Operating in a crowded market with a ton of potential is tempting - and tough. Today, we evaluate companies taking very different approaches to the coffee market. We go deep on Blank Street, Cometeer, and Nguyen Coffee Supply and pull out everything we can learn that'll help you build your business.  

• Tacklebox
• Nguyen Coffee Supply, Cometeer, Blank Street
• Quibi Episode - How to lose 1.8bn dollars in 10 days
• Boston Towns Sketch
• Air Mail article on Blank Street

Today's episode introduces the Product Pyramid Framework, a tool entrepreneurs who have never built products before can use to make sure they build the right thing. The three part system ensures you're focused on features that'll move the needle and translate into organic growth. 

• Tacklebox

Lots of people carve out time to work on their startup ideas. Most people spend that time doing things that don't matter. Today, we talk about something you can do this weekend that'll actually matter for your startup. Like, way more than anything else you could do. We get a little help from Martin Scorsese, a golf startup, and a restaurant that only serves French Dip. 

• Tacklebox

Getting to a startup idea worth starting is active, not passive. The idea won't just show up - you'll need to find it. And it likely won't be the first idea you've got. The way to get a great startup idea is to get lots of startup ideas so you've got context and practice. The way to get lots of startup ideas... well, that's what the episode is about. The three pillars of getting lots of good startup ideas. 

• Tacklebox

Here at Idea to Startup we're obsessed with the process of filtering through and choosing ideas. Today we're joined by Alex White, previously the founder of The Next Big Sound (acquired by Pandora) and current founder of Subcity, and someone with as thoughtful and rigorous an approach around ideation as you'll find. We dig in on how to think through an idea, how to pursue it, and how to decide if it's worth your time. 

• Subcity
• Tacklebox
• Four Steps to the Epiphany

Writing copy for a startup is hard, especially when you're thinking it up from scratch. This episode goes through five frameworks that'll help you write copy that converts customers. We've got a bunch of examples in here and Brian has a sore throat so he "sounds pretty cool, actually" - his words. 

• Byldd - MVP development agency
• Tacklebox - Build your startup with us  (join before we move to application only May 2)
• Inflection Points 

Today we talk with Jonathan Hunt-Glassman, the founder of Oar Health. Oar Health makes safe, effective medication and convenient care for people who want to drink less or quit drinking altogether. Jonathan went through Tacklebox a few years back and created a path a lot of entrepreneurs with jobs would love to follow - validating, building, and growing before quitting his job to transition to Oar full-time. Since, he's raised funding, grown the team, and is tackling addiction in a unique and highly effective way.  He talks through his business, the strategies that allowed him to make this transition, and the most important things he's learned on the journey. 

• Oar Health
• Tacklebox

Today we're going to start yet another startup in 7(ish) minutes. We'll flesh out an idea and figure out how to test it using four key questions. The problem we'll solve is parking in NYC. As always, if anyone wants to run with this - please do. Reach out if you do. This problem needs a solution. 

• Tacklebox

The 100th episode of Idea to Startup dives into the most important thing our entrepreneurs with jobs have done to make progress - purposefully designing their lives so that inertia pulls them towards growth, not inaction. We go through how you can design your life to make progress on your startup the norm with a little help from Brian's grandfather, Poppy.

• Tacklebox

The best entrepreneurs choose what they compete against. They stack the deck so their product is overwhelmingly better than the alternative. The key to this is choosing the category your customer sees you in. Choose the category and you'll be able to dictate your competitors and ensure you have a good chance to win. Today we'll talk about choosing categories with a little help from e-bikes, protein bars, and a mattress. 

• Tacklebox
• RSVP for Entrepreneurs with Jobs Getting Coffee in NYC on April 6
• Consulting inquiries: [email protected]