My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Mario Marketing Model
Marketing framework that focuses on selling the customer transformation from small Mario to big Mario who shoots fireballs, rather than selling the fireflower product itself
How It Works
Customers buy based on who they want to become, not product features. Show them their desired transformation state rather than product specifications
Components
Identify customer's current frustrated state (small Mario)
Define their desired powerful state (big Mario with fireballs)
Position product as the transformation vehicle (fireflower)
Focus all messaging on the transformation not the product
When to Use
When customers don't understand why they need your product, for feature-heavy products, or when creating new categories
When Not to Use
For commodity products, when customers already understand clear benefits, or for simple utility products
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
Example
“Instead of selling toothpaste features, sell the movie star smile transformation that comes from brushing daily”