My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
X, Beautifully Done
A business strategy of taking an existing product category and simply executing it with dramatically better design, user experience, and quality
Decision Rule
When evaluating business opportunities, ask: 'What existing product do people use but complain about the experience?' Then ask: 'What would this look like if it was just beautifully done?'
How It Works
Most products are optimized for cost or speed-to-market, not user delight; customers will pay premiums for beautiful execution of basic needs
Failure Modes
Over-designing for edge cases instead of nailing the core experience
Beautiful but non-functional (form over function)
Targeting wrong customer segment (people who don't value beauty)
Underestimating operational complexity behind 'simple' products
Example Decision
“Instead of creating new air quality monitoring technology, Birdie took existing sensors and made them beautiful - white circle with bird that changes position instead of confusing numbers and beeping alarms”
Related Knowledge
One year of obsession can change your life
Most people fail to achieve breakthrough results because they spread attention too thin across too many priorities
Four F's Goal Setting Framework
A personal goal-setting system that organizes life objectives into four categories: Family, Fitness, Finances, and Fun
Year of Obsession Framework
A commitment strategy where you choose one area to become completely obsessed with for an entire year, believing that si
Launch a local service business by leveraging neighborhood complaints and pre-selling before building infrastructure
$100K+ in pre-sales, verified demand, operational business serving customers profitably
I believe that a one-year obsession can change your life
Singular focus on one area for an entire year creates breakthrough results through compound effort
People use podcasts as psychological escape hatches from family time, making podcast creators essent
Even loving families create social/mental fatigue; podcasts provide solo mental space without physical abandonment guilt