#743 Spotting Taboo Business Ideas Through the Overton Window

Tropical MBA: Entrepreneurship & Founder Lifestyle

Going deeper on shiny object syndrome, Dan & Ian open the mailbag to read responses to last week’s episode. A listener shares his success story with shiny object syndrome, revealing how he pursues his entrepreneurial impulses without growing crazy. The listener emphasizes the value of muscle memory when it comes to going from zero to one successfully.

Dan & Ian will also discuss how to use societal and scene shifts to gain traction on an idea and even build a successful business out of an idea that might seem a little stupid (to everyone else) at the time.

Plus, we’re looking for our next TMBA team member! If you love reading and writing about business topics and think working alongside Dan & Ian might seem like fun (or a little stupid!), let's talk.

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Show Notes

• (00:00:54) Intro
• (00:01:13) If you love reading and writing about business, come work with us at the TMBA.
• (00:09:17) The two most popular roles that bootstrapped companies are hiring for right now and how much they're paying.
• (00:14:55) How founders get derailed by the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect
• (00:19:50) Why even your heroes’ businesses are shit shows
• (00:20:33) How one listener channels his shiny object syndrome to grow his million-dollar business
• (00:26:27) What founders often regret about selling their business
• (00:30:30) Identifying societal disruptions can be a way for bootstrappers to be disruptive and successful
• (00:30:42) What Mark Manson, Patt Flynn, and Muhammad Ali have in common
• (00:39:54) Having a strong perspective could be what you’re missing

Links:

Sign up for a DC Black Q&A virtual meeting (open to all)
Join us in Playa del Carmen, Mexico this May
The Anti-Agency Agency + High ROI Customer Acquisition
Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon
The score takes care of itself (Bill Walsh)
You can have two Big Things, but not three

Past guests on TMBA include Cal Newport, David Heinemeier Hannson, Seth Godin, Ricardo Semler, Noah Kagan, Rob Walling, Jay Clouse, Einar Vollset, Sam Dogan, Gino Wickam, James Clear, Jodie Cook, Mark Webster, Steph Smith, Taylor Pearson, Tommy Griffith, Justin Tan, Matt Gartland, Travis Jamison, Ayman Al-Abdullah, Tynan, Lucy Bella Simkins, Brian Balfour, Nick Huber, Mike Michalowicz

Additional episodes you might enjoy:

Business Basics: Revenue Durability, “Small” Goals, & High-Leverage Meetings

Non-Obvious Ways to Grow Your Business + Favorite Moments of 2023

End-of-Year Brainstorming, Goal-Setting, and a Mexico Meltdown