Idea to Startup

Hosted by Brian Scordato | Tacklebox

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Episodes

279

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

A podcast for people working on startup ideas. We have 15-minute tactical episodes and occasional interviews with people who did the early things exceptionally well. We've helped launch hundreds of startups worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and these are the building blocks. "This is, without a doubt, the best podcast for people trying to build startups out there." "If you aren't listening to this podcast and you're considering building a business (or you're already building one), what are you doing?" "Must listen for first-time entrepreneurs - excellent storyteller."

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60 recent

June 11, 202628 min

An Operating System to Help You Move Faster By Focusing On Less (feat. a monkey reciting Hamlet)

Today is part 2 of our series helping you build an internal operating system. We identify the four things you'll need to have happen for your startup to gain momentum, then we organize those into a system that'll help you move fast based on inertia. Tacklebox Monkeys and Shakespeare 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think Delta 4 Status Level Jump 00:25 - Internal Operating System Part II 03:15 - Monkeys and Shakespeare 07:40 - Smooth Jazz 08: 05 - Reverse Engineering a System 10:45 - Where is the Monkey? 11:33 - The Four Things That Matter for an Early Stage Business 11:40 - Problem 12:01 - Delta 4 Status Level Jump 13:34 - Secret 16:35 - Optimize for Inertia 18:37 - 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think 20:00 - The Thousand Daily Votes 21:43 - The Last 15% 23:30 - Script the Beginning and End 24:30 - Feedback Loop Optimization

April 15, 202614 min

15 Min(ish) Skill: Script the Start and End (ITS Classic)

Today, we'll talk about one of the most effective methods to do hard things we've found at Tacklebox: Scripting the start and end. Tacklebox Alternate Nostril Breathing Jr Jr - The Speed of Things

April 8, 202620 min

Thrust and Drag, Part 1: A System to Keep Momentum

Today we'll talk about thrust and drag, the components of momentum. Momentum is the lifeblood for startups, but most people leave it to chance. By focusing on the inputs of momentum - thrust and drag - you can build systems to ensure you keep moving forward. Gaps kill startups. This system removes them. Byldd Tacklebox Song where Taylor Swift burns Jake Gyllenhall

March 25, 202625 min

A Framework to Make Sure You're Building Something Useful

Today, we'll talk through a framework that'll help you evaluate whether you're building something useful enough to anchor a business. Most startups fail because the thing they built doesn't make a big enough dent in their customers lives. We'll make sure you don't make this mistake with help from Habit Kangaroo, a startup Brian ran back in 2014, and a GMAT training program his friend ran that helped people get into Harvard. Tacklebox Byldd Greenlights 0:30 Building a Wildly Useful Startup 2:12 Why Measuring Usefulness is Hard 7:00 Byldd 7:53 Habit Kangaroo 12:50 The Usefulness Framework 13:24 What is your Secret? 13:51 Three Categories of Secrets: Customer 14:45 Three Categories of Secrets: Acquisition 15:16 Three Categories of Secrets: Product 17:08 Rivers and Dams 19:00 GMAT over 700 Product 23:02 Hire Yourself

March 18, 202624 min

Running a Concierge MVP Live (feat. the four-step Concierge MVP framework) ITS Classic

Today, we'll run through a Concierge MVP example live on the pod. Brian chooses an idea specifically because someone wrote in and said it was "un-Concierageable," which isn't a word but is the reason this podcast exists. We go through the four-part framework that'll help you build a Concierge MVP - The Three Components of Wild Success, Acquiring Customers, The Test, and Feedback Loops. And we get a little help from an alum helping people get grants and our old friend - the Monkey on the Pedestal. Tacklebox The Luge Tackle the Monkey First Miro 00:30 The Concierge MVP 02:05 The Grant Concierge MVP Example 04:56 Pushback06:30 Smooth Jazz 07:00 David’s Idea 09:23 Concierge MVP Step One: The Three Components of Wild Success 10:43 Monkey and the Pedestal 14:08 Concierge MVP Step Two: Acquiring Customers 18:22 Concierge MVP Step Three: The Test 21:03 Concierge MVP Step Four: The Feedback Loop 22:52 The End - 85% of the Way There

March 5, 202622 min

Three Shortcuts to Actually Help You Get Started On Your Idea

Today, we talk through the Silk Sheet Problem - how to do something new and hard when your life is fairly... comfortable. We help a listener get started on their idea - an AI tutor's assistant - with three shortcuts to set their life up in a way that makes it easier to start a startup than to not. We talk through Just-In-Time Prep, Forcing Functions, and life design. This episode is meant to be a blueprint for you to take action and keep momentum. Tacklebox Kevin running from the furnace 00:34 Intro 03:30 The Idea: AI for Tutors07:27 Jazz - Customer Interview Workshop 07:57 Just-In-Time Prep 11:55 Search for Hooks 14:14 The Three Step System 15:40 Forcing Function Examples 18:13 Reinforcing Markers 20:06 The End: Jump in the Ocean

February 19, 202622 min

Start a Startup in Ten Days with Four Questions (ITS super-classic)

Today we'll talk through how to test out and build a startup idea in ~10 days by answering four questions. We'll use an idea that's oddly popped up a bunch lately: Kitchen Organizer. We do this with a little help from a story about a poker player and my good friend, Penne Vodka Pete.Join Tacklebox (CODE WINTER2025)Wix

February 11, 202625 min

Giving Your Startup an Identity

Today, we’re talking about startup identity—why you need one, and how it makes every decision you face way easier. We’ll talk swimming and nervous systems, walk through the Decision Equation, and help our good friend Carl figure out which customer to start with for his AI tool that helps adults learn Spanish. Then we’ll wrap with a simple framework to help you clearly define your startup’s identity. It’s practical, a little weird, and really important. On to it.TackleboxHeroTimestamps00:30 Your Startup Identity01:30 How to Swim04:17 How to Learn Something New06:34 Re-learning How to Make Decisions08:45 Tacklebox 09:15 Carl’s Idea - AI for Learning Spanish13:13 The Decision Equation14:15 Picking a Customer19:30 Identity: Your Decision Filter21:30 Four Identity Exercises24:13 The End: What Do You Want?

February 4, 202618 min

How to Get Your First Customers (The Trust to Risk Ratio)

Today, we'll help you get your first customers. We'll do it by learning how to use the trust to risk ratio - a way to identify the big risks that are holding your customer back and shoulder those risks early on to build trust. We talk through risk and trust with Find Your Lobster, Soona, and a finicky water pump. TackleboxSoona

January 23, 202624 min

The One Thing That Matters - How to Find a Differentiator That'll Support Your Business (ITS Classic)

Today, we'll help you find a differentiator powerful enough that it can support your business. We'll talk through what a differentiator actually allows you to do, five prompts to help you uncover and test one for your business, and Brian's favorite current differentiator - Popup Bagels. TackleboxPopup Bagels 00:00 Tacklebox00:33 Differentiator intro04:00 What do you hire a differentiator to do?05:44 The Attention Pie09:03 Smooth Jazz09:28 Popup Bagels16:30 Five Prompts for Your Differentiator