My First Million

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

NIL-Powered College Consumer Brand

For: College students and college sports fans

Buildability

The Problem

College athletes can now get paid for endorsements but the market is inefficient, creating arbitrage opportunities for brands that act fast

The Solution

Launch consumer brand (energy drink, condoms, financial services) using college athletes as primary marketing channel before the space gets saturated

Why Now?

NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) rules recently changed allowing college athlete compensation, market hasn't reached efficiency yet

Build MVP in 7 Days

Day 1

Identify 20 college athletes with strong local followings

Day 2

Choose simple product category (energy drinks, protein bars)

Day 3

Reach out to athletes with small paid partnership offers

Day 4

Create basic product mockups and social media content

Day 5

Test engagement and conversion rates from athlete posts

How to Validate

Survey college students about athlete influence on purchasing

Test small NIL partnerships with 5 athletes to measure engagement

Analyze follower demographics of top college athletes

Compare costs of NIL vs traditional college marketing channels

Revenue Model

Direct sales of consumer products with high margins to offset NIL sponsorship costs

Competitive Moat

First-mover advantage in NIL marketing, exclusive relationships with key athletes

Risks to Consider

NIL regulations may change or become more restrictiveMarket may become saturated quickly as more brands enterCollege athlete careers are short and unpredictableLimited scale compared to professional athlete endorsements