Chapter 1 Breakdown: Ideas Are Everywhere — What Colin Campbell Gets Right About Entrepreneurial Vision
Series: Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. Reflections | Author: Brent Parker, Resilience Repurposed LLC
When it comes to launching a business, most people wait for a million-dollar idea. However, Colin C. Campbell argues in Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat that this mindset is flawed. Great ideas are not rare — they are everywhere — if you train yourself to see them (Campbell, 2023).
🧩 Ideas Begin with “Why”
Campbell starts the chapter from the most ordinary place — a hotel room minibar. His “aha” moment came not from dreaming big, but from noticing minor design flaws and asking, “Why hasn’t someone fixed this?” That question — why — is the gateway to entrepreneurial thinking.
🔍 Opportunities Are Everywhere (If You’re Looking)
Observation is your superpower. Whether it’s waiting in line, fixing something at work, or facing a daily frustration, these are idea incubators in disguise. As Campbell notes, “The best entrepreneurs scan for problems others ignore” (Campbell, 2023).
📖 Ideas Come From Experience
What’s second nature to you might be confusing or frustrating to someone else. That gap is your business opportunity. At Resilience Repurposed, I have leveraged years of field experience to create laser-focused products for clients who didn’t even know what was possible until they saw it done better.
🛠 Ideas Come from Solving Problems
Campbell stresses that the best ideas aren’t always the most exciting — they’re the most useful. If you can remove a bottleneck, simplify a process, or remove friction for someone, you’re on to something (Campbell, 2023).
🔁 Transforming Problems Into Opportunities
This shift is key. Noticing problems is passive. Solving them is entrepreneurial. Campbell argues that the best founders look at pain points and ask, “How can I build something that flips this into value?”
❤️ You Need to Love Your Idea
If you don’t love what you’re building, you won’t make it through the hard days. Campbell is not being sentimental here — he is being practical. Passion gives you staying power when nothing else does (Campbell, 2023).
🧑🏭 Ideas Can Come from Your Job or Business
Do not quit your job to find your idea. Look at your job as the idea. Whether it’s manufacturing, teaching, logistics, or customer support, real businesses are born from real-world experience. That’s how most of Resilience Repurposed started — not from fantasy, but frustration.
🧠 Final Insight: Ideas Are Everywhere — If You Train Your Mind to See Them
The secret isn’t inventing something new — it’s seeing what’s already broken and fixing it better. As Campbell writes, “Ideas are everywhere, but most people aren’t looking for solutions” (Campbell, 2023).
📚 References (APA Style)
Campbell, C. C. (2023). Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. Wiley.
Parker, L. B. Jr. (2025). Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. by Colin C. Campbell (Book cover) [Photograph]. Resilience Repurposed Blog. https://blog.resiliencerepurposed.com
💡 Final Takeaway:
Chapter 1 doesn’t just teach you how to find good ideas — it rewires your brain to think like a problem-solver. You don’t need to invent the next Tesla. You need to notice what’s broken, imagine what’s possible, and take the first step.
🔁 Coming Next: Chapter 2 – From Idea to Action
We will explore how to turn your idea into momentum, with strategies on execution, naming, and knowing when to pull investors into the mix.
💬 Share This With a Future Founder
Know someone sitting on a great idea? Forward them this post or tag them in the comments. Let’s build a community of doers, not just dreamers.
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Until next time — keep building, keep solving.