My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Innovation and building 10x better products is nearly impossible in today's environment, so entrepreneurs should focus on 2-3x better products through differentiation rather than innovation.
The Reasoning
10-15 years ago you could have special supplier relationships or unique technical capabilities, but now anyone can spin up websites, features are no longer defensible, and everyone has access to the same resources and tools.
What Needs to Be True
- Technical barriers to entry continue decreasing
- Supplier relationships become commoditized
- Feature development becomes easier with AI/no-code tools
- Patent protection becomes less valuable
Counterargument
True breakthrough innovation still creates massive value (AI, biotech, space) and some markets still require genuine innovation to succeed.
What Would Change This View
New types of technical moats emerging, return of supply chain advantages, or evidence that innovation-focused startups significantly outperform differentiation-focused ones.
Implications for Builders
Focus on differentiation through branding, positioning, and customer experience
Use the remix framework instead of trying to invent new categories
Compete on distribution and marketing rather than product features
Build businesses that can be profitable without venture-scale innovation
Example Application
“Instead of trying to invent a new type of mattress, take existing mattresses and differentiate through sustainability messaging, veteran-focused branding, or premium positioning to capture higher margins.”
Related Knowledge
Bezos Number Framework
A systematic approach to finding business opportunities by identifying and analyzing rapidly growing trends before deciding what to build, named after Jeff Bezos noticing the internet growing 2700% per year before starting Amazon.
Great Ideas Remix Framework
Taking proven successful concepts and applying them to different markets, demographics, or contexts while maintaining th
Build a systematic trend research database for business ideation
A spreadsheet with 100+ categorized trends showing direction, doubling time, causes, effects, and business implications
Systematically improve revenue per customer through strategic pricing changes
Revenue per customer increasing 15-30% annually through systematic pricing improvements without hurting conversion rates
Financial Freedom Definition
True financial freedom isn't having a certain amount of money in your bank account - it's when you stop making choices based on money considerations.
Research as Coping Mechanism
When facing uncertainty or major life changes, some people cope by conducting systematic research to gain control and understanding, turning uncertainty into data-driven insights.