Summary:

Would you take $3 million today—or a penny that doubles for 31 days? Most people grab the cash. By day 29, you'd only have $2.7 million. But by day 31? $10.7 million. That's the compound effect, and it's the invisible force behind every business that seems to grow "overnight."

In this episode, I break down why our brains can't compute exponential growth (blame evolution), how the British cycling team went from 76 years of mediocrity to Olympic dominance using 1% improvements, and why Kodak invented the technology that killed them—then ignored it. You'll also get a practical framework for applying the compound effect to your business, whether you're running a Shopify store or a dentist's office.

What You'll Learn:

1. Why a penny beats $3 million (and what that means for your growth strategy)
2. The "aggregation of marginal gains"—the philosophy behind British Cycling's 178 championship wins
3. How Kodak's 70-80% profit margins blinded them to the future
4. Three signals that predict exponential market growth before everyone else sees it
5. The e-commerce math: how 1% weekly improvements across three metrics = 372% annual revenue growth
6. How to build flywheel systems that compound automatically (with a real example from my wife's business)

Timestamps:

00:00 – The $3 million vs. penny thought experiment

00:36 – How exponential growth actually works (nuclear physics edition)

05:18 – Why our brains can't compute compound growth

06:00 – British Cycling: from one gold medal in 76 years to Olympic domination

09:48 – Kodak's fatal mistake (they literally invented what killed them)

12:09 – The Innovator's Dilemma explained

13:00 – The 1000x rule: why you've already missed it when it's obvious

14:27 – Three signals that predict exponential growth

16:39 – AI and the next wave of exponential curves

18:55 – The e-commerce compound effect math (372% gains breakdown)

21:10 – Building flywheel systems that compound automatically

23:24 – Why knowledge compounds (Larry Ellison's "kernel group" philosophy)

25:51 – Your dual challenge for this week

Key Quotes:

1. "What is so deceptive about exponential growth is that early on, it seems like nothing is happening. Scientists call this the valley of disappointment."
2. "Consistency is more important than intensity. The compound effect rewards patience and persistence."
3. "The compound effect works just as well in reverse. Small negative choices compound into major setbacks over time."

Resources Mentioned:

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear
2. Clayton Christensen's "Innovator's Dilemma" concept
3. Larry Ellison's book Softwar (kernel group philosophy)

This Week's Challenge:

1. Identify one potential exponential market opportunity in your...