Turning a Dollar into Two

A few nights ago, I hosted a small event to test the concepts of my upcoming book, "Minimum Viable Founder."

When I say I'm "writing in public," it includes testing the book's concepts in a live setting to gauge how they resonate with people.

One of the themes I discussed was my disinterest in pursuing ventures with founders whose sole goal is to turn a dollar into two. I expanded on my need for a vision, introducing a concept I call "founder longevity." This metric, used alongside "proximity to the problem," helps assess not only whether a founder deeply understands the space they're penetrating but also their commitment to effecting change.

During the event, an attendee asked for clarification on the difference between simply turning $1 into $2 and having a vision. My response was:

Turning $1 into $2 could mean going to Walmart, buying a few cases of bottled water, and then selling them at a sports game for a profit. You might turn a decent profit doing this on weekends, but it doesn't make you Sam Walton (founder of Walmart.)

The difference isn't just about scale. It's about vision.

The vision, in this case, involves reimagining the end-to-end experience of grocery shopping (and beyond). It's about bundling the fragmented experiences of shopping at various vendors—like a bakery, butcher, fruit and vegetable stand, or clothing store—into one cohesive experience.

I personally do not shop at Walmart, but this serves as a tangible, though admittedly unglamorous, example of vision, regardless of the criticisms it may attract for allegedly being unethical, among other things.

To dive deeper into the topic of vision, check out Tesla's secret master plan.