I was curious how the drug industry is coping with the lacing that is happening using fentanyl. Manufacturers are doing it because it’s cheap. It increases the potency, and it is easier to operate the logistics that way because as a very small amount is needed. Plus it is totally synthetic, so you are not reliant on climate or any geography. But because of this lacing, people are having severe adverse effects. Sometimes, it results in fatality. Thus, the people who are distributors are facing extra heat from all the spears of society because they are the ones who are actually handing it down to the consumers. If someone in your area is dead because of overdosing, you will go and beat up the drug dealer, not the manufacturer down Mexico.
The question I ask in that video is, “Is there any channel conflict because the manufacturer is skimming out on ingredients and creating extra risk for the distributors? And, on the other hand, are distributors losing customers because of added scrutiny and tapering down the operations to stay out of the light. And may be because of the fatality, the customer lifetime value would also be decreasing.”
And the response on that video was kind of good, the engagement was higher than usual. Of course, drugs are a taboo topic, and someone won’t analyze this aspect of them. Most of it is basically talking about the social and moral aspect of it, how it destroys families and stuff like that. One comment said, “Hey, I am really curious about it now. I want to learn more about the drug economy.” And my response was, “Yeah, you should try reading about it. Wisdom can come from unexpected sources.”
And I just realized that can be a series. Unconventional business advice or wisdom from weird businesses. There are a lot of weird businesses that don’t get a proper analysis. Things like stakeholder management, logistics, GTM strategy, operation optimization. And even if no one is talking about them, those things are happening, even in those weird businesses. Thus, there is a huge market gap where no one is talking about it, but people are curious about it. And that’s my opportunity. “Hey, I am a person from a good B-School. I have the terminology to describe the things that are happening here. Thus, I can talk about it, and I am entertaining enough that you will also listen.”
I can have a whole series discussing how these businesses operate. Like, how does the GTM strategy of a scam call center work? How does the stakeholder management work in high-risk businesses such as drug dealing or smuggling? How do sand mafias optimize their operations?
I mean, people are fatigued by every other video telling you what the fucking masterstroke is by Zepto or how Elon Musk is going to send us into the next era. Come on bro, we are tired of it. Something mundane, if it can be called that, like drug dealing can be a center of attention. Zepto optimizes delivery times; smugglers optimize border crossing windows, margin compression due to other smugglers and bribe allocation.
Weird, under-discussed businesses that are intriguing enough can be:
- Drug dealing
- Scam centers
- Counterfeit goods
- Strip clubs or brothels
- Smuggling
- Illegal extractions and operations.
- Unorganized sector
- Betting rings
Even from a morality point, I don’t see anything wrong in discussing these things because people are engaging in these activities regardless of whether it is right or wrong, because there are economic incentives. If I am educating the people about how this whole thing works and why people are doing it, maybe someone out there can step in and understand how to make those incentives less appealing.
And there is actually a channel that is doing exactly this. He has done the series where he dissects how strip clubs work or how $1 pizza shop works or Gun shops or mukbang videos. His YouTube channel is called Modern MBA. Recently, he has been doing one-hour episodes,
I can also talk about parallels between these weird businesses and the non-weird ones. Like how Go To market strategy might be mirroring each other, how they optimize for the warehouses and stuff like that. And of course, there will be a lot lower information available for the weird businesses, so I will have to make the most of it because I don’t wanna go and talk to these people. Not talking about the unorganized sector, but of course I don’t want any smoke from the drug dealers, bro. Stating the obvious, stating what comes after thinking about the problem a while and whatever is available in news and academic papers is what I am going to package.
Plus people already enjoy stuff like this. Crime Patrol has been doing numbers in India for a lot of time. Real crime documentary is a huge genre on cable TV, YouTube, and all of the short-form media as well. Actually, this has to be a lifesaver because my content about saas is really dry, and and people need something spicy to munch on. I was thinking about how I can make the SaaS content a bit more top-of-the-funnel and how to appeal to a wider audience. Maybe I should stop calling it SaaS and call it business instead. But all of that is trivial – optimizing a thing to adapt for something it is not made for. The SaaS content is there to attract customers and investors. Diluting the words in it can hamper the acquisition of those people. A different vehicle which appeals to the masses but is still somehow connected to business and my own background is really amazing.
This takes me from being just a SaaS guy to someone who analyzes and implements business models. I analyze every type of business, but implement whatever I am best at. Better positioning to be a consultant for anyone out there who needs it, even if some guy is in Rajasthan doing metal works, if he sees some video that resonates with him, he might hire me. While just software content might have not let that happen. Basically, increasing my target audience size while boosting my positioning instead of diluting it.
This will truly justify whatever I have in my bio.
Product to Revenue | IIM Shillong'26I can even make content talking about the shady practices by legitimate businesses. Adulteration, channel stuffing, rushing to declare dividends at the brink of bankruptcy, dancing around the bond covenants, the shady part of business has a lot of content to explore, even if the business is legitimate. This “under the hood” insider secrets generate thrill, drama and a sense of crime. Which is also good enough, so I can talk about shady practices of normal businesses. Shady enough for people to think, “Oh, that’s interesting,” but not too exaggerated or accusatory. Unless you have a case study backing up.
From Claude
The information ecosystem is richer than it seems:
- Court documents and indictments often contain incredible operational details (the Silk Road case laid out their entire customer service philosophy)
- Academic criminology and economics journals are goldmines
- Investigative journalism from outlets like ProPublica, Reuters, or even Netflix documentaries
- Government reports (DEA, FBI, international agencies publish detailed market analyses)
- Former participants who’ve written books or given interviews post-incarceration
People have always been fascinated by how illegal operations work. You’re just bringing business rigor to that curiosity instead of the usual dramatization or moral handwringing.