My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
“I'm probably more of your zero to one guy than I am you're like one to 100”
What It Means
Some entrepreneurs excel at starting things while others excel at scaling them - know which you are
Why It Matters
Playing to your strengths and finding complementary partners is key to success
When It's True
When you have track record showing clear preference for starting vs scaling
When It's Risky
When both skills are required in same person or role
How to Apply
Assess your energy and performance across company stages
Find partners with complementary skills
Structure roles to match natural strengths
Plan transitions between startup phases
Example Scenario
“Serial entrepreneur starts company, gets initial traction, then brings in experienced operator to scale while moving to next venture”
Related Knowledge
Zero-to-One vs One-to-Hundred Operator Framework
Classification of entrepreneurs as either idea generators who start things (0-1) or operators who scale things (1-100)
Dot Collector Framework
A life approach where you say yes to diverse experiences and opportunities, trusting they will connect meaningfully late
Cheaply access large college audiences when Facebook was campus-only
Access to 30-40k student audiences for $10/day advertising spend
Get large institutions to bend standard rules through strategic communication
Institution agrees to exception that normally wouldn't be granted
Good Agent vs Bad Agent Decision Rule
Quickly assess whether a customer service representative can actually help you, and hang up immediately if they can't
Adventurous path choices compound in unexpected ways
Should say yes to unusual opportunities even without clear ROI