Newsletter #00022

Happy Saturday!

We all have a startup story that lives rent free in our heads. Mine is 5 Hour Energy. There’s a great How I Built This podcast episode with the founder that I highly recommend. Here’s the TLDR:

The founder wanted to launch an energy drink brand, but that category was already very saturated. So what’d he do? He reframed the entire category by placing it on the checkout counter in a 1.93 ounce unrefrigerated bottle.

It’s one of the most brilliant business moves I’ve ever heard of.

With that one reframing he achieved:

• Higher margins, because he could price it comparatively to an energy drink but used much less materials and shipping cost.

• Less competition. The cooler was crowded but the countertop was wide open for the taking.

• More repeat purchases. Since they don’t have to stay cold you can buy 4-6 and keep them in your car.

5 Hour Energy is a $1+ billion dollar brand today. Where would they be today if they were in the cooler with everyone else? Exactly, read that twice. (jk, don’t read anything I say twice. Every time I say that I’m mocking 17 year old Tiktok business gurus)

That’s what this email is about: the great reframe. Here is an Adderall-laced bullet point list of reframe ideas with a more thorough breakdown below:

1. Buying cheap sunglasses from China and re-selling as functional glasses with a specific use case.

2. Buying nasal screens and marketing them to road cyclists.

3. Selling a course as an alternative to a franchise instead of as merely a course

Reframing is great for:

1. Finding new business opportunities

2. Finding an excuse to charge more

3. Finding new market segments for existing businesses

4. Finding a way to launch a new company with 99% lower startup costs

Cheap Sunglasses Idea

A good 8 years ago I toyed with an idea called Mellow Migraine. This idea stemmed from a conversation I had with my friend Grant about migraines.

He read a study that green light is proven to reduce migraines, and this worked for him personally. So what did Grant and I do? We ordered a box of cheap sunglasses from China that had green frames installed. These cost a few bucks each, including shipping.