Idea to Startup

Today is part 2 of our series helping you build an internal operating system. We identify the four things you'll need to have happen for your startup to gain momentum, then we organize those into a s…

Today, we'll kick off a series that'll help people with jobs and startup ideas build an internal system that'll help them track progress and build momentum. Too many founders have no strategy or meas…

Today, we'll help you find a differentiator powerful enough that it can support your business. We'll talk through what a differentiator actually allows you to do, five prompts to help you uncover and…

Today, we'll help you get out of your own way. We subscribe to the Charlie Munger school of "instead of trying to be smarter, try to be less dumb," and this episode digs into three ways to simplify y…

Today, we'll talk through a framework that'll help you evaluate whether you're building something useful enough to anchor a business. Most startups fail because the thing they built doesn't make a bi…

Today, we talk through four characteristics of great startup ideas (with a bonus fifth Brian thought of post-recording). We discuss organic growth, market innovation vs. product innovation, growing m…

Today we talk about organic growth. Your startup won't be successful if your first customers aren't compelled to tell people about how you've helped them. Luckily, organic growth is straightforward. …

Today, we'll help you build a system for creativity. We'll start by defining creativity as an equation to make it more accessible. Then, we'll develop a system that focuses on the inputs of the creat…

Today, we'll talk about the big question - should you start with a focused niche? There are pros and cons to the approach, but the perceived cons - "what if I get tired of the niche in a few years?" …

Today, we'll talk through why you didn't get a product live last weekend despite an episode that walked you through a step-by-step process to do it. Last week, we ignored the emotional stuff. The ine…

Today we'll help you get the first version of your product up and out. We use a three-part framework to help you focus in on the one core feature you've got to nail. We also find your customers inert…

Today, we'll talk through how to identify and pursue the big, consequential ideas - what we'll call Quests. We go through how to identify them, how to wrap our arms around them, and what to do when y…

Today, Seth Godin (!!) virtually dropped by to talk through a bunch of startup ideas. He gives his opinion on how he’d start everything from a pasta truck to an updated CSA program. We dive into risk…

Today, we'll talk about one of the most common hurdles entrepreneurs run into - getting tempted by a new idea a few months into working on a different idea. We lay out a framework to identify the fir…

Today, we'll talk through a landing page system that'll help you find a great initial customer - one that can anchor your business. We'll talk through the circle framework, as well as the One Person …

Today we chat with Jonathan Swanson, cofounder of Thumbtack, Athena, and Powerset. We cover a ton of ground - starting with the Sunday idea club that led to Thumbtack, how to scale a marketplace, and…

Today, we're going to talk about one of the fundamental laws of startups - The Wedge. It's the best way to build trust when you have a product that's got a longer feedback loop or requires a lot from…

Today, we'll talk about people. An old boss of Brian's said the best way to see into the future is to see the present in higher resolution than anyone else. Understanding people - yourself and your c…

Today is week two of testing out a startup idea live on the show. We're pushing and pulling on the chronic pain idea, setting up the system to get interactions with customers and establishing our org…

Today, we'll kick off a series where Brian is going to test out a startup idea live. We begin the way every idea should begin - by figuring out why the thing will fail and building in systems to avoi…