My First Million

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

Generate actionable product ideas through international travel and observation

Consumer product entrepreneurs, brand developers, innovation teams

5-7 days for trip, immediate idea validation upon return

What Success Looks Like

Return from trip with 2-3 validated product concepts that can be immediately prototyped and tested with retailers/consumers

Steps to Execute

Define macro trends to investigate before departure

Hire local guide familiar with innovative retail in target market

Create scavenger hunt assignments for each team member

Visit most influential retail locations in that market

Hold daily 5pm debrief sessions to share discoveries

Call creative team during dinner to brief 2-3 top concepts

Creative team works overnight to create visual mock-ups

Review polished concepts at breakfast next day

Present refined concepts to potential retail partners before departure

Checklist

Local retail guide hired

Macro trend focus areas defined

Creative team on standby in home market

Individual assignments distributed to team members

Daily debrief schedule established

Communication workflow with home team confirmed

Inputs Needed

3-5 person team including designers
Local market guide/translator
Creative team available in different time zone
Pre-identified influential retail locations
Clear macro trends to investigate

Outputs

2-3 polished product concepts with visual mock-ups
Market validation from local retail observations
Cultural insights about consumer behavior differences
Pre-validated concepts ready for retail partner discussions

Example

“Team travels to Tokyo, identifies building texture inspiration, briefs creative team that evening, wakes up to polished hand soap bottle design, presents to Target partner before flight home, secures commitment to test product.”