Chapter 2 Section 1: How to make money when you have nothing (1)

foreword Assumptions can be rebutted ——Auction Stanford students, buy one get two free How can I make the most money with $5 and two hours? ——How to make money when empty-handed? You can have many conventional methods, or you can go beyond the "standard" answer. Now, let me tell you an investment method that can earn 40 times the profit. If you only have $5 and two hours of your time, how are you going to make money with them?I also gave the same assignment to my students at Stanford.I divided them into 14 groups and gave each group an envelope containing $5 in "startup capital."They can plan for as long as they want before opening the envelope, but once the envelope is opened, they only have two hours to monetize the $5.The event starts Wednesday afternoon and ends Sunday evening.By Sunday night, each team had to send me a slideshow explaining what they were doing during that time, and they were going to present the details of the activity to the class the following Monday afternoon.This activity is to give full play to the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ability of students to seize opportunities, challenge assumptions, balance resources, and be brave in innovation.

How much do you think each team will make?If it were you, what would you do?Some students answered me, "Go to Las Vegas" and "Buy lottery tickets", and everyone burst into laughter.The chances of someone who answers this way making a lot of money are slim to none because the risks are too great.The most common advice I hear is to use the $5 to buy some starter materials, then set up a stand to wash someone else's car or sell some lemonade.For those who want to make a little money in two hours, this kind of advice may be a good choice.My students, however, gave some "unconventional" answers.They dare to question the traditional way of thinking, dare to meet the challenge, and they want to use the $5 to create the highest possible value.

how to make money with nothing So how do they do it?Here's a hint: the teams that make the most money don't spend the $5 at all. They didn't let $5 imprison their thinking, because they understand that $5 itself has no great value, and they should look at the problem with a broader perspective: how do you make money when you have nothing?They tapped their observational abilities and talents, tapped their creative talents, and looked at these problems from different angles.Maybe in their daily life, they have personally experienced or seen other people encounter such problems. They noticed it, but never thought about how to solve the problem.These questions, though they kept coming up, did not become their top priority.But now, by thoroughly analyzing and solving this problem, the winning team made $600, an average gain of 4000%.And when you consider that a lot of groups don't spend that $5 to start with, it's a huge return on investment.