Idea to Startup

Latest Episodes:

A Podcast Figuring Out Your Value (ITS Classic) Jul 03, 2024

Show notes

Today, we'll help you figure out how to find and position your startup idea's value. We'll talk through the Need/Gap/Swap framework, go through a few startups doing the value thing well and poorly, and we'll talk about a Magician on the Upper West Side.

01:25 Intro
02:32 Make as Much Money As You Can In One Week
10:13 Smooth Jazz
10:45 The Magician
14:22 Non-Alcoholic Drinks

How to Prioritize as an Idea-Stage Founder (ITS Classic) Jun 20, 2024

Show notes

A throwback to the 6th ever episode of Idea to Startup - an episode that’s been listened to thousands of times and has a consumption rate at nearly 100%. Entrepreneurs can do anything, but they can’t do everything. How do you prioritize early on? How do you differentiate? This episode presents a framework that’ll ensure you work on the things that give your startup its best chance at success.

00:00 Intro
03:03 College Basketball
05:49 Ordinary and Extraordinary
06:21 Prioritization, Willpower, Internal Reports
08:00 Stones and Sand
14:00 Humans Overestimate Wownside and Underestimate Upside
14:36 You Have No Willpower
20:27 Tracking

Things That Always Work and Things That Never Work Jun 13, 2024

Show notes

Today, we dig into the Always Work and Never Work Lists - a method that'll help entrepreneurs make good decisions through the constant second guessing and self-doubt that a startup brings. We talk through examples from the lists and apply them to a moment Brian had to deal with recently. We get a little help from Goodfellas and Taylor Swift.

00:30 Intro
02:54 Is My Idea Actually Good?
04:13 Goodfellas
05:44 Smooth Jazz
06:11 Should I Stop Doing This Podcast?
08:24 The Process
08:55 The Three Prompts
12:20 The Things That Always + Never Work Lists
17:27 The Plan
18:58 You
19:57 People Over 30 Don’t Sprint

How to Create Useful Content (for people who don't think they can create content) Jun 05, 2024

Show notes

Today, we'll talk about content. Two of the most asked questions we get are "should I create content?" and "if I should... what the heck should I say?" Creating content feels daunting until you realize the best way to create content is to not create content. We go through how to do that, leaning on a few examples and a content generating framework. We also crown the best burrito in NYC.

00:25 Intro
02:56 Why People Order Hot Habanero Sauce
07:45 Byldd
08:52 How to Start
14:25 Content as a System
14:40 Top of Funnel
15:38 Mid-Funnel
16:20 Brand Building
20:00 The Act of Noticing

A Mouse Pod (How to Stand Out in a Crowded Market) May 30, 2024

Show notes

One of my favorite episodes in a while. Today, we talk about how you can stand out in a crowded market by looking at an exceptionally successful exterminator. We'll pull out four lessons that make a framework to create contrast between your business and your competitors. We'll talk through Customer Journey Mapping, the Feature Fold, how to take yourself seriously through pricing and the things other people stink at. And, we'll get a ton of help from the Mouse Man (and no help from Ruby).

00:30 Intro
02:00 We’ve Got Mice
05:15 The Mouse Man’s Funnel
07:50 Smooth Jazz
08:21 One - Build Your Funnel to Match Customer Emotion
11:45 Good Questions For Your Funnel
12:30 Two - Contrast from the Feature Fold
14:30 Saving your Customers a Decision
15:53 Three - Take Yourself Seriously
19:14 Four - The Things Other People Stink At
22:14 The End
22:50 Recap of the Four Lessons

A Weekly Prioritization and Audit Framework for Entrepreneurs (ITS Classic) May 22, 2024

Show notes

One of the most listened to episodes in ITS history with an average consumption rate well over 100%. Today, we go through a Weekly Prioritization and Audit Framework for entrepreneurs. We'll hit on three giant shifts you'll likely need to make - ditching a to do list and moving to your calendar, weekly progress reports, and environment design. We get a little help from our friends in Finland along the way.

For more info on the framework, subscribe to the Idea to Startup Insider Newsletter.

Tacklebox ("Build Right" for 50% off month one)
Tom Eisenmann Episode

00:30 Intro
01:09 A Weekly Prioritization Framework
04:13 The Race to Five Pivots
05:49 Smooth Jazz
06:13 Finland has the most gold metals per capita
11:01 Prioritization System
13:27 Calendar
19:53 The Weekly Audit
22:53 Your Environment
25:30 An Overview of the System

Running a Concierge MVP Live (feat. the four-step Concierge MVP framework) May 16, 2024

Show notes

Today, we'll run through a Concierge MVP example live on the pod. Brian chooses an idea specifically because someone wrote in and said it was "un-Concierageable," which isn't a word but is the reason this podcast exists.
We go through the four-part framework that'll help you build a Concierge MVP - The Three Components of Wild Success, Acquiring Customers, The Test, and Feedback Loops. And we get a little help from an alum helping people get grants and our old friend - the Monkey on the Pedestal.

00:30 The Concierge MVP
02:05 The Grant Concierge MVP Example
04:56 Pushback
06:30 Smooth Jazz
07:00 David’s Idea
09:23 Concierge MVP Step One: The Three Components of Wild Success
10:43 Monkey and the Pedestal
14:08 Concierge MVP Step Two: Acquiring Customers
18:22 Concierge MVP Step Three: The Test
21:03 Concierge MVP Step Four: The Feedback Loop
22:52 The End - 85% of the Way There

How to Start the Business You’re Not Quite Ready to Start May 08, 2024

Show notes

Today we talk through a system to help you start the business you don't feel ready to start. We do this because that's the only type of business there is. You're never going to feel prepared so you can't let that fear paralyze you.
We talk through the three main gaps that keep founders from starting - the Knowledge Gap, the Network Gap, and the Product Gap - and describe a method that'll help you navigate each. We get a little help from a startup idea Brian's been kicking around, a turtle swimming across the Atlantic Ocean, and the Backstreet Boys.

00:30 The Business You’re Not Quite Ready to Start 01:31 The Three Gaps
03:28 Why Turtles Swim Across the Atlantic Ocean
07:11 Smooth Jazz
07:40 Before You’re Ready
08:16 The Customized Diet Idea
10:20 The Notion Idea Template
12:06 The Knowledge Gap - The Expert Interview
15:51 The Network Gap - The Monthly Newsletter
17:48 The Product Gap - The Marathon Shoe and The Knowledge Spectrum
21:33 The End - Action Reduces Fear

How to Take Yourself Seriously feat. The Entrepreneurship Handbook (ITS Classic) May 01, 2024

Show notes

Most people's startup approach is haphazard. It's a combination of instincts and reactions and luck or happenstance. People who succeed are far more purposeful. Today, we'll help you take your idea and yourself seriously. We'll build your entrepreneurship handbook - the thing that'll let you make tough decisions at scale.

1:00 Your Entrepreneurial Self
2:35 The Dads
7:00 Byldd
8:04 Why Find Your Lobster Failed
12:40 The Serious Email
14:12 Entrepreneur or Tourist?
15:13 Your Entrepreneurship Handbook
20:30 The End - Implementing

A Startup Storytelling Framework for Non-Storytellers Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

Today, we'll help all the non-storytellers tell a compelling story about their business. We've got a framework that'll walk you through the ingredients of a compelling story, and a mise en place-inspired approach that'll help you get to story market fit. We've got some rules, some variables, some accelerants, and an example about a service that helps Airbnb hosts launch their own interior design businesses.

00:30 Storytelling for your startup
03:24 The Two Reasons for the Barefoot Son Story
07:09 Smooth Jazz
07:37 The Three Ruls of Good Storytelling for Entrepreneurs
08:45 Rule 1: Good Stories Are About Speed
10:44 Rule 2: You Don’t Matter
11:39 Rule 3: A Good Story is Earned
12:22 Mise En Place
14:10 The Ingredients of Your Story
17:09 The Accelerants
19:24 Airbnb Interior Design
23:23 The End: Montaigne

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