Idea to Startup
A podcast for people working on startup ideas. We have 15-minute tactical episodes and occasional interviews with people who did the early things exceptionally well. We've helped launch hundreds of startups worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and these are the building blocks. "This is, without a doubt, the best podcast for people trying to build startups out there." "If you aren't listening to this podcast and you're considering building a business (or you're already building one), what are you doing?" "Must listen for first-time entrepreneurs - excellent storyteller."
Episodes
Today is part 2 of our series helping you build an internal operating system. We identify the four things you'll need to have happen for your startup to gain momentum, then we organize those into a system that'll help you move fast based on inertia.
Today, we'll talk about one of the most effective methods to do hard things we've found at Tacklebox: Scripting the start and end.
Today we'll talk about thrust and drag, the components of momentum. Momentum is the lifeblood for startups, but most people leave it to chance. By focusing on the inputs of momentum - thrust and drag - you can build systems to ensure you keep moving forward. Gaps kill startups. This system removes them.
Today, we'll talk through a framework that'll help you evaluate whether you're building something useful enough to anchor a business. Most startups fail because the thing they built doesn't make a big enough dent in their customers lives. We'll make sure you don't make this mistake with help from Habit Kangaroo, a startup Brian ran back in 2014, and a GMAT training program his friend ran that helped people get into Harvard.
<...Today, we'll run through a Concierge MVP example live on the pod. Brian chooses an idea specifically because someone wrote in and said it was "un-Concierageable," which isn't a word but is the reason this podcast exists.
We go through the four-part framework that'll help you build a Concierge MVP - The Three Components of Wild Success, Acquiring Customers, The Test, and Feedback Loops. And we get a little help from an alum...
Today, we talk through the Silk Sheet Problem - how to do something new and hard when your life is fairly... comfortable. We help a listener get started on their idea - an AI tutor's assistant - with three shortcuts to set their life up in a way that makes it easier to start a startup than to not. We talk through Just-In-Time Prep, Forcing Functions, and life design. This episode is meant to be a blueprint for you to take action an...
Today we'll talk through how to test out and build a startup idea in ~10 days by answering four questions. We'll use an idea that's oddly popped up a bunch lately: Kitchen Organizer. We do this with a little help from a story about a poker player and my good friend, Penne Vodka Pete.
Today, we’re talking about startup identity—why you need one, and how it makes every decision you face way easier. We’ll talk swimming and nervous systems, walk through the Decision Equation, and help our good friend Carl figure out which customer to start with for his AI tool that helps adults learn Spanish. Then we’ll wrap with a simple framework to help you clearly define your startup’s identity. It...
Today, we'll help you get your first customers. We'll do it by learning how to use the trust to risk ratio - a way to identify the big risks that are holding your customer back and shoulder those risks early on to build trust. We talk through risk and trust with Find Your Lobster, Soona, and a finicky water pump.
Today, we'll help you find a differentiator powerful enough that it can support your business. We'll talk through what a differentiator actually allows you to do, five prompts to help you uncover and test one for your business, and Brian's favorite current differentiator - Popup Bagels.
00:00 Tacklebox
00:33 Differentiator intro
04:00 What do you hire a differentiator to do?
05:...
Today, we'll lay out a framework to help you identify and kill bad ideas. It's hard to objectively evaluate your idea early on - this framework helps you rise above your idea to do it effectively. A side-effect is that the framework will help you find and pursue the good ideas.
We talk through 1) Finding and Evaluating the Real Risk, 2) Predicting Organic Growth Potential, and 3) Predicting the Likelihood of Converting Early...
A 20(ish) minute skills episode on sales 101 for entrepreneurs who hate sales. We go through three tactics and a bunch of examples to help you build a system for sales that'll help you grow without making you feel slimy. We set up sales for a sabbaticals as a service startup. And we talk through why entrepreneurs hate sales and how to reframe the whole thing.
- Tacklebox (Code WINTER2025)
- Text Expander
- Streak
- Pipedrive
Today we'll talk about why people hand their keys over to random strangers on the street in New York City, how a person selling cures for baldness converts 80% of the people he speaks with, and how you can build a strategy to cultivate trust with your customers, too.
- Tacklebox (20% off with code WINTER2025)
Today we talk about two methods to help make your big startup plans for 2026 manageable. We borrow Short Assignments and Shitty Drafts from Anne Lamott, we get a little help from Martin Scorsese and a Bronx Tale, and we talk through a startup that's helping 40 year olds deal with loneliness. All in like 14 minutes. Not bad.
- Tacklebox WINTER2025 for 20% off
- Bird by Bird
- The To Do List Monster
- The Saddest Thing In Life
00:0...
Today, we'll talk through how you'll find customers in-person. This is the single most important acquisition tool for early-stage founders, and there's no excuse - any business targeting any customer can do it. We use a few Tacklebox examples and give you a framework to make it happen.
- Tacklebox CODE "HOLIDAY2025" for 50% off month one)
- Tacklebox Sunday Emails
- Tally (online form builder)
Timestamps:
00:45 Yo...
Today, we're digging into the mailbag for your Thanksgiving commute. First, what idea would Brian start if he had to start an idea? We go deep on why a coffee truck idea is the best possible business for this moment. Next, we talk through how to get your spouse on board with your idea, and finally we hit on the best gifts for new entrepreneurs.Take that, Kyle.
This episode is a toolkit for right-brain founders who get lost in ideas and struggle to execute. Brian shares three practical systems—AI as your left brain, the Regroup System, and the Ice Box—to help you make consistent progress, despite the whole right brain thing. This is a practical guide for turning creativity into momentum.
- Tacklebox (code HOLIDAY2025 for 50% off)
- The sailboat race I mention
Timestamps:
00:3...
Today, we'll help you pick your startup's first customer segment. This decision dooms a huge percentage of first time entrepreneurs - if you don't understand what the job of your first customer segment is, you'll likely pick a customer incapable of doing it. Your first customer has a unique responsibility that no other customer will have - you need to choose them carefully.
Conversely, if you choose the right first customer,...
Today, we'll talk about the big question - should you start with a focused niche? There are pros and cons to the approach, but the perceived cons - "what if I get tired of the niche in a few years?" , "what if the niche doesn't lead to a bigger market?" , "isn't a niche just hiding from the bigger problem I want to solve?" have gotten louder lately. So, we'll address them. We'll go over what a good niche looks like, how to get one,...
Hard problems are the only problems worth your time. Today, we'll talk about how to identify them and build a business around them. We'll dig in on decisions customers avoid and using those decisions to anchor early traction. We'll talk through Brian's favorite current business - a guy who buys used cars for you - and how to approach helping people with chronic pain.
Also, I'm writing a book! Want to help me? Sign up here.&nb...
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