Hey, this is Napkin Notes: 9 out of 10 startups fail. Which really sucks. So we write about things that make you become the 1 in 10 that win.

It’s that simple.

So if you were forwarded this by a friend, subscribe here so you don’t miss the next one.

That’s enough intro music from us, time to get to the lineup for the day. 🥁

Our Newsletter Menu

• 📰 News you missed

• 🍷 How Sam Parr Generates Million Dollar Ideas

• 📌 Subscribe to our new investor newsletter

• 🗓 RSVP to our next demo day

• 📷 Thoughts of the week

📰 News You Missed:

Early-stage fundraising is cooler than your last cold plunge. Morgan Stanley got a new CEO. TIME dropped its Best Inventions of 2023 list. Microsoft bagged $56B in Q3 revenue. Bitcoin just hit its all-time high in 2023. This Kernaler earned $9K in 3 days. And I still can’t justify spending $4.99 on an oat milk cinnamon latte. ☕️

🤫 Sam Parr's Process for Validating Ideas

Sam Parr’s a creative guy who knows his way around the startup world. And since we know 99% of you wanna crank up your creative juices, we’re gonna dissect his 6-step process so you can steal it the next time you need it.

Sound like a plan-stan? Let’s boogie.

Sam Parr’s 6-step process for finding +$1,000,000 business ideas:

• #1. What problem(s) do people have?

• #2. How many people share that particular problem?

• #3. Who are the leaders in that space? What is succeeding, and why?

• #4. Of the leaders in that space, what shortcomings do they have?

• #5. What business models are most effective?

• #6. What problems are not being solved?

We’re gonna break down our favourite meat and potatoes takeaways from this MFM episode, but if you wanna go listen to the full convo, be our guest.

1. Rule 1: keep an eye out when large brands share about rising trends

2. Rule 2: outsized business success is usually generated from founders devoting their time to 1 thing instead of multiple things

3. Rule 3: find something that interests you and turn it into a passion, even if it is not popular

A little hot tea if you didn’t already know is that Sam Parr’s already riffed on a few napkin ideas. So much so, that he tossed one of them on Kernal.

Take a look at the idea he posted and let us know how he did on his 6-scale process. If he could do better, drop him a tweet on what he could improve on.

He did just have a baby, so maybe take it easy on him if it doesn’t win a perfect score in your books 📚

Some other links to check out from the chat:

• Similarweb: great ideation magnet for web traffic validation

• Annual Reports: helpful website to evaluate top-performing companies

Tempted to check out the full chat? Give it a listen by clicking the photo below.

In other Kernal news:

• sipply had a killer update,

• Shankar had a vulnerable share and

• Quincy is making moves.

• Also, if you’re a travel nerd, help out Andrea with this question he’s trying to validate.

🤫 New Surprise

Enough of you have emailed us that we thought it was about flipping time we launch an investor newsletter. So without further ado, toss on your Patagonia vests, channel your inner Bobby Axelrod and hit that subscribe button below.

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🍷 Thoughts of the Week

Now go have an awesome weekend friends.

💚 The Kernal Fam