My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Product in Search of Market Recognition
Identifying when you have strong technology or product capabilities but haven't found the right customer segment or use case that will pay sufficiently for the solution.
Decision Rule
If you have impressive technology but struggle with sales cycles, pricing, or customer adoption, focus on market fit rather than product development.
How It Works
Helps entrepreneurs avoid technology-first trap where they build impressive solutions for problems customers don't prioritize enough to pay for.
Failure Modes
Abandoning good technology too quickly due to initial market challenges
Continuing to build features instead of testing different market segments
Assuming product quality alone will create demand
Example Decision
“AI video dubbing technology works well but education customers have no budget. Pivot to acquiring existing dubbing services with paying customers rather than pursuing new customer acquisition.”
Related Knowledge
College entrepreneurship communities should be underground and exclusive
Exclusivity and mystery create stronger commitment and higher-quality membership
Young entrepreneurs should emphasize authentic achievements over inflated experience claims
Authenticity and specific accomplishments are more credible than cumulative metrics
Summer Melt Prevention Framework
A systematic approach to preventing prospective students from withdrawing their college enrollment commitment at the last minute, typically during summer before freshman year.
Content-First Brand Building Framework
A brand building approach that prioritizes storytelling and content creation over traditional advertising to achieve cheaper customer acquisition and authentic engagement.
Decide whether to raise venture capital or bootstrap a profitable business
Making optimal funding decision that aligns with business potential and founder goals, avoiding premature scaling or missed opportunities.
Scale CPG product from small regional chains to national distribution
Systematic expansion from regional chains to national retailers while maintaining velocity metrics and profit margins.