My First Million

The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.

Adventurous path choices compound in unexpected ways

Meeting German auction expert on train led to $500M domain business; Uber arbitrage bonding led to 100x investment return

Should say yes to unusual opportunities even without clear ROI

Focus and specialization create more reliable success than random exploration

Accepting speaking invitation in random country leads to unexpected business opportunity

Good Agent vs Bad Agent Decision Rule

Quickly assess whether a customer service representative can actually help you, and hang up immediately if they can't

Dot Collector Framework

A life approach where you say yes to diverse experiences and opportunities, trusting they will connect meaningfully late

Zero-to-One vs One-to-Hundred Operator Framework

Classification of entrepreneurs as either idea generators who start things (0-1) or operators who scale things (1-100)

Cheaply access large college audiences when Facebook was campus-only

Access to 30-40k student audiences for $10/day advertising spend

Get large institutions to bend standard rules through strategic communication

Institution agrees to exception that normally wouldn't be granted

your job is to be a DOT collector

Actively seek diverse experiences and connections without knowing their future utility