Four validated startup ideas from the founder of Exploding Topics

Build the audience before the product.

Instead of launching another ADHD chair, create the go-to brand (e.g., "Julius") that people associate with ADHD solutions; once the community trusts the brand, any product—your own or affiliate—becomes an easy sell.

Why: Large, fast-growing markets rarely have a dominant brand; owning mindshare reduces competition and allows premium pricing.

"once you have the audience, the product's the easiest thing to do"

Use yourself as the first customer.

Build the MVP for your own content library (Exploding Topics’ 500 posts) so you can iterate on real pain points before selling to others.

Why: Founder-usage surfaces edge cases early and creates an authentic case study that converts prospects.

"the first thing I would build it for myself... I'd be my own case study"

Charge per outcome instead of flat subscriptions.

For an AI content-updater, price at $1 per post updated after a free batch; this removes subscription fatigue and naturally expands revenue with usage.

Why: Usage-based pricing lowers friction to upsell and aligns cost with customer ROI.

"if you just do it where it's the first 10 updates are free... one dollar each additional update per month, then that's actually probably better"

Qualify leads by publicly visible metrics.

Filter prospects by site size (e.g., >25k posts) and send cold outreach that includes already-updated samples to prove value.

Why: Large publishers feel the pain most acutely and have budgets; pre-delivering work cuts through skepticism.

"your leads are sites that have more than X number of pages... here's the updated versions that our software created for you"

Create the "Uber Black" tier in commoditized markets.

Offer $50–$75 chef-prepared, gourmet meals delivered weekly in Apple-level packaging, targeting tech hubs with disposable income.

Why: Every category eventually supports a luxury segment; early mover captures high-margin, low-competition demand.

"there's usually a market for this higher end version of that thing, but I haven't seen it in this space"

Productize personal narrative to justify premium pricing.

Include a handwritten note from the chef with each weekly box; the story behind the meal turns a commodity into a shareable experience.

Why: Emotional connection increases perceived value and organic social amplification.

"suckers love stories... one note from the chef... would go a long way for getting those suckers to share it on social media"

Repurpose before creating from scratch.

Turn existing blog posts into videos, shorts, newsletters, and webinars; leverage proven content to multiply distribution channels.

Why: Repurposing is cheaper, faster, and carries lower risk than new creation because performance is already validated.

"repurposing rather than creating original stuff from scratch, because it's cheaper and it has a proven track record already"

Blend AI efficiency with human creativity.

Use AI for transcription and rough cuts, but employ humans to rewrite video transcripts into native-feeling blog posts or vice versa.

Why: Pure AI output underperforms; hybrid approach maintains quality while scaling volume.

"it's not something AI can do because it does require some ingenuity... you need to filter it through the lens of writing it as if it was a blog post for the first time"