Knowledge Marketplace
My First Million

My First Million

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

Distribution Tactics

110 proven tactics across 103 channels.

Cross-platform content syndication1

Repurpose single piece of content across email, YouTube, social media

Maximizes reach from single content creation effort, allows testing which platforms work best for your audience, creates multiple touchpoints for discovery

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5 steps

Cultural Community Centers1

Partner with ethnic/religious community centers to reach affinity groups

High trust environment with concentrated target demographic

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4 steps

Local parent networks1

Partner with preschools and pediatricians for referrals

Parents trust recommendations from childcare professionals and medical providers. These sources see many families and can identify ideal customers. Word-of-mouth amplification within parent communities.

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5 steps

Social media1

Create highly shareable visual content showing fashion finds at dramatic discounts

Fashion purchases are inherently social and visual. People love sharing great deals and unique finds. Creates FOMO for future events.

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Social Media Contrarian Content1

Share controversial industry opinions to build thought leadership

Contrarian takes get attention and engagement, building audience of people who appreciate authentic perspectives

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TikTok3

Before/after study performance videos

Visual proof of academic improvement taps into parent and student anxiety about performance

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Fear-based educational content about hidden dangers with product placement

Fear motivates immediate action, educational content builds trust, algorithm favors engaging content that keeps users watching

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5 steps

Relatable struggle storytelling

Bypasses ad detection by looking like authentic content, builds emotional investment before revealing product

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4 steps

Reality TV Style Content1

Document business journey for customer acquisition

People want to support businesses they've watched struggle and grow

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YouTube Educational Content1

Have company founder or family member create tutorial content that builds audience while showcasing products

Provides value first, builds trust and authority, creates recurring engagement that drives purchasing decisions

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YouTube3

Gentleman's Agreement Subscription Ask

Acknowledges the awkwardness of asking for subscriptions while still doing it, making the ask feel more authentic and less pushy

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High view-to-subscriber ratio optimization

Algorithm promotes content that engages viewers beyond the creator's existing subscriber base

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Organic product screenshots as content

Doesn't look like promotion when you're sharing your actual usage, creates curiosity and social proof

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Activity-Specific Marketing1

Target specific lifestyle activities rather than general product categories

People think of themselves as concert-goers or SoulCycle enthusiasts rather than generic hearing protection customers

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Local Social Media1

Name-Drop Local Businesses for Viral Sharing

People share content that accurately represents their local experience and mentions their favorite places

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Educational YouTube Content1

Tool demonstration videos showing dramatic before/after productivity comparisons

Shows rather than tells, creates immediate value for viewers, builds authority through expertise demonstration

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Dating Apps1

Comment on later photos/prompts instead of first ones

Most guys are lazy and only comment on the first photo or prompt, so commenting on something deeper in their profile makes you stand out as someone who actually looked at their full profile

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Community Conference Creation1

Create industry conferences focused on methodology, not your company

Positions you as thought leader, builds community around your approach, creates natural funnel for your tools without being salesy

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Algorithm-First Content1

Create content specifically designed to maximize algorithm engagement rather than traditional quality metrics

Algorithms control distribution, so optimizing for them maximizes reach and engagement

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Industry Conferences1

Deep participation in 2+ conferences to build relationships and understand industry dynamics

Industries have concentrated communities that gather at specific events, providing efficient access to key players

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50-Person Interview Process1

Systematic interviews with 50+ industry participants to understand pain points and validate opportunities

Provides comprehensive understanding of industry dynamics and builds network for future customer/partner recruitment

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Podcast Audience Leverage1

Acquire businesses that serve your podcast audience, then drive traffic through authentic recommendations

Podcast audiences have high trust in hosts' recommendations, especially for business tools and services. Attribution is trackable through links and surveys.

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Industry Content Leadership1

Share systematic operational improvements in traditional industries to attract customers and talent simultaneously

Traditional industries lack thought leadership content, creates competitive advantage for talent acquisition and customer trust

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Podcast Distribution1

Convert Audience to Product Users

Audience already knows and trusts you, making conversion much higher than cold traffic

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Retail Relationship Building1

Personal engagement with store associates and management

Store staff control placement, stocking, and customer recommendations - personal relationships create advantages

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Facebook Groups3

Helpful Community Member Lead Generation

Builds trust through helpful contributions, people check profile and discover business organically, targets people already discussing problems you solve

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5 steps

Create niche-specific private groups with valuable free content to build trust before monetizing

Facebook groups create intimacy and trust, higher engagement than pages, built-in recommendation engine through member sharing

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Value-first community relationship building

Builds trust through authentic helpfulness before any promotion, leverages social proof from respected community members

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Grassroots word-of-mouth1

Create exceptional customer experience that naturally drives referrals

Satisfied customers become authentic advocates when the experience provides genuine value and social currency

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Media PR Stunt1

Create controversial or interesting story, then pitch directly to journalists

Journalists need interesting content to write about; businesses with good stories are rare and appreciated

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Twitter/Social Media DMs1

Value-first outreach with specific post appreciation

People remember positive reinforcement and feel more connected to those who engage meaningfully with their content

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Cultural Moment Marketing1

Launch products that comment on current events with perfect timing

Captures attention during peak conversation periods and demonstrates relevance

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Industry insider connections1

Ghost-write emails from advisors to target customers

Leverages existing trust relationship while providing advisor with easy way to help by just reviewing and sending your draft

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ZIP Code Data Lead Generation1

Use public data to create personalized local reports that highlight specific problems your product solves

Creates immediate personal relevance and urgency by showing prospects their specific local situation, making abstract problems concrete and actionable

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6 steps

Anonymous Social Media1

Build expertise-based following without personal brand risk by using pseudonyms and focusing purely on value

Removes personal liability and lifestyle requirements while allowing focus on pure content quality and expertise

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Content marketing1

Writing detailed annual letters and blog posts about investment philosophy

Builds trust through transparency, demonstrates thinking quality, creates searchable content for prospects

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Professional communities1

Free entry with progressive value demonstration

Allows people to experience value before paying, creates network effects, and builds trust through demonstrated expertise

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Door-to-door sales1

Professional appearance with immediate value demonstration

Creates personal trust, allows for immediate demonstration of value, and captures customers who wouldn't respond to digital marketing

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Case Study Content Marketing1

Weekly AI Implementation Case Studies by Business Type

Solves imagination problem by showing concrete examples of what's possible, builds trust through real results, creates regular engagement touchpoints.

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Dinner and Drinks1

Get people relaxed and disarmed before reading them

People's authentic selves emerge when they're relaxed and not in formal business mode

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Social Media2

Challenge-based viral content

People want to document their self-improvement journey and challenges create natural content creation opportunities

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Status-Based Viral Hooks

People share content that makes them look smart, successful, or 'in the know' to their networks

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Relentless Personal Follow-Up1

8-10 personalized follow-ups over 6-8 weeks with varied approaches

Most people give up after 1-2 attempts, creating competitive advantage for those willing to persist. Busy, successful people often delay decisions rather than reject them, so persistence demonstrates seriousness and commitment.

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Facebook Era Viral Articles1

Optimize for title, image, and shareable moments rather than volume posting

People share content that makes them look smart or interesting to their networks; compelling titles and images increase share likelihood

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Door-to-Door Sales1

Seasonal timing with convenience-focused value proposition

Captures customers at moment of highest intent when they're already thinking about the problem, eliminates shopping around

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Waitlist Marketing1

Exclusivity and scarcity to drive demand before product is ready

Creates perception of high demand and exclusivity, allows building audience before high-cost service delivery

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Word-of-mouth1

Create story-worthy customer experiences

People naturally share memorable experiences, especially when they feel genuinely surprised or cared for. Stories get retold multiple times, creating compound marketing effects.

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Word-of-mouth in specialized communities1

Create extremely valuable content for niche audience who naturally shares within their industry

Specialized communities have high trust and frequent communication, making referrals highly effective

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Email Persistence1

Daily email outreach to target buyers

Persistence eventually breaks through noise, demonstrates commitment, and builds familiarity

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Trade Show Showrooms1

Minimal presence in industry showrooms

Buyers congregate at trade shows expecting to find new products, provides legitimate business presence

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Credit Card Cashback Arbitrage1

Using business credit cards with high cashback rates for large business expenses

Credit card rewards are considered rebates by IRS, not taxable income, providing tax-free cash flow

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Content Creator Ecosystem1

Enable and reward creators who showcase your product

Creators need content, audiences trust creator recommendations more than ads

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Host Location Partnerships1

Partner with businesses that have your target customers but complementary offerings

Leverages existing customer relationships and reduces distribution costs

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Content-driven inbound1

Create 10,000+ pieces of domain-specific content to attract super fans

Creates trust and demonstrates expertise, attracting only highly qualified prospects

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Experiential Sharing1

Document and share transformative personal experiences in real-time through video content

Shows rather than tells, creates vicarious experience for audience, builds deeper emotional connection than advice-only content, and differentiates from typical talking-head format

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Educational workshops1

Host valuable workshops that solve real problems, with soft product mention at the end

Builds massive goodwill through valuable content delivery, making audience receptive to product recommendation

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Authority Figure Plant Strategy1

Get authority figures to advocate for your position without directly promoting your product, then amplify their statements through media

People trust authority figures and media coverage more than direct advertising, creates unquestionable proof

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Viral Demonstration Content1

Create dramatic product demonstrations that generate organic sharing and word-of-mouth

Hijacks limbic system and creates unforgettable memories, people share dramatic content naturally

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Physical proximity1

Moving to same location as target customers or partners

Creates natural opportunities for repeated interaction and relationship building that can't be replicated remotely

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Platform Feature Arbitrage1

Identify and exploit new platform features before they become saturated

New features have less competition and platforms algorithmically promote them to encourage adoption, creating temporary windows of cheap attention.

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viral_social_content1

Document and share unique 'chaotic' experiments that solve common problems

People love seeing creative solutions to universal problems and want to replicate success

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Media embedding1

Create embeddable widgets that news outlets want to use for real-time data

Media outlets need fresh, engaging content and will distribute your brand for free if you provide value

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TikTok Influencer Marketing1

Paid promotion outreach with preview-optimized DMs

Influencers create authentic content that algorithms favor, reaching highly engaged audiences in your target demographic

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Word-of-Mouth Social Media1

Create shareable 'weird' moments that generate organic social content

People share experiences that make them look interesting or that their friends wouldn't expect. Weird/unique moments provide social currency

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Community Infiltration1

Host free educational seminars for industry professionals to build relationships and demonstrate expertise

Industry professionals are always looking for new approaches and ideas. Free value builds trust and credibility faster than sales pitches

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Government Procurement1

Target institutional buyers during crisis periods when normal procurement processes are expedited

Government buyers are price-insensitive during crises, pay quickly, and provide massive contract sizes that justify business pivots

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Visible Service Delivery1

Make service delivery publicly visible to generate word-of-mouth marketing and social proof

Neighbors see service being performed, realize they have same problem, and inquiry conversion is high due to social proof and immediate visibility

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State-by-state affiliate marketing1

Build hyper-local content sites before regulatory changes

First-mover advantage in newly legal markets with limited competition and high demand from newly legal consumers

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Viral blog content1

Write contrarian blog posts that generate 500K-1M monthly visitors to convert to newsletter subscribers

Viral content creates massive top-of-funnel awareness and demonstrates writing quality to potential subscribers

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Relationship-Based Business Development1

Work for free initially to prove value, then negotiate percentage-based compensation

Removes risk for client, demonstrates confidence in your abilities, aligns incentives for long-term relationship

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Word-of-mouth from successful events1

Create memorable experiences that attendees want to talk about and bring friends to

People naturally share positive social experiences and want to introduce friends to good event hosts

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Retailer Partnership Development1

Position as co-creator rather than vendor seeking shelf space

Retailers want innovation but lack internal capability to develop new brands. Positioning as improvement partner rather than supplicant creates collaborative relationship.

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Expert attention observation1

Study what makes domain experts stop and take notes during conversations

Experts have trained pattern recognition that automatically identifies high-value information. Their attention spikes reveal what matters most in the field.

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Lifestyle Sampling1

Allow potential customers to experience your lifestyle or product outcomes firsthand

Provides visceral understanding that overcomes intellectual resistance and creates emotional conviction

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Power User Referral Networks1

Target ultra-high-volume email users who have strong professional networks

Power users have similar peers who face identical problems and trust referrals from people in similar situations

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Influencer partnership seeding1

Partner with niche influencers to create exclusive communities for their followers

Pre-filters for like-minded community members, leverages existing trust from influencer, excludes trolls and irrelevant users

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Personal relationships with journalists1

Understand what motivates each journalist and tailor your approach to their specific incentives

Journalists need stories and sources. If you can consistently provide valuable information or access, they will maintain the relationship and give you favorable coverage when appropriate.

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Podcast1

Manual Labor Friendly Long-Form Content

Allows learning during otherwise unproductive physical work time, creates loyal audience with high engagement

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Crisis opportunism1

Monitor competitor crises for talent acquisition opportunities

People leave during crises when their confidence in leadership is shaken, creating acquisition windows

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Content Creator Partnerships1

Organic integration through equity partnerships

Creator has genuine enthusiasm and financial incentive to promote long-term

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Algorithmic Thumbnail Testing1

Rapid Sequential Thumbnail Testing at Video Launch

Platform algorithms use early engagement signals to determine broader distribution, so optimizing thumbnails in the first 24 hours maximizes reach potential

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Documentary Investigation1

Undercover Research Methodology

People more willing to speak candidly when they think the conversation is about something else, allows natural capture of unguarded moments.

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media_coverage1

Novelty Story Positioning

Media loves stories that challenge assumptions and feature unexpected combinations (young woman with homeless men, etc.)

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word_of_mouth1

Extreme Results Broadcasting

People naturally want to share and explain extreme physical experiences, creating organic marketing

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Gas Station Guerrilla1

Sneak product into gas station coolers for viral video content

Creates authentic discovery moment for target audience while generating shareable content

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Influencer Product Seeding1

Geographic concentration seeding with documentation

Creates artificial scarcity perception while generating authentic social proof content

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Short-form Video Content1

Cross-platform comparison content

Universal format works across all platforms, highly shareable, builds authority through education

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College Network Expansion1

Underground student organization spreading between universities

Students trust peers more than official channels, creates exclusivity and FOMO, leverages existing social networks

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Retail Chain Ladder1

Start with small regional chains, prove success, use data to access larger retailers

Reduces risk for larger retailers, provides proof points and case studies, builds experience with retail operations

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viral_sms_notifications1

Automated SMS to ranked contacts driving app downloads

Creates immediate personal stakes - people must know who ranked them. Much higher open rates than email or push notifications.

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Neighborhood Facebook Groups1

Complaint-to-Community organizing

Turns individual frustration into collective action; neighbors trust other neighbors over outsiders

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Professional Networks1

Insider Information Sharing

Professionals pay premium for information asymmetry and early access to trends/data

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Podcast Content Marketing1

Deep-dive biographical storytelling to build expertise authority

Provides massive value to audience while demonstrating depth of knowledge and building trust over time through consistency.

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Entrepreneur Peer Groups1

Portfolio Review Social Proof

Entrepreneurs value transparency and peer learning, creating viral sharing when someone openly discusses their strategy with specific numbers and results.

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Expert Partnership Content1

Partner with bestselling authors or recognized experts to create credible content that drives organic discovery

People trust recognized experts more than unknown startups. Expert content gets organic reach and credibility that paid ads can't match.

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YouTube Content vs Paid Marketing1

Create educational YouTube content to acquire customers for pennies versus $10+ paid marketing costs

YouTube content compounds over time, builds trust through education, costs only time to create, and can reach millions organically

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Problem-diagnosis content marketing1

Educate customers about problems they didn't know they had

Creates customer need while positioning you as the expert solution provider

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Owned Media1

Test product demand through owned magazine audience

Direct access to exact target market with built-in credibility and trust

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Geographic Arbitrage1

Move to major city for career acceleration

Concentration of opportunities, network effects, higher salaries, competitive environment raises your game

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Network-Based Hiring1

Evaluate executive candidates by the quality of their professional network

Great leaders maintain relationships with other great talent and can attract them to new opportunities

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Crowdsourced Naming Contests1

Let the public name your product/service through viral contests

People love participating in creative challenges, generates organic social media buzz, creates emotional investment in your brand

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Corporate Relocation Packages1

Target multinational companies that relocate executives and offer education as part of relocation benefits

Companies pay full tuition to maintain executive satisfaction during relocations, removing price sensitivity

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Twitter DM1

Cold outreach with video portfolio showing similar work

Shows rather than tells your capability. Founders can immediately visualize the output for their brand.

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Handwritten Letters1

Send 10-25 handwritten thank you notes annually to strengthen relationships

Everyone reads physical mail, requires more effort showing genuine care, and creates lasting impression that digital communication cannot match

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Viral short-form video1

Product demonstration in natural content context

Shows product value without appearing like advertisement, leverages platform algorithm preference for engagement

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Twitter1

Single high-value tweet driving qualified leads

Business audience on Twitter has high intent and conversion rates, text format allows detailed value communication

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Private aviation FBOs1

Unsolicited magazine placement in high-end waiting areas

Captive audience of wealthy individuals with time to read and money to spend on featured products/services

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Word of Mouth1

Amish Farm Model - Create exclusivity and scarcity around alternative products

Exclusivity and slight illegality create strong word-of-mouth and community bonding around shared 'secret' knowledge

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Local Facebook Groups1

Organic content in mom and buy/sell groups

High trust environment with people who know each other personally

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Vertical Conference Strategy1

Create 'AI for X' conferences targeting specific industries

Industries want AI guidance but general AI conferences are too broad - specific industry focus creates higher value and willingness to pay

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