The Minimalist Entrepreneur: How Great Founders Do More with Less

by Sahil Lavingia

Minimalist entrepreneurs aim to be profitable from day one or soon after, because profit is oxygen for businesses. And they do that by selling a product to customers, not by selling their users to advertisers.

Minimalist entrepreneurs build on a foundation of community. They don’t ask “How can I help?” but are instead observant and cultivate authentic relationships.

Most people don’t start. Most people who start don’t continue. Most people who continue give up. Many winners are just the last ones standing. Don’t give up.

Narrow down who your ideal customer is. Narrow until you can narrow no more. 2. Define exactly what pain point you are solving for them, and how much they will pay you to solve it. 3. Set a hard deadline and focus fully on building a solution, then charge for it. 4. Repeat the process until you’ve found a product that works, then scale a business around it.

Painters need brushes. Writers need pencils. Creators need businesses. It’s key for people to understand that, because it lowers the cognitive barrier to starting a business, and starting is really important. You don’t learn, then start. You start, then learn.

You don’t have to bring your whole self to every community you join, but you do have to bring a slice of yourself.

“Work in Public” ο “Teach Everything You Know” ο “Create Every Day”

Place utility: Make something inaccessible accessible ο Form utility: Make something more valuable by rearranging existing parts ο Time utility: Make something slow go fast ο Possession utility: Remove a middleman

Launches are alluring, but they are one-off events I wouldn’t bet your business on. Instead, wait until you have a product with repeat, paying customers. Then launch by thanking them!