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Deep Revenge Investment Framework

Reusability

An investment heuristic that views companies started as revenge against perceived wrongs as strong investment opportunities

How It Works

Entrepreneurs with identity wounds or desire for revenge possess unshakeable motivation that drives them through obstacles that would stop others

Components

1

Identify if founder has experienced significant professional or personal setback

2

Assess if the business directly addresses or overcomes that setback

3

Evaluate if the revenge motivation aligns with market opportunity

4

Check if founder has channeled anger into productive business building

When to Use

When evaluating early-stage companies where founder motivation is critical to success

When Not to Use

When the revenge motivation is purely destructive rather than constructive, or when the target market doesn't align with the revenge narrative

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Assuming all motivated founders are revenge-drivenIgnoring market fundamentals for motivational storyBetting on purely destructive rather than constructive revenge

Example

Parker Conrad gets fired from Zenefits for cultural issues, starts Rippling to prove he can build a better HR platform - the revenge motivation drives him to outexecute competitors