Idea to Startup

If lots of people think your startup idea makes no sense, it's got a much higher likelihood of succeeding. Counterintuitive ideas will buy you time to build, test, and flesh out your product before competitors catch on. Today, we talk through how to come up with and grow counterintuitive ideas while looking at a bonkers business Brian can't get enough of.

• Tacklebox Membership (Cyber Monday Code "BuildThings"
• Core Walking
• List of Mental Models

Today we talk through three things entrepreneurs can do over Thanksgiving break - and the next six weeks - to differentiate themselves in 2022. Stories about the fireplace delusion, rainfall in Bermuda, and how to tell sexual partners you've got chlamydia will help us out. 

• The Fireplace Delusion
• Rain in Bermuda
• Tacklebox Method

If you were building an MBA in entrepreneurship from scratch, how would you do it? We built out a framework to design your own program - and just about any other program you'd like - on today's pod.  

• Tacklebox Method

Today we'll talk about a guy in the Adirondacks who sells wood for $10 when everyone else around him sells it for $5. He sells 10x more wood than all his competitors and it's all due to being able to answer one question really well. We'll dig into that question and how you can leverage it to build your business on this week's Idea to Startup. 

• Tacklebox Method
• Elephant water skiing on the Hudson River
• The Effective Executive

The apartment I live in was on the market for a year without a bid, then sold in a bidding war for well above ask in a week. What the heck happened? Today's episode breaks down why people took action (and a framework to create it).  

• Tacklebox Method 
• Sell The Position (🐐 episode)

People keep telling us they're stuck. The next three pods are stories that'll get your juices flowing. It'll be impossible to be stuck after them. Today's is about Selling The Position - it's probably the most helpful single concept we've ever discussed on the pod.

•  Seth Godin - The Wrong Bus
• Tacklebox Method
  
   

Lots of people come into our orbit because they'd like to get their startup to a point where they can quit their full-time job and transition over. Here's what you need to do before you quit - and what'll happen to you and your idea once you do. If you're looking for a kick in the ass, this might be it.

• Tacklebox Method
• The Artists Way
   

We leverage Yu-kai Chou's Octalysis Framework to think through motivating customers. We test it out using a startup idea that's come across Brian's desk recently: a network of Airstream trailers, dropped on people's property, that digital nomads can subscribe to. How would we motivate these people to take action? What can we test? The framework leads the way as we kickstart the business. 

• Tacklebox Method
• Yu-Kai Chou (Twitter)
• Yu-Kai Chou (Blog)
• Actionable Gamification

In part two of our Mailbag series, Brian answers listener questions on how to run lean, inexpensive, fast tests on an idea that seemingly has big up front costs (we launch tests for the pasta startup), how niche is too niche, and a framework to deal with stress as a founder.

As always, thank you for the questions, and if you'd like to submit a question, email it to [email protected] 
 

Notes:

• Tacklebox Method

The roles available at Oar include: 

• VP, Engineering: https://jobs.jobvite.com/newco/job/ohVGffwR
• VP, Product: https://jobs.jobvite.com/newco/job/oeUFffwM
• UI/UX Designer: https://jobs.jobvite.com/newco/job/oTUFffwr
• Software Engineer: https://jobs.jobvite.com/newco/job/oCUFffwa
• Strategy, Finance and Operations Director: https://jobs.jobvite.com/newco/job/otcRgfww
• Social Media and Outreach Specialist: https://jobs.jobvite.com/newco/job/oebRgfwg
  
  
  
   

Brian answers emails from listeners on a startup ethos, examples of great marketing - leveraging behavioral economics to remove friction and The Rent Is Too Damn High guy, nootropics (sort of), and the best inputs for the best outputs. We also start a travel company for couples.   

• Tacklebox Method
• All the books I mentioned 
• Podcasts 
  • How I Built This
  • The Dave Chang Show
  • No Stupid Questions
  • Indie Hackers