IN THIS WEEK’S NEWSLETTER:

• 🚀 How to Spot the Next Million-Dollar Opportunity

• ✅ 8 Principles to Win at the Game of Start-Ups

• 🎂 The Anniversary Spotlight

• 🔥 AI Tool of the Month

• 🔍 This Month’s Clubhouse Schedule

BONUS: Find this months Time to Sell Index (TTSI) at the bottom of this newsletter!

Listen to this newsletter👇

🚀 Ideas Are Everywhere: How to Spot the Next Million-Dollar Opportunity

My son once found a twenty-dollar bill on the ground and called himself lucky. I told him it wasn’t luck, he was being aware. 

That’s how it works with business ideas too.

They’re not hiding under rocks; they’re floating in plain sight. You are never going to find an idea binging on Netflix.

If you want to start something great, you’ve got to be in the right place. Get out of your bubble, join an incubator, or here’s something you might not like: get a job.

Just get one in an industry you actually love.

Learn it inside out. When you start spotting the problems, the inefficiencies, the pain points, that’s where your ideas live. Solve one, and you might just solve it for hundreds of others too. 

Hobbies are another goldmine.

After I adopted three King Charles Spaniels, my partners and I got obsessed with creating products for them.

That obsession became Paw.com. 

Passion first, profit later.

 And your idea doesn’t need to “change the world” to be worth something. I hate hotel rooms. Thirty years of travel will do that to you.

So my wife and I created Escape.club, a network of high-end Airbnbs with the consistency of a great hotel - Westin Heavenly Beds, Pottery Barn cookware, and quality amenities. Not revolutionary, just better.

Pick an Idea That Can Scale

Most entrepreneurs fall in love with their ideas before asking the hard question: can this actually scale?

Ironically, it’s often harder to run a small business than a big one. 

My wife runs a school in Fort Lauderdale.

It’s thriving but with 18 employees and dozens of parents, it’s also chaotic. When we hit capacity, expanding meant millions in construction costs.

Not easily scalable. I rate that business a 1 out of 5 for scalability. 

Now compare that with .CLUB, a top-level domain we launched that sold over a million names worldwide with recurring revenue, eventually selling to GoDaddy Registry. That’s a 5 out of 5. 

Scaling gets a lot easier when your product isn’t chained to your zip code.

Build a Moat Before Someone Else Drowns You

.CLUB had an unbeatable moat, if you wanted a .club domain, even Google or Amazon had to come through us. Once people started using those names, we were irreplaceable. 

Already running a business without a moat? Relax.  Here is how you can build one:
1. Brand: Paw.com dominates its niche because the name is unforgettable.
2. Distribution: Own your channels, own your market.
3. Patents & Trademarks: PupRug’s IP protections got copycats yanked off Amazon and Costco. 

Defense matters as much as offense.

From Idea to Launch

Once you’ve got your idea, it’s time to stress-test it. And no, your mom’s approval doesn’t count. Avoid “yeah-sayers” and “naysayers.” Find peers who’ll give you real feedback. 

Incubators are perfect for this. They’re pressure cookers for ideas, forcing you to validate or pivot before wasting time and money. 

In the Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. Official Start Guide, I included the Ultimate Startup Checklist, from naming and trademark checks to your simple four-sticky-note business plan. 

A quick story: my family was buying a beach house on Florida’s west coast. On the drive home, we brainstormed over a name. We came up with Sunset Escape. The sunsets were stunning. By the time we got home, the logo and domain were ready to go. 

We didn’t even know if our offer had been accepted yet.

That’s how fast execution should be. 

And yes, AI made it into our checklist. Everything from investor decks to FAQ creation. If you’re not using AI to speed up the grunt work, you’re already behind.

How to Repeat Success

You’ve heard of one-hit wonders.

Entrepreneurs have them too.

But the Beatles, U2, they kept producing hits.

That’s what real serial entrepreneurs do. 

The secret? Start your next business before you sell your current one. You’re already in the zone, stay there. I’ve done it over and over:

• From my first BBS in 1993 we launched an internet service provider - Internet Direct

• At Internet Direct we launched Hostopia, and GeeksforLess

• While at Hostopia I studied new gTLD alternatives to .com, .net and we came up with .club

• At .club, domain names started blowing up when Clubhouse came up and we launched Startup.club. 

• While at Startup.club we interviewed over 200 people for the book Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. 

I think you get the point. When you are in the thick of it ideas are everywhere. Just be sure to take care of your core business and don’t fumble the exit.

Momentum is everything. 

Once you’ve found success, make yourself discoverable.

Build your brand.

Forbes Books made me use Colin C. Campbell because the world already had too many Colin Campbells.

Create a strong online presence - LinkedIn, media coverage, even a Wikipedia page if you can manage it. 

The “Repeat” section of the book is my favorite. It teaches how to replicate success: building the right team, raising smart money, and using proven systems to scale again and again.

The Encore

Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. has picked up 33 global awards - including Axiom’s Gold Medal and IPPY’s Gold Medal and hit #1 on Amazon fifteen times. 

The new Official Start Workbook breaks the first section of the book into simple, actionable exercises and if you know me,  we have included a ton of AI.

It’s loaded with 10 AI GPTs to help you get that idea launched  and 17 audio deep dives so that you can read a chapter in the book and listen to a deep dive. Really understand the material and get a third party perspective. 

And we discounted the Official Start Workbook to $9.99 so our members can benefit from it. 

Yeah it’s a masterclass on finding that next million dollar idea for 10 bucks.

Ideas are everywhere. They’re not waiting for luck. They’re waiting for you to pay attention.

— Colin C. Campbell

Disclaimer: Startup Club and its AI resources are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified lawyer for legal matters.

📢 Today’s Clubhouse!

Don’t miss today’s clubhouse at 2pm EST- 101 Ways to Use AI to Start & Scale

Discover practical, game-changing ways to use AI to launch, grow, and streamline your startup — from idea generation to marketing, sales, and scaling smarter than ever.

✅ The 8 Principles to Win at the Game of Start-Ups By Eric Malka

I was seventeen when I arrived in NYC’s Port Authority on a Greyhound bus from Montreal, as an undocumented immigrant with no money and no education. 

Twenty-four years later my company, The Art of Shaving, was acquired by a Fortune 25 corporation. 

During my 40-year career, I’ve seen many smart, hardworking entrepreneurs start strong, only to stumble within the first five years. The truth is, the odds of entrepreneurial success are brutally low.

That’s why I developed these 8 principles that took me from launching The Art of Shaving from kitchen table to strategic acquisition:

Principle #1: Mindset

Here are the most important four pillars of mindset that shaped everything we did:

• No Plan B – We were all in. Failure wasn’t an option because we had nothing to fall back on. We had no “work/life balance,” nor did we want any. We just focused 100% on our business.

• Grit – Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. My resilience was forged young, moving to a new country at a young age taught me how to adapt, endure, and keep going when things got tough.

• Prudence – Prudence isn’t about avoiding risk. It’s about making smart decisions, learning from mistakes, and weighing risks carefully before moving forward.

• Action – When we decided to sell our car and use the cash to open a store in NYC, we didn’t overthink it. Within three months, the doors were open. Action creates momentum. Momentum creates opportunity.

When you combine grit, prudence, and action, you don’t just get progress, you create your own “luck.” And if you ask any successful entrepreneur, they’ll admit luck always plays a role.

Principle 2: Execution is Everything

People often compliment me that The Art of Shaving was a brilliant idea. The truth? The idea was simple. I had seen many shops in London selling traditional shaving products with barber services in the back. I thought it could work in New York City. That was it.

The magic wasn’t in the idea. It was in our execution:

• Luxurious store design

• Premium natural shaving products

• Handcrafted shaving instruments

• Elevated barber spa services

• Great employees + culture

• Prime retail locations

• Well-run operations

Execution turned our idea into a household brand name. Most entrepreneurs get stuck in the idea phase. Don’t! Focus on whether you can execute it better than anyone else.

For us, execution was powered by partnership: Myriam’s impeccable taste and product passion, and my experience in retail and entrepreneurship. That combination was our real competitive advantage.

Principle 3: Think Big, Start Small

Before starting TAOS, my ambitions were huge, it felt like standing at the foot of the Himalayas without any training or gear. But having no resources was a gift. With just $12,000, I had to ask myself: 

What’s the smallest version of this business I can start?

Our first little neighborhood shop generated under $350K in its first year—profitably. Twelve years later, TAOS was generating $30M in sales annually and on track to hit $50M within two years.

That’s the power of thinking big while starting small.

• You test assumptions

• You learn from mistakes

• You build your team

• You recalibrate before scaling

The danger comes when entrepreneurs get impatient and try to scale too fast. Cash runs out before the lessons kick in. Yes, you’ll hear social media stories of companies hitting $100M in 3 years. But what you don’t hear is that 50% of startups fail within 5 years, and 70% are gone after 10. Start small. Learn. Adapt. Then conquer the world.

Read the other 5 principles here.

🔥 AI Tool of the Month

OpenAI just dropped Sora 2…

@20brand

The town celebrity casually strolling through the mall 🤣 I have 2 invites left. Who wants them? #sora #sora2 #sora2ai #sora2invitecode #ai

This a MAJOR upgrade to its audio and video generator and introduced a new app called Sora, basically TikTok if every video were AI-made.

The app lets you insert yourself (or friends) into any AI-generated clip using a feature called “cameos.” You record one quick verification video, and from then on you can star in clips of yourself skydiving, jamming in a band, or tearing around a 1970s F1 track.

Sora is currently invite-only but free to download in the U.S. and Canada.

ChatGPT Pro users get early access to the Sora 2 model directly.

What Sets Sora 2 Apart

• More Realistic Physics: One of the biggest knocks on AI video has been how weird everything moves. This update fixes a lot of that.

• Smarter Personalization: If you allow it, Sora taps into your activity, location, and ChatGPT history to recommend videos tailored to you.

• Built-in Parental Controls: Parents can set time limits, turn off personalization, and manage who can message their kids.

Creativity or AI Slop?

Early testers are split. Some say it’s just endless “AI slop” — repetitive, low-effort clips.

• Filmmaking used to need crews, budgets, and distribution.

• YouTube lowered that bar.

• TikTok lowered it again.

• Now Sora nearly removes it.

Will it unleash a flood of junk or open up a new wave of creativity?

 🔥 Read more about Sora 2

🚨 Kindle Deal Alert!

To celebrate the two-year anniversary of Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat., the Kindle edition is just $1.99 for a limited time!

The book is currently ranked #5 in Small Business and #5 in Starting a Business on Amazon’s Kindle Store. Proof that founders everywhere are still finding inspiration in its pages.

🔥 Get your copy here!

🎂 The Anniversary Spotlight

It’s been two years since Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. launched and what a journey it’s been! With 33 global awards and thousands of founders inspired, it’s now the most awarded entrepreneurship book in history and we’re so grateful for the continued support.

Reply and tell us your biggest entrepreneurial takeaway…

We might feature your story in an upcoming newsletter!

📅 This Month’s Clubhouse Schedule!

Friday October 17th at 2pm — What Private Equity Isn’t Telling You

What you’ll get:

A candid conversation with bestselling author and advisor Alexis Sikorsky on the hidden truths of private equity, smart deal-making, and how founders can protect their value.

🚀 IPO Market Rebounds: Time to Sell Index Climbs to 24.5 from 6.8

Momentum returns to the IPO market!

Here’s what that means for startup exits and your next big move.

Is now the right time to sell your business?

At Startup Club, we built the Time to Sell Index (TTSI) to help founders time their exits with data, not emotions.

What’s the Time to Sell Index (TTSI)?

The TTSI analyzes 25 years of IPO data from trough to peak to track startup exit conditions.

Why IPOs? Because they sit at the top of the liquidity chain when they rise, venture funding, M&A, and valuations follow.

From Stock Analysis:

“278 IPOs on US exchanges, reflecting a 71.6% increase over the same period in 2024.”

2025 Market Momentum

We’re now forecasting 330 IPOs for 2025, which is:

• 47% higher than 2024 (225 IPOs)

•  114% above the trough year of 154 IPOs

Key reference points:

• Trough baseline: 154 IPOs

• Balanced market: ~513 IPOs

• Peak seller’s market: 873 IPOs (based on a 566.97% rise from trough to peak)

Updated TTSI Calculation

Using the formula:

TTSI = (Current IPOs - Trough) / (Peak - Trough) x 100

(330 - 154) / (873 - 154) × 100

TTSI = 24.5

That’s up from 6.8 last year, a 3.6× increase in market favorability for exits.

What Does That Mean for Founders?

A TTSI of 24.5 signals:

• The market is improving

• But it’s still a buyer’s market

• Valuations for smaller companies often lag IPOs by 6–12 months

• Other factors matter: interest rates, private equity, and VC activity

The Bottom Line

The dark winter for startup exits is starting to thaw — but it’s still early.

Now is the time to:

• Build

• Improve positioning

• Prepare for the upturn

Timing your exit can be the most valuable decision you make as a founder — and the TTSI is here to guide that.

What’s Next?

We’ll continue tracking the TTSI each month in Startup Club Edge — delivering fresh insights and strategies so you’re ready when the market heats up.

Until then: Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat.

🔥 Check Me Out on TikTok!

@startupclubhq

Delegation isn’t about offloading tasks; it’s about empowering others with responsibility. As entrepreneurs, we grow by focusing on the bi... See more

🚀 How to Support Startup Club

Thank you for reading along for another issue of the StartUp Club newsletter!

You can further support StartUp.Club by:

1. Sharing it with a friend or fellow entrepreneur! We’ve got a great referral program!

2. Responding to this email and letting me know what you think.

3. Picking up your copy of Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat.

And if you made it this far, thank you for reading.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of the StartUp.Club Newsletter.

— Colin C. Campbell

Entrepreneur Fact of the Month: 58% of small businesses in the U.S. are started with under $25,000, and 33 % begin with less than $5,000.