fact that he pairs his talent with today’s wealth of resources.

In football today, training drills, tactical breakdowns and performance stats are all readily available. Coaches and analysts deliver instant feedback, and you can watch, learn and improve on repeat.

Entrepreneurs enjoy that same edge today. Want to master customer acquisition? You’ll find step-by-step guides, case studies and video walk-throughs everywhere. Need to nail your pitch? You can scan winning decks in seconds. With AI assistants, if gets even more outrageous the amount of things you can accomplish.

For example, lately I’ve been slowly learning more and more about product strategy as my team grows and my coding tasks decline. Videos, articles, and literally talking to ChatGPT are now what fill my days. And so, just like with football, that level of access to resources is such a huge deal.

On the talent side, we might not be as talented as Yamal but it doesn't really matter a lot because entrepreneurship is 60 per cent execution.

Yamal doesn’t just watch highlight reels. He drills extra hours on his own, practising moves until they’re razor-sharp. You can binge all the tutorials you want, but exceptional skill only comes from doing the right things.

Getty Images — Aged just 17, Lamine Yamal has contributed almost 60 goals for club and country

Think about Lamine Yamal’s role as a winger. A great winger drives past defenders, delivers pinpoint crosses and even scores. Yamal does all that brilliantly and is even able to add flair with dribbles that make every game a show.

In your business, you need the same approach. To be exceptional, you have to solve your customers’ problems and more. And by that, I mean delighting them with an incredible User experience (UX).

Remember this: your first love was the problem, not the solution you are building.

Happy Building!

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