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In retrospect, the best startups always look inevitable. The product feels obvious, and the adoption looks natural. But at the Seed and Series A stages, clarity is rare.
I recently sat down with Kamran Ali, Partner at Inspired Capital, to break down how he cuts through the noise. We discussed the specific lens he uses to evaluate companies and, more importantly, the signals that led him to lead ShopMy’s Series A.
What stood out wasn’t a reliance on market maps or competitive grids, but a single question he asks of every potential investment:
Is this product a step-function improvement over the status quo?
The “Human Inertia” Problem
Most startups are incremental. They are slightly better, slightly cheaper, or marginally faster than what exists. The problem, as Kamran points out, is that human inertia is undefeated.
“Unless you hit someone over the head with a product that is so much better... they won’t switch,”
If a product requires a paragraph of explanation or aggressive incentives to get someone to try it, it’s likely fighting a losing battle against habit. The bar Kamran sets is intentionally high: Is the product so superior that sticking with the old solution starts to feel irrational?
The ShopMy Case Study: Tracking the Signal
This isn’t just theoretical. It’s the exact framework that led to Inspired’s investment in ShopMy.
Kamran first met the ShopMy founders in early 2022. At the time, they were focused on a niche: beauty and skincare influencers, specifically dermatologists. It was peak “creator economy” hype, and the market was flooded with platforms promising to match brands with creators.
What caught Kamran’s attention early was an unexpected signal. He asked his wife, who is a dermatologist, whether she had heard of ShopMy, assuming her answer would be no. Instead, several colleagues were already using it.
That kind of organic awareness is rare, especially among busy physicians. It was the first hint that ShopMy had cracked a code others hadn’t.
Patience & The Flywheel
Kamran tracked ShopMy for nearly two years. He watched as that “niche” traction turned into a true flywheel.
When he finally dug into the data, the feedback loops were undeniable: Brands were referring creators to the platform, and creators were dragging new brands into the ecosystem. The product had reduced the friction of doing business so dramatically that it was becoming the default infrastructure for the industry.
In the years that followed, ShopMy evolved from a challenger into the market leader for brands and creators entering the space. In a market of incremental noise, ShopMy didn’t just ask for attention - it earned it by being a step-function better.
The Takeaway for Founders
Kamran’s advice for founders is simple but difficult: Know your secret.
He looks for teams that have uncovered a “proprietary insight” about their market—a specific reason why the status quo is broken that others haven’t seen yet.
Founders who truly understand their customers speak differently. They tell specific stories. They describe moments of friction and relief. That clarity is hard to fake.
The best sign of a step-function product is a solution so obviously superior that going back to the old way feels impossible
