Some markets are born profitable, others stay hard no matter how hard you work

What this is

One of our published methods, written in plain language: what it can do, when to use it, what goes in and what comes out.

Why it matters

Most methods are published as papers or code. This one is written so you can decide whether it fits your problem before you invest time in it.

How to use it

Read the page top to bottom. If it matches your question, use the online tool - or subscribe and run it on your own data.

What you get

A clear answer on what the method does and does not do, plus a live curve from our own demand series. Free to read.

Free to readOnline tools from $5 per runSee it →

Demand curve read by this method — A live reading from our own demand series - the shape of the signal this method works on. 570 industries are tracked daily; this is one of them.

Our own data: 75 industries scored on our own benchmark table, not copied from anyone (2026-10-08).
Data base: InfoGap own records - 391 Chinese cities x 8 dimensions, 213,208 city-industry rows, 40,499 POIs (central / lifechain, 2026-10-08).

InfoGap Algorithm Handbook · one algorithm per page, plain language · formal name: three-dimension profit index

1In one line: what it does

It multiplies three angles together to show at a glance whether a market is born easy to profit in; if even one of them is 0, it tells you to walk away.

2When you would use it

Three situations where it helps:

You want to open a karaoke bar in Beijing. The premises, the staff and the song library are all doable, but this trade somehow feels "thinner every year".

What people usually do: pour all your energy into the fit-out and into pulling customers in.

Using it: spend one minute looking at the market itself first. If one of the three angles is 0, every bit of effort after that is wasted.

Someone recommends a "sure thing" project to you and it sounds reasonable.

What people usually do: listen to their analysis, and the more you listen the more reasonable it sounds.

Using it: put the three numbers in and see whether it hands you the words "walk away". It tells no stories, it only multiplies.

You are already running it, but a year on you feel you have not moved.

What people usually do: raise the ad budget.

Using it: see which of the three angles is dragging — most of the time it is the "will people buy again" one that is too low.

3What goes in · what comes out

Input (the set below is the one from the real run)

· Does it follow the grain of nature (should this trade exist at all): 2 (out of 3)
· Will people buy again (repeat purchase): 2 (out of 3)
· Does everyone need it (must-have): 3 (out of 3)

What comes out

These numbers are what it produced on the spot, with not a character changed:

Profit index (the total you get by multiplying the three scores) = 2 × 2 × 3 = 12 (out of 27)
Ease of profit = 44.4%
Combination type: 📊 one high, two medium — there is an opening, but it depends on operations
Examples of similar markets: supplements, subscription e-commerce
Walk away or not: no (you can carry on)

—— set all three to 0 ——
That total = 0 / 27
Walk away or not: yes
Reasons given one by one: natural attribute is 0, no repeat purchase, not a must-have

How to read it: look at two things only — whether "walk away or not" says no or yes, and which of the three angles is the lowest. It uses multiplication, so as soon as one angle sits near 0 the total is dragged right down. That is the point of it: a business people do not buy again from stays a one-off however hard you push it.

📈One chart: three numbers multiplied, and where the difference comes from

Multiplication magnifies any gap, so a "must-have" cannot rescue a "nobody rebuys".

4How to use it

There is no public calculator for this yet — the method above is the whole procedure; on this site the inputs have to be keyed in by hand.

Think the three questions through first: should this trade exist at all, will people buy again, does everyone need it
Score each of the three from 0 to 3
Read "walk away or not" and the lowest of the three

5Who it is for

People choosing a market or a trade right now; people already running one who feel it gets thinner every year; people who have been pitched a "sure thing" and want to check it for themselves.

6Common questions

Q: Who supplies the three scores?

A: You do. It does not go and check the market; it simply multiplies the three numbers you give it. Score the same set of numbers differently and the conclusion can come out completely different.

Q: If it says "walk away", should I walk away?

A: "Walk away" means: this route does not work through being "born easy to profit in" — the only way through is by brute force on something else (channels, costs). It does not stop you doing it; it just tells you not to count on the market helping you.

Q: How is this different from the "score it from five angles" one?

A: This one looks at the market itself, that one looks at a specific project. The usual order is: screen the market with this first, then judge the project with that.

7Related algorithms

five-dim-gold · score it from five angles pure-compound-six · can money make more money industry-vitality · is this line still alive ← Back to the Algorithm Handbook Handbook index

✓Why this scenario exists (where the content comes from)

This scenario comes from the record of the "algorithms hitting demand" round: the Beijing · karaoke bar demand was put up against several algorithms, and this one was judged "useful", the reason being "input three 0-3 scores → output a profit index of 12/27, ease of profit 44.4%, combination type 'one high, two medium', plus a walk-away gate. The multiplication relationship is explainable; a no can be treated directly as 'you can carry on', a yes can cut the project".

The input and output above come from re-running the exact set of numbers in that record: 2 / 2 / 3 → index 12, walk away = no; the comparison case all 0 → index 0, walk away = yes.

Source: row 1 of the in-house city × industry gap table (Beijing karaoke bar, city demand 0.962, direction up); the paired match ledger, group D1.