The Founder Playbook for the 1%

Idea Generation Create a problem mindset; start noticing things that do not work well and think of potential improvements (e.g. Uber, Stripe)

Solve personal pain points; if it bothers you, chances are it bothers others (e.g. Slack, Dropbox)

No idea is a bad idea (e.g. Disney)

Interview potential users to find out the biggest problems they face (e.g. Airbnb)

Do hackathons to test out random ideas under time pressure (e.g. Instacart)

Review trending patents or academic papers to discover emerging technologies that can inspire new solutions (e.g. OpenAI)

Reverse engineer successful products to understand why they work and how you can apply similar principles in other areas (e.g. Facebook)

Look for cross-industry trends — something working in one field might be missing in another (e.g. Discord)

Challenge your assumptions by asking "what if?" and breaking conventional thinking patterns (e.g. SpaceX)

Ask ‘How might we...’ questions that open up creative problem-solving, such as "How might we make remote work more enjoyable?" (e.g. WeWork) Collaborate with others from different fields for fresh perspectives (e.g. Apple)

Focus on simple solutions first; what small, impactful feature can fix a widespread problem? (e.g. Twitter)

Business Model

Clearly define the problem you're solving and the value you provide (e.g. Canva)

Study your competitors to understand the exploitable gaps in the market (e.g. Zoom)

Test different revenue streams; freemium, subscription, or transaction-based and see what resonates with your customers (e.g. Spotify)

Focus on recurring revenue for long-term stability (e.g. Salesforce)

Network effects; the more people use your product, the more valuable it becomes for others (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn).

Use waitlists and pre-selling to validate your business model quickly (e.g. Superhuman, Robinhood)

Know your metrics, such as customer acquisition cost, lifetime value

Don’t be scared to pivot if things don’t work out (e.g. Tiny Speck → Slack, Odeo → Twitter)

Look for possible partnerships (e.g. Uber and Spotify integration)

Offer different pricing plans and tiers to attract variety of customer segments (e.g. Beehiiv)

Experiment with a loss leader — offer something for free or low-cost to draw in customers, then upsell later (e.g. Kindle, Netflix with ads)

Analyze customer behavior data to find opportunities for cross-selling or upselling (e.g. Netflix recommendation)

Integrate affiliate programs where partners get paid to promote your product (e.g. Amazon, Beehiiv)

Simplify your pricing model (e.g. Chilipiper, Basecamp)

Focus on sustainable growth by balancing short-term profits with long-term customer relationships (e.g. Patagonia)

Identify strategic resources needed to succeed, whether it's technology, partnerships, or talent (e.g. Tesla focusing on battery production)

Create an ecosystem; build complementary products or services that feed into each other (e.g. Apple)

Leverage user-generated content to lower costs and increase engagement (e.g. Trustpilot, Airbnb)

Minimum Viable Product Only solve one essential problem first (e.g. Dropbox)

Create a simple prototype to test the concept quickly before investing in full development (e.g. Figma’s early wireframe mockups)

Get user feedback early and often to ensure you’re building what the market needs (e.g.

Airbnb pivoted based on host feedback) Launch with a small, focused feature set; avoid feature creep and stick to essentials (e.g. Instagram)

Niche down and test your MVP on a small scale (e.g. Facebook started on Harvard’s campus only)

Use landing pages to gauge interest before even building the product (e.g. Buffer)

Measure key metrics early; track user engagement, retention, and feedback from day one to validate your hypotheses

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