My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Byproduct businesses offer hidden value
Evidence
Ford's charcoal business from manufacturing waste, fashion brands' sample disposal problem creating 260 Sample Sale opportunity, unused Airbnb nights enabling host exchange networks.
Implication
Look for waste streams, excess inventory, or underutilized assets in existing industries. Often these 'problems' represent business opportunities for intermediaries.
Counter Belief
Byproduct opportunities are usually low-margin and depend on main business continuing. Market size may be limited by underlying industry constraints.
Example Application
Research industries you understand and identify what they throw away or can't efficiently monetize. Position yourself as solution for their waste stream or excess capacity.
Related Knowledge
First Nut Then Noble Mission
A two-phase approach to entrepreneurship where you first focus entirely on financial freedom (making your 'first nut' of a few million dollars) through any viable means, then pivot to working on meaningful, impactful projects once financially secure.
High Effort Low Opportunity Trap
Situation where extremely capable entrepreneurs (10/10 talent) apply themselves to mediocre market opportunities (4/10), resulting in suboptimal returns despite high effort and skill.
Viral Content Detection System
A four-part technological system for engineering viral content by detecting trending topics early, optimizing packaging, and testing variations before full distribution.
Session-Based Revenue Model
A time-boxed service model where customers pay fixed fees for specific duration access to facilities or experiences, optimized through session scheduling and capacity management.
Launch profitable sample sale business
Regular pop-up events selling high-quality brand samples at 50-70% discounts, generating 20-30% commission on sales whil
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Automated system generating personalized deepfake videos (e.