Running a business - the idea, the pitch, the execution and the story

1. The idea

Scratch your own itch. Use your business to solve a problem you face. It’s easier to empathise with your target market if it includes you.

Don’t be a trend. Focus on one of the few things that aren’t going to change. It’s much easier to build an organisational strategy around things that are stable over time.

Think 10x. 10x experiences offer ten times the reward, whilst rarely being ten times as difficult to achieve. Even if you pare back from there, thinking 10x at the outset will help you get a sense of what it possible.

2. The pitch

Demonstrate you’re credible.

Demonstrate demand.

Show you can fulfil this demand.

Show you’re growing.

State predicted numbers.

3. The execution

Execution is where the real value lies. Ideas are just a multiplier.

At the beginning, focus relentlessly on improving your product. Test, learn, adapt. As fast as you can. Everything else is a distraction.

If it’s not a hit, then switch. Don’t waste years fighting uphill battles.

Cap the downside risk. ‘Red-team’ your business. Ask the smartest people you know to figure out how to take you down. Then figure out how to cap these risks.

Be premium. Your confidence will rub off on others, and this will free you up to create something you are proud of.

4. The story

Tell a good story. You can synthesise value out of nowhere just by telling a good story.

Know your audience. Do your research. What do they love? What do they fear? What is essential to know about them before you start speaking to them?

Go to where your audience is. Don’t expect them to come to you.

Proudly exclude 99% of people. The other 1% will love you for it, and they are all you need.

Focus on the ‘why’. People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

Further reading:

Anything You Want, Derek Sivers

Zero to One, Peter Thiel (summary here)

Bold, Peter Diamandis (summary in podcast interview here)

Brian Chesky episode, Masters of Scale

1,000 True Fans, Kevin Kelly

How Not to Pitch a Billionaire, Startup

The Lean Startup, Eric Ries (summary here)

Ideas are just a Multiplier of Execution, Derek Sivers