My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Efficient Markets Business Framework
A business model based on identifying and removing inefficiencies in markets where transactions that should occur don't happen due to structural barriers.
How It Works
Inefficient markets exist due to three main barriers: buyers and sellers don't know each other, they can't determine objective pricing, or there's insufficient trust for transactions to clear. By removing these barriers, you capture economic value from previously wasted latent demand.
Components
Identify market with latent demand
Diagnose the specific inefficiency (discovery, pricing, or trust)
Build solution to remove that barrier
Capture value from newly enabled transactions
Scale through network effects
When to Use
When you identify markets where people want to transact but can't due to discovery, pricing, or trust issues. Particularly effective for niche markets with passionate communities.
When Not to Use
In already efficient markets with established players, or where the inefficiency is too small to support a sustainable business model.
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
Example
“eBay removed discovery inefficiencies for niche collectibles like Pez dispensers. Google removed discovery inefficiencies for niche content like 'how to build fences for llamas.' HubSpot's Inbound conference removes networking inefficiencies for marketers.”
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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)