My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
6-Step Business Idea Research Framework
A systematic approach to discovering profitable business opportunities by researching six key areas: demand, audience size, market leaders, shortcomings, business models, and unsolved problems
How It Works
Works by identifying patterns and gaps in existing successful businesses, then finding opportunities to solve unmet needs or improve on existing solutions
Components
Research demand - identify problems people actively have
Measure audience size - quantify how many people share that problem
Analyze leaders - study what's succeeding and why
Identify shortcomings - find gaps in current solutions
Evaluate business models - determine most effective monetization
Spot unsolved problems - find opportunities leaders are missing
When to Use
When looking for new business opportunities, validating market demand, or analyzing competitive landscapes before starting a venture
When Not to Use
When you already have strong domain expertise and direct customer feedback, or when entering completely new/undefined markets
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
Example
“Research 1800 Flowers → discover succulents trending among millennials → identify revenue concentration in holidays as weakness → create year-round succulent business with artistic vases”
Related Knowledge
Extract business insights and trend signals from public company annual reports
Finding 1-2 specific lines about fast-growing segments that spark viable business ideas
shiny_object_syndrome_trap
Collector of People Mental Model
Systematically building relationships with interesting people before you need them, treating networking as collecting va
Consistency beats perfection in fitness and business
Systems and non-negotiable rules matter more than motivation or perfect conditions
when you see a big company say one or two lines like that that gets me really interested
Large companies with millions of customers mentioning small trends signals massive future opportunities
big results typically come from one thing
Massive wealth and success usually result from exceptional execution in a single area rather than diversification