My First Million for operators: turn an idea into a small test
By Alice Huang, Chief of Staff and operator
Use My First Million as a starting point for business questions. Turn an interesting idea into a small test with evidence, limits and a review date.
A business idea can be interesting without becoming your next project. The useful question is what you can learn from it and whether there is a sensible test for your own situation.
My First Million describes its format as brainstorming business ideas, interviewing business builders and breaking down companies. The official site names Sam Parr and Shaan Puri as the hosts. This article is a practical listening method, not a summary of a specific episode or a claim that either host endorses it.
Pick an episode for the problem you have
If you need ideas, look for a business breakdown. If you need to understand how someone built a company, look for an interview. Use the official episode description to choose. You do not have to listen to the whole back catalogue to get started.
Keep the source separate from your idea
Record the episode link, the speaker, the point you want to investigate and a timestamp you have checked. Then write your own interpretation on a separate line. A host's estimate is not your market research. A story about another business is not proof that the model fits yours.
Before repeating a quote publicly, verify the words in the audio or an authoritative transcript. If you cannot, describe the topic without quotation marks.
Make one experiment card
- Question: what am I trying to learn?
- Customer: who has this problem?
- Evidence: what would change my mind?
- Test: the smallest useful action.
- Limit: time, cost and permission required.
- Review: when do I decide to continue or stop?
This is a suggested worksheet. An experiment that spends money or uses customer information still needs the right approvals. "I heard it on a podcast" is not permission to skip those.
Leave with a next step, or leave it alone
You can save an idea without pursuing it. If it does not fit your customers, resources or current priorities, the useful decision may be no.
Listen on the official site or its Spotify link. Take the energy of the conversation, then do the slower work of checking what is true for your business.
Official listening links: My First Million | Spotify