My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Chips on Shoulders Framework
A principle that entrepreneurs with deep personal grievances or identity wounds often become the most financially successful
How It Works
Unhealed psychological wounds create relentless drive that sustains entrepreneurs through the inevitable difficulties of building companies
Components
Identify the core identity wound or grievance
Assess if it's 'uncurable' - meaning it will persist as motivation
Evaluate if the business directly addresses this wound
Check if the founder channels the emotion productively
When to Use
When assessing founder resilience and long-term commitment to their business
When Not to Use
When the psychological wounds are too severe to allow for healthy business relationships or decision-making
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
Example
“An entrepreneur rejected by their peer group in college builds a massive company to prove their worth - the wound never fully heals but drives decades of success”