My First Million

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

No-Fee Private Equity Fund

For: High net worth individuals seeking alternative investments

Buildability

The Problem

Traditional private equity charges high fees (2% annually) and uses excessive leverage, creating alignment issues and downside risk

The Solution

Create fund structure with no management fees, only profit sharing on returned cash, using no debt and holding businesses for 30+ years

Why Now?

Small business market remains inefficient, traditional PE moving upmarket creates opportunity in sub-$10M businesses

Build MVP in 7 Days

Day 1

Create simple fund structure document

Day 2

Identify 3-5 target acquisition candidates

Day 3

Build basic LMS for investor updates

Day 4

Establish broker relationships

Day 5

Create investment thesis presentation

How to Validate

Survey potential LPs on fee structure appeal

Test ability to source deals in target market

Validate operational improvement assumptions on one business

Confirm regulatory requirements and costs

Revenue Model

40% of distributed free cash flow above hurdle rate, no management fees

Competitive Moat

Reputation, deal flow, operational expertise, patient capital structure

Risks to Consider

Long fundraising cycle due to novel structureLimited exit options creating LP liquidity concernsDependence on key person for deal sourcingEconomic downturn affecting small businesses