My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Generate actionable product ideas through international travel and observation
Consumer product entrepreneurs, brand developers, innovation teams
5-7 days for trip, immediate idea validation upon returnWhat Success Looks Like
Return from trip with 2-3 validated product concepts that can be immediately prototyped and tested with retailers/consumers
Steps to Execute
Define macro trends to investigate before departure
Hire local guide familiar with innovative retail in target market
Create scavenger hunt assignments for each team member
Visit most influential retail locations in that market
Hold daily 5pm debrief sessions to share discoveries
Call creative team during dinner to brief 2-3 top concepts
Creative team works overnight to create visual mock-ups
Review polished concepts at breakfast next day
Present refined concepts to potential retail partners before departure
Checklist
Inputs Needed
- 3-5 person team including designers
- Local market guide/translator
- Creative team available in different time zone
- Pre-identified influential retail locations
- Clear macro trends to investigate
Outputs
- 2-3 polished product concepts with visual mock-ups
- Market validation from local retail observations
- Cultural insights about consumer behavior differences
- Pre-validated concepts ready for retail partner discussions
Example
“Team travels to Tokyo, identifies building texture inspiration, briefs creative team that evening, wakes up to polished hand soap bottle design, presents to Target partner before flight home, secures commitment to test product.”
Related Knowledge
Cultural Shift Detection Framework
A systematic approach to finding business opportunities by identifying cultural shifts or macro trends that have impacte
Creative Tension Framework
A method for creating compelling products by bringing together two disparate or opposing concepts to generate creative t
One Change Rule
A principle that limits innovation to changing only one major element of an existing product or service to maximize prob
Familiar-Novel Intersection Framework
A framework for positioning products at the optimal intersection between familiar (easy to understand) and novel (differ
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