703: (Solo) If I Had to Start Over in 2026, Here's How I'd Make My First $1M

If I lost everything tomorrow, the team, the audience, the network, here's the exact tactical playbook I'd use to build back to $1 million from scratch.

If I lost everything tomorrow, the team, the audience, the brand, the 13 years of relationships and network I have built, and I had to make $1 million from zero, here is exactly what I would do. This is not a motivational pep talk. It is the real, tactical, step by step playbook with no fluff.

Here is the thing most founders get backwards: they build the product, then go looking for customers. You need to flip it. Find the customers first, then build the product.

In this episode, I walk through the whole 0 to $1 million playbook, from how I would validate a physical product before spending a dollar on inventory to why founder-led content is the one thing I would do differently if I started over.

Here's what you'll take away:

• The exact three step validation process I would run before ordering a single unit, including why three star reviews are where the gold is

• Why you need somewhere for your money to go before you make your first dollar, and how flying blind on cash flow nearly cost me early on

• The one product, one channel rule and why trying to be everywhere is the mistake I see founders make constantly

• The product economics I would insist on: 70% margins minimum and an AOV above $60 so paid ads can actually work

• The pricing mistake I made on Foundr's Kickstarter that cost us thousands, and how to avoid it

• My single biggest regret with Foundr: hiding behind the brand for ten years, and why I would make my face the brand from day one

If you are thinking about starting something, or you are stuck spinning your wheels on a brand that has not taken off, this episode gives you the clean, no-nonsense sequence I would follow to get to that first million.