My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
“the further apart those two things are, the more powerful the potential idea”
What It Means
Connecting concepts from very different domains creates more innovative and differentiated solutions than obvious combinations
Why It Matters
Provides framework for generating breakthrough ideas rather than incremental improvements
When It's True
When disparate concepts can be meaningfully connected without losing coherence or functionality
When It's Risky
When connections are too abstract or confusing for consumers to understand and adopt
How to Apply
Look for inspiration in completely unrelated industries
Ask 'what if this but for that' with distant concepts
Test that creative tension enhances rather than confuses value
Example Scenario
“Method combined personal care aesthetics with home cleaning function - two distant domains that created eco-chic positioning no competitor had attempted.”
Related Knowledge
I started an idea book in 2016. 10 ideas a day. A lot are bad ideas. 70 80% terrible, but you got to
Consistent daily idea generation builds creative thinking capacity, even though most ideas will be low quality
Cultural Shift Detection Framework
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Creative Tension Framework
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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
Generate actionable product ideas through international travel and observation
Return from trip with 2-3 validated product concepts that can be immediately prototyped and tested with retailers/consum