Finding great business ideas through anti-goals
Using the ideas of reverse engineering to build your search filter
Read Time: 3.30 Minutes
I recently read a lot about the investing strategies of Warren Buffet, Charlie Munger, Bill Ackman and Andrew Wilkinson.
All in their own way famous and successful in the world of business.
In general you could summarize that all of them employ a strict buy and hold thesis through finding undervalued businesses which have a great moat against competitors and more upside than risk.
But why do I bother you with this in terms of the topic of how to find great business ideas then?
Because one thing stood out at everyones approach on how to invest.
They started by engineering backwards by using anti-goals to "filter" the best opportunities to buy.
And I asked myself, is this maybe the best way to filter and find business ideas for myself?
Starting by the end. The business I wish to have.
And instead of thinking what this business should be about, think about what that business should NOT be about.
Because in the end there will be a big advantage by moving this way. At least I wouldn't end up with one I would hate to manage and probably have to live a miserable life.
How to use anti-goals to build an idea filter
Let's get into the specifics.
Anti-goals means that I collect all the things I don't want in the end and list them out. This list looks different for anybody.
Just to give you some examples, this is how my anti-goals look like in terms of finding business ideas:
No agency. I believe that agencies can be great but they are a treadmill in the end, because you have to find new customers on a constant basis.
B2B and no B2C. Because I believe that businesses pay money to solve their problems earlier than private customers.
No venture money needed. Because I believe you lose a lot of freedom by taking VC and can be pulled in a direction you won't go to.
…..
So state at this step everything that you don't like. This can also be the types of industries you don't like to work in. Or business models you don't want to follow.
Then you use this list and try to find ideas and problems to solve in other areas than the anti-goals.
If you get a new idea, check everything against your anti-goals.
And if done right, you may end up with an idea you could work on for decades instead of having fast success and recognising that's not what you wanted in the first place.
Anti-goals can be a great concept in many different walks of life. And I believe it's worth a try to use this in this important issue as well.
-End-
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