My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Focusing directly on making money will cause you to make less money because people perceive money-focused individuals as greedy and avoid giving them money
The Reasoning
People pay money to those who solve problems for them. Money-focused people appear self-interested rather than customer-focused. This creates negative perception that reduces willingness to transact. Focus on upstream activities (problem-solving, skill-building) instead.
What Needs to Be True
- People can detect when someone is primarily motivated by money extraction
- Trust and perceived value creation drive purchasing decisions
- Problem-solving skills genuinely lead to wealth creation opportunities
Counterargument
Some sales situations reward aggressive money-focused approaches, especially in transactional markets where relationships don't matter
What Would Change This View
Evidence that money-focused individuals consistently outperform problem-focused individuals in wealth creation over time
Implications for Builders
Lead with customer value proposition, not revenue potential
Build genuine expertise in solving customer problems
Market products based on outcomes, not profit margins
Develop consultative sales approaches rather than transactional ones
Example Application
“Instead of pitching investors on huge TAM and revenue projections, focus on demonstrating deep understanding of customer problems and unique ability to solve them better than alternatives”