Content Library
Get weekly articles and videos in your inbox on the tools & processes of innovation.

Startup Shop Talk
Weekly Office Hours | Apr 7th, 2022
Got a question for me? Startup Shop Talk is my weekly "office hours" livestream entirely about startups & innovation — from idea to product-market fit.

The Right Box

Newsletter
ITB #7: How to write a quick startup problem statement
Lengthy problem statements kill startup pitches. In this week's weekly email, JDM shares a quick trick you can use to briefly explain the problem.

Josh David Miller

Startup Shop Talk
Startup Shop Talk Live #15
Startup Shop Talk is our weekly livestream on YouTube where we talk about all things startups — from idea to product-market fit.

The Right Box

Newsletter
ITB #6: A foolproof way to increase LTV
In this week's weekly email, JDM shares a foolproof 3-step process for increasing customer lifetime value.

Josh David Miller

Startup Shop Talk
Customer channel strategy | Startup Shop Talk Live Show #14
On this week's live show, Dan & JDM discuss channel strategy for startups — and how most founders neglect one of the most important parts of their business model.

The Right Box

Startup Shop Talk
Complete guide to startup channel strategy | Startup Shop Talk Live #14
The most neglected part of the startup business model is channel strategy, but it literally determines whether you'll sink or swim. Let's break it down.

The Right Box

Startup Shop Talk
Growth hacking in 3 steps
On this week's live show, Dan and JDM unveil a deceptively simple three-step process for unlocking early-stage startup growth.

The Right Box

Newsletter
ITB #5: How to find options in no-win scenarios
This week's issue of JDM's weekly newsletter: how you can use "we can if" thinking to get yourself out of a jam!

Josh David Miller

Startup Shop Talk
Complete guide to the business model canvas
On this episode of the Startup Shop Talk live show, we’re here to talk about the Business Model Canvas, including how most people get it completely wrong!

The Right Box

Podcast
How to ask great questions
In episode #9, JDm talks about how to ask great questions, even when the topic is muddled and unclear.

The Right Box

Newsletter
ITB #4: Culture eats strategy for breakfast, but that's only half of the story
The latest issue of JDM's weekly newsletter: good strategy stands no chance in the hands of a dispassionate or apathetic team. But that's only half true.

Josh David Miller

Slideshow
How to KILL your startup: a guide
Here's a slideshow of six common ways to absolutely tank your startup.

Josh David Miller

Startup Shop Talk
How to know WHEN to do WHAT in the startup lifecycle
Last week's show was all about common ways startups fail, and it occurred to us that nearly all of them had something to do with bad timing.

The Right Box

Startup Shop Talk
6 epic ways to tank your startup
If you want your startup to fail, make sure you make these 6 common mistakes!

The Right Box

Slideshow
Before doing it right, make sure you're doing the right thing
Slideshow: many innovations fail because we try to be efficient before we should.

Josh David Miller

Podcast
Doing the right thing before doing things right
Many startups fail by trying to be efficient before they're effective. In this episode of the podcast, ensure you’re doing the right thing before trying to do the thing right — and design thinking can help us out here.

The Right Box

Startup Shop Talk
6 Must-Read Books for Entrepreneurs
On this week’s Startup Shop Talk live show, we’re going to discuss 6 books that are MUST READS for entrepreneurs at all stages.

The Right Box

Video
Top 5 remote facilitation FAILS — and how to fix them
Despite the amazing growth of tools over the past couple of years, most remote events pretty well suck because we keep making the same mistakes.

The Right Box

Article
Free Workshop: Create Your Pitch Deck
Our own JDM is leading a free workshop on Feb 9th on a framework to help you create a stellar startup pitch deck.

The Right Box

Startup Shop Talk
Top 10 ways to rapidly test a business idea
On this week’s Startup Shop Talk live show, we’re going to break down the top 10 ways to rapidly test a business idea.

The Right Box

Podcast
How to pitch a startup to investors, co-founders, & customers
For this episode of the pod, we’re sharing an edited version of the Startup Shop Talk live show on everything you need to know about pitching your startup to investors, to co-founders, and even to potential customers.

The Right Box

Startup Shop Talk
How to create a winning business model for your startup
Too often, startups die early or leave money on the table because they never took the time to systematically discover & validate their business model. In this episode, we take a look an algorithm you can use to do just that.

The Right Box

Startup Shop Talk
Before you pitch your startup… WATCH THIS
In this episode of the Startup Shop Talk live show, we are talking entirely about what you need to know to pitch your startup to potential investors, potential co-founders, and even potential customers.

The Right Box
Article
The best way to think about product-market fit
Product-market fit isn't one thing. It's best to think of it as a spectrum that matches the lifecycle of the startup, and guides founders on what to do next. Let's break it down.

Josh David Miller

Podcast
How to find product-market fit by thinking differently
Too many founders think about product-market fit too reductively, as if it were bound by one specific metric that you have to hit. In reality, it's a spectrum with four discernible phases.

The Right Box

Startup Shop Talk
How to find out what's next for your startup
The toughest choice you'll face every day as a startup founder or intrapreneur is finding the most important thing to do next. On this episode, we're talking about innovative decisionmaking and how to lead with hypotheses, experiments, data, and results.

The Right Box

Podcast
You're doing the business model canvas all wrong!
In this episode of the Inside the Box podcast, host JDM talks about why the business model canvas is a fantastic tool, but only if you use it correctly: not as a task, but as a process.

The Right Box

Startup Shop Talk
How do you achieve freedom using constraints?
Many falsely believe that creativity is about freedom from constraints. In fact, creativity is about achieving freedom by applying constraints.

The Right Box

Podcast
How to find new market opportunities
For our first episode of 2022, with all the promise that a new year brings, we almost have to talk about ideation. But, how does ideation work in an established firm rather than a startup?

The Right Box

Article
How to Find New Market Opportunities
Most of the time, when we talk about ideation, we’re talking about brand new companies. But, what if you’re an established company looking to innovate? How do you find valuable new market opportunities?

Josh David Miller

Startup Shop Talk
Co-creating your startup with your customers
This episode is all about using design thinking to co-create your startup with your customers. In other words, about how you can use your customers to create the product they're dying to have.

The Right Box

Video
Using the "mom test" to ask great customer discovery questions
On a recent live show, a viewer asked why customer feedback can be positive pre-launch, and yet lackluster post-launch. Well, what if there was a way to ask customers questions that ensured honesty?

The Right Box

Podcast
Stop trying to kill the MVP just because you don't understand it
On this episode of the podcast, JDM talks vents a little bit on why efforts to re-invent and rebrand MVPs not only miss the point of the MVP but are also tragically misguided.

The Right Box
Article
When does a startup have "traction", anyway?
When we think about startups and traction, the first thing that comes to mind is sales. After all, that's the ultimate traction we're looking for. But what about when revenue isn't the right metric yet?

Josh David Miller

Video
What is traction in 60 seconds
What is traction? When we think about startups and traction, the first thing that comes to mind is sales. After all, that's the ultimate traction we're looking for. But what about when revenue isn't the right metric yet?

The Right Box

Podcast
Your idea sucks — and that's fantastic!
On this episode of the podcast, JDM talks about why your startup or other innovation idea sucks — and, more importantly, why that’s actually pretty fantastic.

The Right Box

Startup Shop Talk
Traction is Hard — Really Hard
The sound of crickets is lovely if you’re trying to go to sleep. But it’s soul-crushing when you hear them after launch. It happens to everyone — even Google. Let’s talk about how to save our startup souls.

The Right Box

Podcast
Stop telling people to "think outside the box"
Telling someone to “think outside the box” is not only the most unhelpful advice you could provide, but it’s also the wrong way to think about creativity and innovation.

The Right Box

Article
Enough about the problem already — get to the point, fast
The problem is one of the most important elements of a pitch, but it’s way too easy to spend way too much time on it.

Josh David Miller

Article
A business model by any other name...
We talk a lot about a business models, but we rarely say what they actually are.

Josh David Miller

Article
The Real World Has No Bulls-Eyes
When starting an innovation journey, it's not about choosing where you'll end up — but about choosing the right direction to walk.

Josh David Miller

Article
Forget how — ask what
Figuring out what to do — what I like to call "picking a direction to walk" — always has to come before figuring out how we get there.

Josh David Miller

Article
The Value of Mentorship
Mentorship isn't about just giving advice or receiving advice. Good mentorship results in a bi-directional exchange of value.

Josh David Miller

Article
It's Global Entrepreneurship Week 2020!
We find it fitting that Global Entrepreneurship Week falls on the week before Thanksgiving, because it's one of the things for which we're most thankful.

Josh David Miller

Article
3 Techniques for Solving Problems
Let’s start with a bold claim: no one came up with the idea for Facebook.

Josh David Miller

Article
To Innovate, Rethink the Box
The most common and least helpful innovation advice in Corporate America is to think outside the box.

Josh David Miller

Article
I Hope This Makes You Fail Better
“Entrepreneur” sure sounds like a fancy-ass word.

Josh David Miller