🧠 3 Idea Thursday - Stack Consulting, Trivia Nights, Curb Numbers

In partnership with

Greetings, fellow Brainstormers. It’s time to feed that annoying part of your brain that’s always hungry for interesting businesses and cool opportunities.

Here are a few snacks so satisfying they’ll help you finally get over the disappointment of The Sopranos series finale. (Sorry for the dated reference, but I just rewatched it. Still frustrating.)

1. Stack Consultancy - Too many tools, too little bandwidth.

2. Trivia Night Management - Ask the questions, make the money.

3. Curb Number Painting - Some good old-fashioned door-knocking.

🧠 Idea #1: Stack Consultant

Alex Lieberman, co-founder of Morning Brew, tweeted out this spreadsheet with the software and services he uses to run his business.

It took off. Then he added Noah Kagan’s list. Now he’s adding more.

Don’t get me wrong, “founder stacks” are cool. It’s fun to see what interesting entrepreneurs are using. But most people aren’t founders. Most people are marketers, writers, accountants, designers, etc.

Here’s the opportunity:

1. Pick a niche and make a Founders Stack for X.

2. Reach out to a bunch of people in that niche to see what they use.

3. Build a database of stacks.

Easy. And there are lots of options for monetization here.

But the most interesting one for me isn’t affiliate deals, premium data, etc. You set yourself up as the “Stack Consultant for X”.

You charge a fee to advise your customers on what software/services they should be using, how to set them up, and how to incorporate them into their current workflows.

Whiskey: The Tangible Asset for Your Portfolio

Most people fail to diversify their investments.

They invest all their money in intangible assets like stocks, bonds, and crypto.

The solution - fine whiskey.

Whiskey is a tangible asset, providing a unique appeal compared to other investments. Casks of whiskey have measurable attributes like size, age, and weight, making their value indisputable. This physical nature allows for clear identification of issues and adjustments to safeguard future value.

Vinovest’s expertise in managing these tangible assets ensures your whiskey casks are stored and insured to the highest standards, enhancing their worth over time. Discover how this tangible, appreciating asset can enhance your investment portfolio.

Schedule a call with a Vinovest advisor to learn more.

🧠 Idea #2: Trivia Night-as-a-Service

This one sounds fun. Trivia nights are booming.

You can set yourself up as the go-to provider of fun trivia nights in your city.

1. Become a 3rd party provider of trivia nights for bars, pubs, and corporate events.

2. Hire local comedians, entertainers, or someone with a big personality to host the event.

3. You can even use AI to help come up with the content.

As you grow, you expand to other cities, invest in props and equipment to have themed nights, or hire more hosts to put on bigger events.

🧠 Idea #3: A Simple Summer Side Hustle

Do you have a kid, younger sibling, or niece/nephew? Or are you a young whipper snapper trying to make some cash this summer while you’re on break?

Here’s a fantastic summer hustle: Curb Number Painting.

1. Order some stencils and spray paint.

2. Find a neighborhood with lots of homes and curbs by the road. Somewhere like this is PERFECT.

3. Put on your sales hat, start knocking on doors, and charge $15-20.

Door-to-door sales can be the ultimate training ground for the young entrepreneur in your life. So help them put some money in their pocket while they stretch those business muscles.

🧠 BONUS Idea: Analog Audiobooks

Revolutionary.

📖 Brainfood

Here’s a 3-pack of useful/interesting/entertaining content I’ve come across this week:

1. The “Indian Warren Buffett” did a 2-hour podcast interview. Full of gems like “An idea is like an asshole. Everyone has one.” 👀 A stark reminder that finding good ideas is cool, but execution is ice cold.

2. I came across this awesome tool you can use to dig through loads of Reddit data. Search “I need” and get a list of potential business ideas.

3. Negotiation skills are a cheat code when applied well. Here’s a great thread covering high-level tactics, and this is my favorite book on the topic.

And that’s a wrap.

Last week’s poll was a tie between recipe websites and better supplements. So I used a super scientific, data-intensive method (I flipped a coin) to decide which one to write about. Supplements won.

I think I’ll publish long-form deep dives once or twice a month. I’ll use your feedback and poll responses to decide which one to write.

What do you guys think? I’ll keep you posted, but look out for the first one (the Shopify app from a few weeks ago) soon.

— Andrew ✌️