Two Mexican fast food chains started in America within a few years of each other.
One of them is now in every state, most airports, and a fair number of other countries.
The other one is enormous in Wyoming, Montana, the Dakotas and Minnesota, and nearly invisible everywhere else.
Most people read that and assume the second company lost.
It did not lose. It is still here after sixty years, profitable, with hundreds of locations, in a category dominated by one of the most powerful brands in fast food.
What actually happened is that the two companies answered a different question.
One asked how do we get everywhere.
The other asked how do we own somewhere.
Those lead to completely different companies, and the second answer is badly underrated.
Let me show you the logic, including the part where a chain trademarked a word for potatoes and made it stick.