Idea to Startup

Latest Episodes:

Writing Persuasive Copy to Test an Idea Oct 25, 2023

Show notes

Today, we talk through how to write compelling copy. We go through a few counterintuitive archetypes you can use to dramatically increase the clarity of your messaging, which will allow you to increase your conversion rate and get more people involved earlier in the process. Copywriting is an idea-testing superpower.

00:00 AI Brian
00:33 When Copy Becomes Important
02:40 Why You’re a Bad Writer
05:40 Is This Anything?
06:50 Byldd
07:55 The Big Misunderstanding
10:45 Reverse Architect Copy
13:45 The Attention Pie
15:48 Cold Emails
17:20 Write to One Person

How to Embrace Risk, Uncertainty, and Chaos Oct 18, 2023

Show notes

Today, we'll help you embrace risk, uncertainty, and chaos. The only way to get asymmetric results in life is to spend a lot of time in what we call the "chaos" zone - the uncomfortable place where you're finding things no one else has yet. This type of work (life) is uncomfortable and stressful, so people don't do it. But, it's where all the potential asymmetric value is. So, we go through tactics to make this stage feel safer, allowing you to spend more time in it and increasing the chances you pull a life changing business out of it.

00:00 Tacklebox
00:30 Good Startups are Chaotic
01:08 The Three Phases of Something New: Chaos
01:48 The Three Phases of Something New: Organization
02:40 The Three Phases of Something New: Clarity + Order
03:45 Drop Shipping Cheap Sunglasses
06:12 Last Lecture Series: “How to Live an Asymmetric Life,” Graham Weaver
10:10 Smooth Jazz
10:40 The Scarcity Mindset
11:51Misbelief
14:33 How to Reframe Chaos as Opportunity
16:39 Misogi
20:03 The Magic Comes Later

The Three Types of Problems Worth Your Time to Solve Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

Today we talk through the three types of problems that deserve a solution. We start off with a few higher level thoughts about problems and startups - specifically around achievement incentives and how some bad early decisions usually can't be salvaged by good decisions later on. Then we talk through Hole Problems, Teleporter Problems, and Status Level Jump Problems.

00:40 The Types of Problems Customers Will Solve
01:00 Manhattan in 2007
05:48 Achievement Incentives
06:30 Be Careful What You’re Getting Good At
07:37 Nat Eliason - Getting Too Good at the Wrong Thing
08:21 Bad Early Decisions
09:53 Byldd
10:54 Problem Archetype 1: Hole Problems
14:23 Baby Quip
17:04 Problem Archetype 2: Teleporter Problems
19:19 Problem Archetype 3: Status Level Jump

How to Find Your Wedge, feat. Bleeding Neck Problems (ITS Classic) Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

If you can't get traction, you likely need a wedge. Today, we talk through how to find one. We leverage a few frameworks we use at Tacklebox - the Bleeding Neck Problem, Productizing the First Step, and the 100 Character Landing Page. The goal is to solve an immediate, painful problem that'll build trust and allow you to pitch your bigger, North Star vision. Wedges get you started, and life is 100x harder without them.

Tacklebox

Are you a Freelancer or an Entrepreneur? Sep 27, 2023

Show notes

Today, we'll help you think through a deceptively tough question - are you a freelancer or an entrepreneur? Every decision you make needs to nest neatly below this core decision for your business to work, but tons of founders are either trying to do both simultaneously or think they're one when they're really the other.
We clarify the difference between freelancer and entrepreneur, help you decide which will make you happier, and get you started on the path for whichever you choose.

0:30 Why Entrepreneurs are unhappy
01:14 Do you want to be a freelancer or entrepreneur?
04:12 Seth Godin Conversation
04:58 Our definition of a freelancer
07:28 Our definition of entrepreneurs
09:07 Cuban’s Definition of Entrepreneurship
11:24 BYLDD
12:25 The Restaurant Startup
15:15 Rivers and Dams
19:19 No Lunging
22:44 Don’t Pretend
23:10 How do you want to spend your days?

A System to Relish the Uncomfortable Stuff Sep 20, 2023

Show notes

Today, we help you become the type of founder who relishes uncomfortable things that lead to successful startups. There are no real secrets in the startup world - the hard, proactive, uncomfortable work leads to businesses that matter. This work doesn’t happen without a system.

Today we help you build that system, using The Costanza Swap, The Three Levers of Resilience, and The Failure Case.

Hoo ahh.

Tacklebox

00:24 Doing Things You Don’t Want To Do
02:45 Why the Eisenhower Box Doesn’t Work for Entrepreneurs
03:30 The Al Pacino Problem
04:45 Creating Content
08:00 Smooth Jazz
08:30 The Costanza Swap
10:15 One Out, One In
11:20 The Three Levers of Resilience
12:40 Scheduling
13:24 Committing
14:30 Dissecting
17:40 The Failure Case
21:15 Happiness

How to Identify and Kill Bad Startup Ideas Masquerading As Good Ones Sep 13, 2023

Show notes

Today, we'll lay out a framework to help you identify and kill bad ideas. It's hard to objectively evaluate your idea early on - this framework helps you rise above your idea to do it effectively. A side-effect is that the framework will help you find and pursue the good ideas.
We talk through 1) Finding and Evaluating the Real Risk, 2) Predicting Organic Growth Potential, and 3) Predicting the Likelihood of Converting Early Customers, using a startup idea from a listener as an example.

00:25 - Killing Bad Startup Ideas
02:00 - The Three Pillars of the Will Your Idea Fail Framework
02:45 - The Startup Idea - AI Messaging for Plumbers and Electricians
03:15 - Dig out of a Hole Markets link to episode
05:56 - Smooth Jazz
06:24 - Part 1 - How to Find and Evaluate the Real Risk
07:35 - Flipping your biggest risk to your biggest strength
11:00 - Decisions aren’t made in a bubble
13:45 - Part 2 - Predicting the Organic Growth Potential
14:00 - Kunal Shah Delta 4 Scale
17:41 - Part 3 - Predicting whether you’ll actually be able to get first customers to convert
18:49 Managed by Q

A System to Test and Build Your Startup (Part III - Implementing Your System This Weekend) Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

Today is the last episode in the three-part series on an internal operating system for people working on startup ideas. We talk through the core pillars - Projects, Areas, Inbox - and the multipliers (like Keystone Actions) that'll make sure you're focused on the things that could be differentiators for your business. After today, you'll have everything you need to build your own system.

00:24 Your Startup System
02:18 The Birthday Email
06:34 Email System Prompts
08:26 Smooth Jazz
08:55 Structure - Projects, Areas, Inbox
10:06 Getting Things Done + The PARA Method + Notion Template
11:00 Projects
16:14 Areas
16:46 Inbox
19:55 The Multipliers
20:00 Keystone Species
23:12 Never Agains
24:39 Lottery Tickets
26:44 Doing the Thing
27:31 Reflection

An Operating System to Help You Move Faster By Focusing On Less - Part 2 (feat. a monkey reciting Hamlet) Aug 30, 2023

Show notes

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 system that'll help you move fast based on inertia.

00:25 - Internal Operating System Part II
03:15 - Monkeys and Shakespeare
07:40 - Smooth Jazz
08: 05 - Reverse Engineering a System
10:45 - Where is the Monkey?
11:33 - The Four Things That Matter for an Early Stage Business
11:40 - Problem
12:01 - Delta 4 Status Level Jump
13:34 - Secret
16:35 - Optimize for Inertia
18:37 - 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think
20:00 - The Thousand Daily Votes
21:43 - The Last 15%
23:30 - Script the Beginning and End
24:30 - Feedback Loop Optimization

A Weekly System to Keep Entrepreneurs With Jobs Moving Fast (Part 1 - Strategy) Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

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 measurement system around how they pursue and test an idea - this series will help you do it.
In part 1, we go through what a strategy should look like and the three counterintuitive benefits to creating one.

00:00 Jazz
00:25 What should you work on today?
02:29 Golf Clubs in Cities
4:20 The Danger of Unstructured Work
6:58 The Three Ideas, #1 - No One Does This
8:45 Change your Behavior to Change How You Think
10:22 The Magic Happens After You Start
15:55 The Four Questions to Anchor Your Week

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