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.   Tacklebox Idea to Startup Newsletter Building a Story Brand Your New Life Will Cost You Your Old One Work Clean - The Life-Changing Power of Mise en Place How to Write Essays that S ..read more

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 their main idea. We lay out a framework to identify the first principles of the new idea fast so you can decide if it's worth a pivot. We also dig in on why the urge to pivot shows up, procrastination, and how to win a baking contest. And, English Lords from the 17th century. Tacklebox Idea to Startup Newsletter    00:26 Intro 05:40 Chronic Pain Side Idea 08:30 Smooth Jazz 09:00 All Babies Are Cute 13:00 Internal vs. External Signal 14:01 Why Yo ..read more

Today, we'll help you pick your startup's first customer segment. This decision dooms a huge percentage of first time entrepreneurs - if you don't understand what the job of your first customer segment is, you'll likely pick a customer incapable of doing it. Your first customer has a unique responsibility that no other customer will have - you need to choose them carefully. Conversely, if you choose the right first customer, you'll set yourself up for serious growth.  We go through the five characteristics your first customer needs, give a preview of what your successful startup will lo ..read more

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. Byldd 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 ..read more

Today's classic episode will help you get the first version of your product up and out this weekend. We use a three-part framework to help you focus in on the one core feature you've got to nail that can be built by someone with no technical or product building skills in an afternoon. We also find your customers inertia and ride that wave to make it easier to use your product than not. We get help from an airbnb for lawn equipment startup and move the ball forward on the chronic pain idea. Byldd Tacklebox Tacklebox Newsletter The Personal MBA 0:55 The Two Questions Entrepreneurs Have About ..read more

Today, we talk through a 4-part system to generate ideas - one that'll tap into your brain's natural ability to develop novel solutions rather than just waiting (hoping) inspiration will strike. We'll do it with a little help from a baseball training facility, a corked wine bottle, and an MRI startup.  Tacklebox Idea to Startup Newsletter Fermenting Ideas Pod: Customers speak Problem Pod: How to Create a Strategy for your Startup Readwise Idea to Startup Bot 00:26 Idea People 02:47 A Baseball Training Facility 04:45 Inversion 07:46 Smooth Jazz 9:24 Part 1: Identifying the Problem 12:34 ..read more

Today's classic ITS episode discusses the Concierge MVP, an indispensable tactic early stage entrepreneurs can use to get the feedback of a full product without the money and time required to build one. We go through the 4-step method that'll get you data from customers you can use to raise funding, hire, or recognize the opportunity actually isn't worth your time. Tacklebox Idea to Startup Newsletter Idea to Startup Bot More Concierge MVP Examples 00:00 - Opening and introduction 02:00 - The chicken and egg startup 04:50 - The value of a Concierge MVP 07:20 - The four steps of a Concierge M ..read more

Today, we'll talk about strategy - what good (and bad) strategy looks like for startups, and how most early-stage companies lack any strategy at all. Using a framework from Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, we'll explore the three core elements: diagnosis, guiding policy, and coherent action. We'll examine strategies from a stand-up comedian and GoPro as examples, before applying the framework to craft a strategy for launching a successful children's book. Tacklebox Idea to Startup Newsletter The Skeptical Startup Episode Good Strategy / Bad Strategy Get On Your Knees (comedy special) Go the F*** t ..read more

Today, we'll help you tackle the big question for entrepreneurs with startup ideas and jobs - when's it time to quit the job and focus on the startup full-time? You should think about this question the second you start working on an idea, and you should use the Skeptical Startup framework - a goal of $8k per month in 10 hours per week - as a guide. The Skeptical Startup framework is magical, and Brian will show how it'll help you focus with an example startup.   Tacklebox Idea to Startup Newsletter Idea to Startup Bot Farnam Street - Surface Area The Alchemist Natalie Imbruglia - Torn 0 ..read more

Today is an ITS classic - an episode that was listened to and shared a ton. It hits on a fundamental question for idea-stage entrepreneurs - what if the problem you're solving isn't an urgent, painful, bleeding neck problem? What if it's just something you think will improve people's lives? Should you still pursue it? How? Tacklebox Idea to Startup Newsletter Idea to Startup Bot     ..read more