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My First Million

My First Million

The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.

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The Dollar-Into-Two-Dollar Machine Framework

Reusability

A mental model for evaluating whether to raise capital and invest in growth by determining if you can reliably convert investment into higher returns.

How It Works

If hiring a $150K salesperson generates $500K in sales, you should hire as many as possible. If the math works, 'back the truck up' and invest maximum capital into the working formula.

Components

1

Identify the core conversion mechanism (investment to return)

2

Validate the conversion rate with small tests

3

Calculate sustainable scaling limits

4

Raise capital to maximize deployment into working formula

5

Monitor for diminishing returns or market saturation

When to Use

When deciding whether to raise capital, scale hiring, or increase marketing spend. When you have proven unit economics.

When Not to Use

When unit economics are unproven, when you've hit market saturation, or when the conversion mechanism is unclear.

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Raising money without proven unit economicsScaling before finding product-market fitIgnoring market size constraints

Example

SaaS company discovers each $150K sales hire generates $500K annual recurring revenue. Instead of hiring conservatively, they raise $10M to hire 20 salespeople immediately.