I’m joined by Adam Robinson who has bootstrapped startups to millions of dollars in revenue, as we deep dive on how we would validate and grow a startup idea. 1) The Yonder Phone Pouch market is exploding• Locks phones away to create "phone-free spaces"• Already in schools, concerts, comedy shows• Huge potential for innovation (charging, remote unlock, etc.)• Adam predicts 98% of middle schools will require in 10 years 2) How to validate & launch a Yondr competitor:• Target affluent customers first (Elon approach)• Have 100s of conversations before building• Look for "eyes lighting up" as signal• Prototype only after strong validation 3) Growth strategy: Micro-influencer UGC• Outreach to 1000s of relevant micro-influencers• Send free product, ask for honest posts if they like it• No monetary incentives needed for authentic content• Aim for breadth of coverage, not mega-influencers 4) Copywriting Framework• Study successful brands in similar space (e.g. Jolie)• Use AI (Claude, ChatGPT) to adapt their style• Remember: Don't copy, but get inspired and make it your own 5) The "third way" of building startups:• Combine Rework's bootstrapping principles with Y Combinator's focus on product excellence• Result: Profitable growth without VC dependency• If product is truly excellent, word-of-mouth drives growth Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav) Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startupideas  🎯 To build your own portfolio businesses powered by community you might enjoy my membership. You'll get my full course with all my secrets on building businesses, peer-groups to keep you accountable, business ideas every single month and more! Spots are limited. https://www.communityempire.co/ 📬 Join my free newsletter to get weekly startup insights for free: https://www.gregisenberg.com/ 70,000+ people are already subscribed. To improve your rankings your business on Google and using AI for SEO, sign up to http://boringmarketing.com/ FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenbergInstagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND ADAM ON SOCIALX/Twitter: https://x.com/retentionadamLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/retentionadam/ Episode Timestamps:0:00 Intro02:34 Startup Idea 1: Yondr Phone Pouch 2.009:53 How to validate & launch a Yondr competitor18:41 Growth strategy: Micro-influencer UGC26:28 Copywriting Framework30:43 The "third way" of building startups: