My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Small Batch Iteration Advantage
A competitive advantage gained by testing products in much smaller batches than competitors, enabling faster feedback loops and more iterations.
How It Works
While large competitors can only test in big batches (slow, expensive cycles), small players can test in tiny batches, get faster feedback, and iterate more quickly to find winning formulations.
Components
Find minimum viable batch size for testing
Identify fast feedback mechanisms
Create rapid iteration cycles
Test with target customers directly
Scale only proven winners
When to Use
When competing against large established players, for taste/preference-based products, when customer feedback is critical for success.
When Not to Use
For products with high fixed costs per test, when scale economies are more important than iteration speed.
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
Example
“Muscle Milk tested flavors in 15-gallon batches in LA while big competitors could only test in much larger batches, enabling faster iteration to find the vanilla flavor breakthrough.”
Related Knowledge
Build a multi-generational family business where family members work together and live in proximity
Family members living in same neighborhood, all working in family business, kids playing together, successful exit while
Sell a business while retaining the most valuable strategic asset for ongoing revenue
Successfully exit main business at high valuation while retaining strategic asset that generates ongoing revenue and ser
optimizing_for_wrong_market
underwriting_vs_outcome_confusion
Edisonian Principle of Design
A product development approach focused on rapid experimentation, immediate feedback, and constant iteration rather than master planning.
Timeline Forcing Analysis
A method of analyzing successful companies by drawing out year-by-year timelines to reveal the 'forgotten grinding years' between start and breakthrough.