My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Skills Over Pills for Mental Health
Timeframe: 3-7 year trend as regulatory approval for digital therapeutics increases and consumer awareness grows
What's Changing
Growing consumer preference for behavioral therapy and skill-building over pharmaceutical solutions for mental health issues like insomnia, anxiety, and depression.
Driving Forces
Side effects and dependency concerns with psychiatric medications
Success of apps like Calm and Headspace proving behavioral approaches work
Rising awareness of behavioral therapy effectiveness
Technology enabling personalized skill-building programs
Cultural shift toward holistic wellness approaches
Winners
- Digital therapeutics companies
- Behavioral therapy practitioners
- Wellness and meditation app developers
- Companies teaching coping skills and habits
- Coaches and therapists trained in behavioral methods
Losers
- Pharmaceutical companies focused on psychiatric drugs
- Traditional medication-first treatment approaches
- Sleep aid and anxiety medication manufacturers
- Healthcare providers not trained in behavioral therapy
How to Position Yourself
Emphasize 'no side effects' compared to medications
Focus on teaching permanent skills vs temporary fixes
Use before/after stories showing lasting behavior change
Partner with medical professionals who support behavioral approaches
Highlight scientific research supporting behavioral therapy
Early Signals to Watch
Example Implementation
“Sleep app markets as 'fix your insomnia with skills not pills' targeting the 75 million Americans spending $75 billion on sleep aids, offering cognitive behavioral therapy through licensed therapists via app instead of Ambien prescriptions.”
Related Knowledge
Licensed Digital Therapy Apps
75 million Americans have insomnia, spending $75 billion yearly on sleep aids that barely work and have side effects.
The Investor Pitch Narrative Arc
A 16-slide sequence that builds investor confidence by answering their core questions in logical order: Are you credible?
Lead With Credibility Rule
When you have meaningful accomplishments, put them as slide 2 to establish that you're worth listening to before diving into your business details.
Create a problem slide that makes investors immediately understand the scale and urgency of what you're solving
Investor reads your problem slide and thinks 'wow, this affects way more people than I realized and I can see why they c
Clearly communicate your competitive advantage in a way investors immediately understand
Investor finishes reading and thinks 'ah, I see exactly how this is different and why that difference matters'
Save Good News for the End
Take 15% of your good news and hold it back until the final slides to create a positive lasting impression and additional momentum.