Seven $1M+ Business Ideas To Start in 2023 (#404)

5 Jan 2023 · 56 min
55:37

In this episode of the "My First Million" podcast, Sam Parr and Shaan Puri riff on a rapid‑fire list of startup concepts, dissect why many ideas fail, and highlight a handful of promising business models. They examine Yardstick, a CB Insights‑backed service that sells analyst‑led interviews with software buyers for $30‑40k a year, positioning it as a premium alternative to review sites like G2. The hosts discuss the importance of distribution and pricing for early‑stage founders, using Industry Dive vs. BuzzFeed as a case study. A large portion of the conversation is devoted to the emerging “guy mafia” on Twitter – anonymous niche accounts (Car‑Dealership‑Guy, Strip‑Mall‑Guy, Franchise‑Wolf, etc.) that monetize trust through newsletters, concierge services, or affiliate deals. They explore how these accounts can be turned into multi‑million‑dollar businesses. The episode also reviews a successful e‑commerce brand (the Katana store) and extracts a “Stranger Things Law” – the principle that obsessively niche audiences can be monetized with focused product lines. Additionally, they dive into the problem of hiring researchers and analysts at scale, debating how to repurpose vetted but un‑hired talent through a job‑board or matching marketplace, referral‑fee models, and the broader "signal problem" where recommendations (in hiring or investing) can unintentionally flag opportunities. Throughout, they sprinkle personal anecdotes, critiques of bad startup ideas, and meta‑talk about podcast growth, hiring researchers, and building a back‑office ecosystem for founders.

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