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.

Back to Takes

Massive wealth typically comes from doing one thing exceptionally well for extended periods, not from diversifying across multiple projects

Spiciness
Business Strategy

The Reasoning

Every yes to a new project is a no to family time, deep focus, or optimization of the main thing. Successful people appear diversified only after achieving massive success in their primary focus area

What Needs to Be True

  • The chosen focus area has significant market potential
  • You can maintain motivation for extended periods on one thing
  • Market timing allows for sustained focus without major pivots needed
  • The core business model is fundamentally sound

Counterargument

Diversification reduces risk, provides learning opportunities, and some businesses require multiple revenue streams to succeed

What Would Change This View

Evidence that multi-project entrepreneurs consistently outperform focused ones at similar stages, or proof that modern markets require constant pivoting

Implications for Builders

Choose your primary focus very carefully using systematic research

Set clear criteria for when to abandon vs. when to persist

Build systems to resist shiny object syndrome

Remember that successful people's apparent diversification came after singular focus

Example Application

Andrew Wilkinson appears to own 40 businesses, but his singular focus is 'buying companies and investing' - everything else stems from that core competency