Idea to Startup
Episodes
Story 3: How to sell wood for $10 when everyone else sells it for $5
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today we'll talk about a guy in the Adirondacks who sells wood for $10 when everyone else around him sells it for $5. He sells 10x more wood than all ...
Story 2: How to motivate people
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The apartment I live in was on the market for a year without a bid, then sold in a bidding war for well above ask in a week. What the heck happened? T...
Three Stories To Get You Unstuck - Story 1: Sell The Position
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
People keep telling us they're stuck. The next three pods are stories that'll get your juices flowing. It'll be impossible to be stuck after them. Tod...
How to Quit Your Job and Pursue Your Startup Idea
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lots of people come into our orbit because they'd like to get their startup to a point where they can quit their full-time job and transition over. He...
How to Motivate Customers (and People) feat. Airstreams
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We leverage Yu-kai Chou's Octalysis Framework to think through motivating customers. We test it out using a startup idea that's come across Brian's de...
MAILBAG PART 2: Testing a pasta startup, how niche is too niche, and a structure for dealing with founder stress
06 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of our Mailbag series, Brian answers listener questions on how to run lean, inexpensive, fast tests on an idea that seemingly has big up f...
MAILBAG: Listener questions on a startup ethos, great marketing, a travel company for couples, and nootropics (sorta)
29 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Brian answers emails from listeners on a startup ethos, examples of great marketing - leveraging behavioral economics to remove friction and The Rent ...
A Treading Water Startup (feat. Scorpions and Frogs)
22 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lots of entrepreneurs spend their time trying to figure out if their startup idea is "good." They wonder if they can raise funding and build a team. B...
Hidden Lottery Tickets
15 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Are you finding your startup's hidden lottery tickets? What are the opportunities hiding in plain sight that will drastically amplify your output? We ...
Vertical Farms, Robert Frost, and Growth
08 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We are BACK.We talk through how to approach a startup idea in a space you aren't in expert in, how to build momentum and make decisions fast, and the ...
INTERVIEW: Jeff Sheldon, Founder @ Ugmonk
30 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff Sheldon is the founder of Ugmonk, a company I have an enormous amount of admiration for. It's a thoughtful, purposeful, highly effective business...
How to Not Waste Your Life
23 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The past 15 months kicked our butts. We all picked up some terrible habits, and we get a pass for it. But now it's time to dig ourselves out of the ho...
Inertia - The Only Thing That Matters
09 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Inertia is the tendency to not change. Everyone is on a path driven by inertia, which leads just about everyone to always repeat the same things. Whic...
INTERVIEW: Tom Eisenmann (HBS) on Why Startups Fail
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today we've got Tom Eisenmann on the pod. He's an entrepreneurship teacher at HBS and the author of the white-hot startup book "Why Startups Fail." We...
How to Choose the Right Customer (ITS Classic)
05 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There’s one decision that early stage founders make that can drastically tip the tables in their favor. This is a tactical episode, helping you pu...
Is Your Startup Idea Good? (ITS Classic)
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week's ITS Classic covers whether your startup idea is any good. We talk through a failed startup Brian ran called Find Your Lobster, present a f...
How To Be A Great Storyteller (ITS Classic)
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I recently asked a good investor friend of mine what he thought the most underrated but important skill for entrepreneurs in 2021 was. He responded qu...
How to Prioritize and Build a Personal Operating System (ITS classic)
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We revisit an episode from the early days of the podcast on an operating system for founders. Not everything I say here has stuck, and not everything ...
How to lose 1.8 billion dollars in 10 days
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Predicting a startup will fail is like betting every number on the roulette wheel except that green double zero and then puffing out your chest when o...
Curiosity and Space
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We're told the curious entrepreneurs are the most successful. But we're also told we need to be experts for our startups to work. How do you balance b...
Survivorship Bias, Base Rates, and Librarians
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You get startup advice constantly. Your ears probably perk up when it comes from an entrepreneur that's been successful. But what should you listen to...
Let It Go
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today we'll talk about how to pick what you work on - we need to ensure you're spending your time on things that'll actually matter. We'll do it throu...
This Too Shall Pasta (Vision + Part II of Problems vs. Opportunities)
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we laid out the Problems vs. Opportunities (PVO) framework. This week, we dive deeper into the "vision" part of the framework, helping you ...
Problems and Opportunities
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today we're talking about problems vs. opportunities. It's easy for entrepreneurs to spend their time putting out fires - they're often the only ones ...
The Case For Now
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Three numbers and a story show the path for startups during a uniquely difficult but opportunity filled time. The goal of today's podcast is grounding...
What To Do About Competition (The Gift of "Which")
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What do you do when you stumble upon, or get smacked in the face by, a competitor? How do you react? What do you focus on? What do you stop doing?Ca...
How to Sell A Protein Bar in Seven(ish) Minutes
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What if you've got a product and no customer? We go through an email from a listener who makes the world's best protein bars but has absolutely no ide...
Mini Series Ep 3: A Bunch of Tests and an Epiphany
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The third in our mini-series where we're starting a startup live on the pod. Today, we take what we learned from customer interviews and synthesize it...
Mini Series Ep 2 - We're Starting a Startup - Making Customer Interviews Doable
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Episode Two of our miniseries "We're Starting a Startup" details our first seven days after we decided to pursue an idea live. We talk customer interv...
Mini Series Kickoff - Picking The Startup Idea We'll Start
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It was bound to happen. We're starting a startup idea on... Idea to Startup. Someone reached out basically daring us to, and we couldn't say no.Today,...
How To Get Your First 1,000 Customers (feat. Pizza)
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Getting your first 1,000 customers is hard, particularly when you're thinking about it wrong.We talk through how Push for Pizza and Slice took differe...
The Sasquatch Problem (Are You Passionate Enough About Your Startup Idea?)
06 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We're told we need to be head over heels passionate about our startup for it to succeed. Is that... true?What if we haven't found something we're that...
Three Stories for People Starting Startups in 2021
30 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We'll look back on 2021 as the best year to start a startup in the past 50. The world we're returning to will be a lot different from the one we left,...
Make A Billion Dollars
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
That title is even spammier than last week. But it isn’t. Today, we’ll talk about how thinking through how to build a billion dollar business is a...
Make $1,000 Today
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
That title sure does sound spammy. But it isn’t. Today, we’ll talk about how thinking through how you’d make $1,000 today is the best way to act...
The Holiday Mailbag
09 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today we take a bunch of questions from ITS listeners. We talk through startup ideas for 2021, founder superpowers, and hutzpah.Show Notes:Tacklebox S...
The Counterintuitive Way To Get Your First Customers
02 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This episode focuses on the 4 best emails written on Black Friday, and the framework each used to break through the clutter.Show Notes:Tacklebox Self ...
How Will I Know?
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Entrepreneurs favorite questions all begin with “how will I know..”The real answer is, you never know anything for sure. This podcast is about the...
Do The Thing (Motion vs. Action)
18 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s easy to do everything but the thing that matters. Today we talk about how to identify the thing that matters and how to combat all of our insti...
Are You Good Enough?
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Imposter syndrome kills more startups than not finding a cofounder, competition, or funding ever could.Today, we’re talking about whether you’re...
How to be Resilient (feat. IOUs)
04 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Founders need to be resilient. It’s beaten into our heads over and over. But what resilience is - and how to be resilient - is misunderstood.Today w...
How to Differentiate Your Startup (feat. Crabs + Running Shoes)
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Meaningful differentiation is hard to come by. Most startups pay lip service to differentiation and pay the price through higher customer acquisition ...
Start a Wine Company in 17 Minutes
21 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Not all ideas start with the level of insight needed to build a differentiated company.Today, we’ll take a run of the mill idea and show you how to ...
Whisper Ideas
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you ever find yourself whispering your startup idea at a coffee shop, this podcast is for you. We dig in on what a good startup idea actually loo...
How to test a startup idea in 7 minutes
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You’ve got startup ideas. You want to pursue them. You want to take them seriously. But what, exactly, does that mean?This episode dives into what i...
How to get a customer to choose you (and bagels)”
30 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On the first episode of season 3 we talk through the paradox of choice, how to facilitate decisions in your customers, how to build a brand, and bagel...
INTERVIEW: Daina Trout on building Health-Ade from a kombucha-making operation in her kitchen to one of the fastest growing beverage brands in the U.S.
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Health Ade
How to lose $1.8 billion dollars in 10 days
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
QuibiTacklebox Virtual Cohort 23 starts June 15th, apply at www.gettacklebox.com
INTERVIEW: Jennifer Goggin on building Startle, a tech studio that bridges the gap between research and impactful companies.
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Startle
INTERVIEW: Marc and Ashley Merrill on building Riot Games and Lunya, the role of a leader during times of uncertainty, and their perspectives on how to build a business.
08 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
League of LegendsRiot GamesLunyaLahgoAntifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder
INTERVIEW: Christoph Bertsch on building Vejo (and multiple other startups) and how to manage the long-game of entrepreneurship.
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Christoph Bertsch, founder of Vejo among multiple other startups, stops by in what is one of my favorite conversations yet. He talks through what it r...
Ladders and Lobsters
18 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Chaos isn't a pit, chaos is a ladder." Coronavirus is an inflection point that will change all sorts of behavior and create all sorts of op...
INTERVIEW: Agatha Kulaga on building Ovenly, turning your creative outlet into a scalable business, and baking the best cookies I've ever tasted.
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Agatha Kulaga - co-founder of Ovenly, an award-winning retail and wholesale bakery with a global footprint - stops by to talk through the early days. ...
How to Evaluate a Startup Idea
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What should it look like when you have a startup idea? What do you do first? How do you know if it's a good idea for you? We go through seven archetyp...
INTERVIEW: Brian Linton on building United By Blue, removing millions of pounds of trash from the ocean, and scaling a purpose-driven brand.
26 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Brian Linton, founder of outdoor apparel and accessory brand United By Blue, stops by to tell the story of how he built a purpose-driven brand that's ...
The Selfish Score: How to build a great customer acquisition funnel
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
To build a great company, you need to build a healthy customer acquisition funnel. You need a consistent flow of customers coming in the top, tactics ...
INTERVIEW: Rob Petrozzo on building Rally Rd, how to test startup ideas before you quit your job, storytelling, leveraging personas for brand and marketing, raising money, and differentiation.
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Rob Petrozzo, co-founder of Rally Rd, stops by for an awesome interview that at it's core is about storytelling. Rally Rd is growing incredibly fast,...
Two mental models that'll make or break your startup + a mystery company that can't stop growing because of them
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There's a mystery company that is one of the 10 best performing stocks since 2010. You've heard of them. You've eaten (hint) their product. You'd neve...
INTERVIEW: Ashley Merrill on building Lunya, the beauty of capital-constrained businesses, true differentiation, and self-doubt
29 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ashley Merrill, the founder of premium sleepwear brand Lunya, stops by and delivers a masterclass on how to build a brand in the DTC era. She talks ab...
The Secret Formula to Hot Ones' Success
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hot Ones is a show on Youtube that you've probably heard of. A host interviews guests while they each eat 10 progressively hotter hot wings. The growt...
INTERVIEW: Marc Merrill on building Riot Games (League of Legends), prioritization frameworks, and focused growth
15 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Marc Merrill, founder of Riot Games, joins the podcast to talk about building League of Legends into a cultural phenomenon (with over $20bn in revenue...
You Should Start a Startup in 2020
08 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Fewer new businesses were started in 2019 than in 1970. That's terrible. We look at the two cognitive biases holding you back, and lay out a framework...
Idea to Startup Season 2: Build Your Startup in 2020
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Fewer companies were started in 2019 than in 1970. That’s preposterous. This is the single best time in human history to start a company - so why ar...
INTERVIEW: Dave Idell on building Croissant, a flexible coworking company competing with giants.
22 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dave Idell is the founder of Croissant, a flexible coworking company beloved by freelancers and entrepreneurs around the world. We talk about the ear...
INTERVIEW: Rich Fulop on Building Brooklinen, the Internet’s Favorite Sheets
08 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Rich and Vicki Fulop built Brooklinen after realizing there wasn’t an easy way to find and buy high quality sheets. There were no strong brands, no...
How to Leverage Storytelling Archetypes for Your Startup
31 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
People probably won’t remember your startup, but they’ll remember a story. Today we lean on Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling to help you tell a...
INTERVIEW: Kim Kaupe on Building Superfan with No Funding
03 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we’re speaking with Kim Kaupe, the founder of Superfan. Superfan was built to give fans unparalleled opportunity for engagement. Superfan wor...
INTERVIEW: Leo and Oliver Kremer on Building a Burrito Empire at Dos Toros
20 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we’re talking burritos. Leo and Oliver Kremer founded Dos Toros in 2009 because they couldn’t find the Mission-style burritos they grew up ...
How Do You Find Founder/Startup Fit?
12 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
You need two things to build a great startup: specific knowledge and a lever to amplify that knowledge. On today’s pod, we’ll start a CBD startup ...
INTERVIEW: Elizabeth Yin, founder & GP @ Hustle Fund, where they invest in “hilariously early founders”
05 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Yin is a founder and general partner at Hustle Fund, where she invests in “hilariously early founders.” Prior to Hustle Fund, she ran ...
How to Prioritize as an Early-Stage Startup
31 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Entrepreneurs can do anything, but they can’t do everything. How do you prioritize early on? How do you differentiate? This episode presents a frame...
INTERVIEW: Ben Conniff on Building Luke’s Lobster
22 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ben and Luke, the founders of Luke's Lobster, knew how to make a killer lobster roll when they decided to start Luke’s Lobster, a lobster shack in ...
How to Choose the Right Customer
16 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There’s one decision that early stage founders make that can drastically tip the tables in their favor. This is a tactical episode, helping you p...
INTERVIEW: Katherine Krug on Building BetterCo
08 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We chatted with Katherine Krug, founder of BetterCo. This conversation is packed with insight - you'll need a notebook handy as you listen. Katherine ...
Is Your Startup Idea Good?
02 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A walk down memory lane checking in on Brian's past startups and how you can make sure you're starting a company that has a shot at working out.
INTERVIEW: Joey Cofone on Building Baron Fig
23 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We chatted with Joey Cofone, founder of Baron Fig, about the early days of building the company. He touches on a bunch of helpful topics, from breaki...
Start Here
23 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Most startups fail. Entrepreneurs assume there are a bunch of reasons for this, but there's really only one. Your startup will fail because of custome...
Idea to Startup Teaser
05 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Less than 1% of all businesses raise Venture Capital money, and only a small percentage of those (again, less than 1%) end up becoming "unicorns." Yet...