Opportunity cost in entrepreneurship

MOAT — Margin, Operations, Advantage, TAM

Score a business idea 1-10 on four dimensions. Margin: net profit potential, 15% floor. Operations: does it scale past you. Advantage: unfair edge competitors cannot copy. TAM: total addressable market big enough for your target income. Sum: over 30 = fund-it; 20-30 = fix-it; under 20 = flee-it.

When to use: Before committing time or money; during pivot decisions; evaluating partnership or acquisition targets.

When not to use: After commitment is made — switch to execution frameworks.

Attributed to: Cody Sanchez, adapted from private equity deal assessment.

SPCL — Four sources of influence

Four levers that drive conversion when you make a request. Status: you control scarce resources in context. Power: your say-do correspondence — if following your instructions produces good outcomes, compliance compounds. Credibility: prior wins visible as proof. Likeness: you physically or psychographically resemble the audience.

When to use: Designing content, sales offers, or hiring pitches where you need compliance with a request.

When not to use: Situations where the counterparty has no choice (regulatory, monopoly contexts).

Attributed to: Alex Hormozi.

CLOSER sales framework

Six-step sales conversation. Clarify why they are there. Label the problem you can solve. Overview past attempts — increase awareness of deprivation. Sell the vacation in three points. Explain concerns. Reinforce the decision (post-close introduction to onboarding).

When to use: Appointment-based sales; inbound-call sales; high-touch enterprise sales.

When not to use: Self-serve checkout / pure-volume sales where funnel is the relationship.

Attributed to: Alex Hormozi.

CAPSTONE scheduled-pitch framework

Scheduled pitches (investor meetings, formal client pitches). Clarity, Authority, Problem, Solution (or Why), Traction, Opportunity, Next steps, Emotional ending.

When to use: Investor pitches, formal sales presentations, TEDx-shape keynotes.

When not to use: Social/30-second pitches — use Name-Same-Fame-Pain-Aim-Game instead.

Attributed to: Daniel Priestley.

Midas Touch — four ways to raise capital

Four options for raising money, any one sufficient. Profit: real cash coming in; raise at modest valuation. Growth: burn but hockey-stick metrics. History: you have done this before; raise on reputation. Story: vision of what you will build when you lack the other three.

When to use: Capital-raising conversations; thinking about startup maturity ladder.

When not to use: Internal budget/resource allocation — use different frameworks.

Attributed to: Cody Sanchez.

Marketing Affinity Loop

Five-stage customer journey. Awareness (they see you). Consideration (they follow). Purchase (they buy once). Advocacy (they write review/testimonial). Loyalty (they refer friends, renew, buy again).

When to use: Content and brand strategy; measuring customer lifetime depth.

When not to use: Pure transactional commodity sales (gas stations, utilities).

Attributed to: Cody Sanchez.

Pain/Passion/Profession — three first-business heuristics

Three entry points for choosing your first business. Pain: something you overcame personally. Passion: a deep hobby. Profession: something you already get paid to do. Profession is usually the lowest-risk path because delivery is proven.

When to use: First-time entrepreneurs choosing an idea.

When not to use: Experienced operators — switch to MOAT + opportunity cost.

Attributed to: Alex Hormozi.

Name-Same-Fame-Pain-Aim-Game — 30-second social pitch

Six beats for social-media or social-situation pitches. Name (who you are), Same (what you resemble that people already understand), Fame (what makes you different), Pain (what you solve), Aim (what you are going for now), Game (your bigger mission).

When to use: LinkedIn posts, party introductions, 30-second capture moments.

When not to use: Investor or scheduled pitches — use CAPSTONE.

Attributed to: Daniel Priestley.

1/9/90 Customer Pyramid

Three customer tiers. 1% shop on pedigree and control 15% of budget. 9% shop on passion and control 45% of budget. 90% shop on price and control combined 40%. Target the 9% (the affluent niche) for small businesses.

When to use: Positioning, pricing, and target-market selection.

When not to use: Commodity markets where the 90% is your actual target.

Attributed to: Daniel Priestley.

Persuasive Tone — 5 vocal variables

Five things you control with your voice. Speed (150-170 wpm for comprehension). Cadence (rhythm). Enunciation (pronounce each letter). Volume (loud enough to understand). Pauses (short pauses draw attention; long pauses solicit response — especially the 8-second pause after the ask).

When to use: Phone sales, Zoom sales, live pitches.

When not to use: Asynchronous written communication.

Attributed to: Alex Hormozi.

Value Metrics pricing

Price based on three dimensions, not flat rate. Usage (how much they use it). Number of users (how many seats). Value derived (how much revenue/outcome they get). Typeform example: same tool, $50/mo for solo, $1000/mo once a team uses it heavily.

When to use: SaaS, B2B services, consulting.

When not to use: Transactional single-purchase goods.

Attributed to: Cody Sanchez.

What replaces the current content form-factor once AI-generated content saturates every feed?

Based on: Priestley: AI content is the fog rolling in; if you are already in the air it is easy to stay up.

Why unresolved: Guests identify the saturation problem but do not name the next-gen medium.

How do you know if a "moat" is structural vs circumstantial?

Based on: Cody's MOAT test scores advantage 1-10 but does not give heuristics for distinguishing real structural edges from temporary ones.

Why unresolved: Left as founder judgment call — arbitrage windows close over time but no explicit check is offered.

For young operators: how do you self-diagnose whether you are partnership-native or promotion-native?

Based on: Cody: DIY vs employment/partnership is the fundamental first-move fork — but the self-diagnostic for which you are is not specified.

Why unresolved: Guests give their own answers but do not offer a portable test.

Where is the line between depth that builds parasocial trust and depth that violates personal privacy?

Based on: Cody: "we only post so much about our relationship." Daniel: "I won't put my kids in that position." Both acknowledge a line without specifying where it is.

Why unresolved: Personal + contextual; the episode surfaces the question but does not resolve it.