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I'm building 18 startups in 18 months.

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Thoughts on life and entrepreneurship - Empowering MBA Day 67 & 68

Some thoughts on life and entrepreneurship: Less misery and failure Curate who and what you spend time on/with Happiness Step 1 - ask: do I live in the past or the future? Alternative: am I driven by fear of loss or hope of opportunity? Fearful: extrapolating past failures Hopeful: iterating on past failures My observation and reading: generally the former are unhappy, the latter happy. Step 2 - realize that every moment and encounter is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Mindset Nothing NEEDS...

10 months ago • 1 min read

Building in public became building in private - unintentionally. Why: 1. I enjoy figuring out the path. Once the path is clear, I lose interest. Many write to think. I think to think, and scribble notes to free working memory and draw connections. I’ve never journaled nor written for fun. It’s always been to educate (business), connect (people) or graduate (school). To me, thinking is fun, writing is not. 2. “Take a big step forward, take the gamble,” a mentor told me a month ago. It stuck....

10 months ago • 4 min read

A few people have asked me how I decide on startup ideas. My approach is the opposite of most others’. I prioritize happiness, edge and downside risk. 0. Foundation a. Curiosity: I pursue curiosities and jot every idea down. Effort and reflection reduce the scope over time. b. Circle of Competence: do I understand this? do I care? If no, I give the idea away or forget it.If in doubt, it’s a no.I look to reject an idea quickly. What’s on your margins is in somebody else’s center.Whoever cares...

11 months ago • 2 min read

I didn’t write for 4 days. The reason is simple: opportunity cost. “Saying yes to one thing means saying no to everything else.” Startup 2 (personal monopoly agency for Dutch real estate agents) is gaining traction. “When the odds are in your favour, bet heavily” - Charlie Munger That’s what I’m doing. I realized this labour of love, this baby, deserved/needed my attention, love and commitment to survive, let alone thrive. Contrary to its stillborn brother (startup 1) writing a daily journal...

11 months ago • 1 min read

Do you live on autopilot? Lacking direction? Doing things without a clear why? My new friend Danilo asked me yesterday: "I watched your TEDx. It seems you've been introspecting for a long time. How did you become like this?" It got me thinking. (My favourite activity.) Being an only child probably mattered. To entertain myself, I'd read fiction and play role-playing games. Later I'd watch anime and read manga. Through stories, I've lived many lives. They also showed me different viewpoints...

11 months ago • 2 min read

When people create content, I often wonder "why". Almost all content is shallow. (Large creators' often more than smaller creators'.) "How to get XX followers" "How to go viral on X platform""The latest about the algorithm" Not to mention regurgitating what other "influencers" have said...without new insights or personal experience. Why do people create and consume this? From a human nature perspective I understand. On an individual level I'm flabbergasted. Imagine how much time is spent...

11 months ago • 2 min read

Update on startup 2 Crusade: turning real estate agencies into personal monopolies (Consumers start to view agencies as commodities. Agencies start to act that way.) Service: digital growth agency (To create personal monopolies: digitization x personalization) Personal Internal: focus on one's own talents, interests and experience to become a "business of 1" External: become a lifetime advisor instead of transaction facilitator Monopoly Moat: create a unique brand Financial: improve margins...

11 months ago • 1 min read

Welcome to another edition of The Librarian in which I cover the books I've read the previous month so you can decide if they're worth further reading. Books contain hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of labour. In terms of knowledge acquisition, they provide the highest ROI (return on investment), especially older books that have stood the test of time. But many books contain fluff. That's why I curate books and write book notes - for you. To give you the 80/20 (more like 95/5) and save...

11 months ago • 4 min read

To improve the survival odds of my startup I've read a bunch of books on real estate (biographies, investing, agency management). Some highlights applicable to entrepreneurship in general: 1. To thrive, generate leads. To survive, be frugal. 2. Ask: (1) what must be done right and (2) what must be done now? 3. Ask: what are the opaque or distrustful segments/information in the buying and selling process? How can we educate and provide creative solutions in those so more sellers can sell...

11 months ago • 1 min read

Some reflections and course corrections I’m making this month in life and business, with questions that you’ll probably find useful. Business Pursue obsession, usefully Be unique in the what, copy the how (avoid the reverse) A lot has happened in a month. Startup 1 died but its legacy remains with these compact reminders: Focus & frugality Crusade & craft Plot, then pounce Educate evangelists I've grown and startup 2 has a lower hurdle. I'm bullish. But it'll probably be a multi-month play. I...

11 months ago • 2 min read
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