Idea
Build a PSA-style trusted third-party grading system for a new asset class
Shaan muses that the PSA model — credentialing, grading, vaulting — could be replicated wherever there's a passionate collector community, aligned buyer/seller incentives, and a large enough economy. He floats youth sports combine scoring and Ivy League human capital grading as potential analogues.
Steal thisIdentify an underserved collector or credentialing market with no dominant third-party trust layer and build the grading/attestation standard.
Idea
Apply 'escape aesthetic' branding to non-apparel categories (supplements, dairy, dental)
Apparel brands have long used aspirational aesthetics (golf, Hamptons summer) to sell to non-practitioners, but this strategy is largely untapped in consumables like supplements, milk, or dental care. Wrapping a commodity product in a compelling lifestyle aesthetic could dramatically differentiate it.
Steal thisPick a commodity consumable category and redesign the brand around a vivid escape aesthetic (farm, craft, era) rather than functional claims.
Idea
Direct-to-Cell: a $3-10/mo satellite add-on to every phone plan on Earth
Shaan explains SpaceX's Direct to Cell, which beams Starlink straight to ordinary phones with no dish. The play is either to launch their own T-Mobile or sell a cheap add-on guaranteeing coverage everywhere — in a $2 trillion connectivity market where carriers are undifferentiated.
Steal thisSell the gap competitors ignore — undifferentiated incumbents leave room for a 'works everywhere' upsell.
Idea
Gather 100 'hacker kid' misfits and become their network
Shaan wants to find 100 teenage outliers obsessed with low-status nerdy pursuits (top Yu-Gi-Oh player, kids hacking Teslas), bring them together, have admired founders mentor them, and build a network that catches them in the 11-19 'golden window.'
Steal thisIdentify the obsessed teenage outliers in a niche, gather them, and become the network that mentors them early.