In 1995, graphic design instructor Lynda Weinman just wanted a digital sandbox. She needs an online space where her students can post their work and play with new tools like Photoshop and Illustrator. She bought the Lynda.com domain, put the website together, and gradually changed her online teaching.
Years later, she sold that little digital sandbox to LinkedIn for $ 1.5 billion.
Or see Elon MuskWhich managed to generate half a billion dollars in revenue for Tesla before the only 3 models ever shut down.
How do these founders draw such a great work? According to John Mullins, a professor at the London School of Business, successful founders do not follow the “best practices” taught in corporate council rooms. They operate on completely different mental waves. They have what Mullins calls A Normal opposition mindset..
If you want to build a thriving business in today’s highly competitive market, you need to understand corporate logic. This is a mindset that violates the 6 rules that will completely change the way you do business.
1. Say “yes we can” (even if you do not know how)
Corporate Strategy 101 tells companies to “stick to their embroidery” and focus entirely on their core competencies. If a customer requests services outside of a narrow scope, the company’s answer is always, “No, we do not do this here”.
Entrepreneurs say “yes” and find out “how” later.
Arnold Correia runs a successful event management business in Brazil. One day, a large client asked if Arnold could set up a satellite network to broadcast training videos to 260 stores nationwide. Arnold knows nothing about satellite technology. His response? “Yes, we can do it.” Walmart later asked if he could put screens on their sales floor to run targeted ads. Again, he said yes.
By refusing to embrace his current skills, Arnold has re-created the multi-million dollar business four times apart.
A2S Takeaway: Do not let your current limits hinder your growth. Commit to the opportunity first and acquire the second skill.
2. Obsessed with problems, not products.
Large corporations are passionate about product modification. They take the blue dot from the laundry, turn it green, and call it an “innovation.”
Entrepreneurs do not care about shiny products. They take care of dealing with pain.
Jonathan Thorne developed nickel silver for surgical force to stop human tissue from sticking to metal during surgery. He originally focused on plastic surgeons, but sales have plummeted. Instead of changing his product, he looked for worse problems. He found a neurologist. When you operate on the human brain, the sticky pad is a disaster of life or death. Thorne set the goal of this huge pain, quickly expanded his business, and eventually sold it to the medical company Stryker.
A2S Takeaway: No one cares about your shiny new product features. They care about personal headaches. Diagnose neck bleeding and treat it.
3. Think narrow, not broad
Corporate giants want a market that can address large total addresses (TAMs). If the market does not attract the masses, they do not touch it. But real entrepreneurs know that in order to reach greatness, you have to start narrow.
When Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman founded Nike, they did not try to make sneakers for the general public. They focused on the smallest and most special point: the elite runner. Back then, running shoes were made for runners on smooth roads, leaving marathon runners to deal with broken heels and cracks on dirt roads. By designing heels that are wider for runners only, Nike has built a brutal and loyal fan base that ultimately gave them the power to capture the global athletic footwear market.
A2S Takeaway: Rest until it hurts. Manage a small group of highly passionate consumers before you try to sell to the world.
4. Ask for cash in advance (floating ride)
Big companies have billions in cash reserves to fund their R&D. Startup does not work. But instead of asking investors to invest for money, outstanding entrepreneurs get their clients to fund their operations.
When Elon Musk took over Tesla, the plan was not to take on huge debts to build the plant. Instead, they set up a roadmap for wealthy and environmentally conscious buyers who want the “next big thing” in their path. Tesla pre-sells 100 Roadsters for $ 100,000 each. That means they have $ 10 million in cash Sit in the bank before car # 1 is built. Years later, they did the same with the Model 3, taking 500,000 deposits of $ 1,000 each – generating half a billion dollars in cash to fund their engineering and equipment.
A2S Takeaway: Cash is the lifeblood of your startup life. Can you sell your idea in advance and get paid Previous You build it?
5. Borrow (but please do not steal)
In business school, you are taught to carefully analyze the ROI of buying heavy assets. Entrepreneurs work differently: They do not buy assets if they can borrow them.
When Tristram and Rebecca Mayhew Want to Start To ApeAs a tree adventure business in the UK, they have one big problem: they do not have forests. Instead of buying land, they went to the British Forest Commission, which owns millions of trees, and wanted to dramatically increase the number of visitors to the park. Mayhews has formed a win-win partnership: Let us use your trees, your parking lot and your bathroom and we will take you to the big foot traffic. Today, Go Ape has dozens of locations around the world because they leverage existing assets.
A2S Takeaway: You do not have to have everything to make money. Capture partners using existing infrastructure and keep your startup close to zero.
6. Do not ask for permission (just get it)
In the corporate world, every new concept must be hygienic by complying with the law and human resources. Getting a “yes” can take months.
Entrepreneurs understand that permission is the enemy of progress. When Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp set up Uber, they did not go to regulators across San Francisco and asked “Sorry, can we start a taxi company with a real taxi?” Regulators will immediately crush them to protect local monopolies. Instead, they just launched the app. While some of Uber’s corporate strategies cross the line of ethics, the core lesson of their launch is undeniable: when digital innovation is slow and regulations are vague, you can not wait for the green light.
A2S Takeaway: If you wait for permission from the gatekeeper, you will wait forever. Take action first, apologize later.
Are you playing by the right rules?
To change the world – or even your own financial future – you have to break the norm. You do not need a perfect product, unlimited VC funding or institutional approval.
Take a look at the biggest roadblocks in front of your business today. What are the six common antithetical attitudes you can adopt to break it?
Stop waiting. Go away and just continue with it.
