TDC 082: Part 3: The "Contrarian Cannon" (Continued)

In this episode of The Digital Contrarian, host Ryan Levesque tackles the dilemma every entrepreneur eventually faces: Do you build for the hyper-engaged 100, the silent 100,000, or orient everything around a single person?

You'll discover why optimizing for scale creates drift, why over-serving your superfans leads to burnout, and why centering around "the one" sharpens your message and simplifies every decision.

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Question of the Day

Who is YOUR "one"? The specific person you're really building for? Drop their name (or describe them) in the comments.

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Key Take-aways

- Optimizing for scale often means building for the lowest common denominator
- Over-serving your hyper-engaged 100 can quietly lead to burnout
- Centering around "the one" gives you a clear lens for every decision
- This approach sharpens your message while still serving everyone else
- The right question isn't "who's my audience?"—it's "who am I really building for?"

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Timestamped Outline

0:00 – Introduction: Contrarian Canon Part 3
0:07 – Back from Colorado, deep in book editing mode
0:34 – Beta reader opportunity coming soon
0:48 – Today's topic: Who are you really building for?
1:19 – Issue #47: The scale optimization trap
1:31 – The core dilemma every creator faces
1:38 – Building for the 100 (hyper-engaged followers)
1:40 – Building for the 100,000 (silent majority)
1:45 – Building for the one (single real person)
1:56 – Why optimizing for scale creates drift
2:05 – Why over-serving the 100 leads to burnout
2:10 – The reframe: Centering around the one
2:26 – How this approach sharpens your message
2:29 – Clear lens for deciding where attention goes
2:39 – Reflection questions for immediate alignment
2:45 – Link to full issue in description
2:52 – Back to manuscript editing
2:58 – Remember to hug the ones you love

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Links & Resources

- Issue 047 of The Digital Contrarian – "How to Decide Who You're Really Building For" → https://ryanlevesque.net/the-100-the-100000-or-the-one/
- Issue 047 Video → https://youtu.be/fvbgBrYyxFs
- Return to Real Book Waitlist → https://ryanlevesque.net/return-to-real-book/
- The Digital Contrarian Newsletter → https://thedigitalcontrarian.com

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Connect & CTA

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Join 100,000+ digital entrepreneurs who get Ryan Levesque's "Strategic Insights for Digital Entrepreneurs Who Think Differently" every weekend: https://thedigitalcontrarian.com

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Credits

Host: Ryan Levesque
© 2026 RL & Associates LLC. All rights reserved.