In February I had the chance to be a guest on one of my favorite podcasts, TropicalMBA. It was their first shot at a new format, a “consulting” episode where they listen to a business owner talk about their challenges and make some recommendations.
I talked about the challenges of running a cyclical, pseudo-service-based business — things like cash flow, unit economics, etc.
Out of that conversation spun out how Unreal will evolve (the plan for which became this scribbled canvas and this ridiculously long 24-minute video explainer I was circulating for feedback). Interestingly enough, this has held true!
But also from that conversation came this idea from Dan, where he recommended what I really need to do is “increase the velocity of exhausting [my] options.”
What he was saying by that was, as an entrepreneur, you have tons of ideas but not much data or real knowledge about what will truly work for you and your business. Not until you try it.
So he was recommending I keep running and trying new experiments/prototypes around ideas that I had, and to do that as quickly as possible (increase velocity).
If I took one thing from that conversation, it’s that idea. I think that’s true of so many parts of my life. There are opportunities and ideas all around me, all the time. And the more quickly I can exhaust those options — run some sort of smoke test to see if it’s worth following and if not, kill it and move on — the faster I get to a place I’m truly happy with.
If you’re mulling over a lot of ideas or options, how can you increase the velocity of exhausting them? How can you quickly narrow and pare your ideas down, not based purely on which are most interesting to you, but to the people you aim to serve?