The Startup Ideas Podcast
The best businesses are built at the intersection of emerging technology, community, and real human needs.
“if I can create a vending machine where I put in a dollar and a $150 comes out”
What It Means
Focus on businesses with predictable, positive input-output ratios rather than complex strategies
Why It Matters
Simplifies business evaluation to mathematical relationships, enabling confident scaling decisions
When It's True
When customer acquisition costs and lifetime values are measurable and stable
When It's Risky
When ignoring brand equity, market saturation, or complex customer journeys that affect long-term viability
How to Apply
Measure exact cost per acquisition and customer lifetime value
Test scalability at small scale before major investment
Look for consistent ratios across different traffic sources
Example Scenario
“AI marketing service gets leads at $10 each, converts 20% at $5K average deal size, creating clear $1000 revenue per $50 spent - signal to scale advertising.”
Related Knowledge
apps that have a 100 search volume a month I've paid my rent for 10 years
Very small niche markets can generate substantial sustainable revenue for solo developers
I'm trying to create like a rigged slot machine where I put a dollar in and get $1.30 out
Focus on predictable profitability rather than uncertain growth - find formula that works and scale it
LTV over CAC of above three best consumer mobile apps
Sustainable consumer mobile apps achieve lifetime value to customer acquisition cost ratios exceeding 3:1
Trust doesn't scale, policy does
As teams grow, informal trust-based financial controls lead to death by a thousand cuts - systematic policies prevent sm