My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Learning Quality Assessment
Most people have experiences but learn incorrect lessons from them. Success correlates with ability to extract the right lessons from life experiences.
Decision Rule
When evaluating people (hires, partners, investments), prioritize those who demonstrate ability to learn correct lessons over those with just experience
How It Works
Cognitive biases, ego, and random attribution cause people to draw wrong conclusions from experiences. Those who can see through these biases learn faster and make better decisions.
Failure Modes
Being overconfident in your own lesson extraction
Dismissing lessons that contradict your worldview
Not distinguishing between correlation and causation
Learning overly specific lessons from small sample sizes
Example Decision
“Instead of hiring someone because they've 'failed before and learned from it,' evaluate whether their stated learnings actually make logical sense.”
Related Knowledge
Brand moats are as valuable as technology moats but undervalued by tech entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs should consider brand-first strategies, not just tech-first
Brand as Moat Strategy
Using brand power as a primary competitive moat instead of technology or network effects, particularly effective in luxury goods where perception drives value.
Correct Lesson Learning Framework
A systematic approach to evaluate whether someone is drawing the correct conclusions from their experiences, rather than just having experiences.
Service-to-Product Acquisition Strategy
Using profits from a service business to systematically acquire better businesses with recurring revenue and product characteristics.
Acquire and turn around distressed luxury brands
Transformed brand with luxury margins (75%+), global distribution, and sustainable competitive moat
Build trusted business relationships entirely through digital interactions
Trusted business partnerships conducting significant transactions without ever meeting in person