My First Million

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

Value Equation Lens

Evaluate all business decisions through the lens of how they impact the four value equation variables: dream outcome, perceived likelihood, time delay, and effort/sacrifice

Decision Rule

Any business change should improve at least one value equation component without significantly harming others. Prioritize changes that improve multiple components simultaneously

How It Works

Forces systematic thinking about customer value perception rather than internal business metrics, leading to decisions that increase willingness to pay

Failure Modes

Optimizing for internal metrics that don't improve customer value equation

Focusing on only one component while ignoring negative impacts on others

Misunderstanding what customers actually perceive as valuable outcomes

Example Decision

“Instead of adding more features (internal focus), add implementation service to reduce customer effort (value equation focus), allowing for premium pricing”