I frequently get asked from entrepreneurs-to-be (i.e. people that want to do something but haven’t started yet) about how to make a business succeed. This is often a disappointing question. So often does this question arise that just year-to-date I was asked twice to give lectures at two business school seminars on this very topic. People really want to know. Until I find the time to do a lecture and have it recorded online, I thought I should spend exactly 30 minutes to tackle this on a writeup so that I can refer others to it. I am spending only 30 minutes on this, so if this article comes out weirdly shaped, that’s why.

Ok so here it is.

The Universal Law of Business

The most important rule – or if I even dare call it a law – for business success is that there are no formulas. Most business books need to be classified under the Entertainment category. Most business schools need to be classified as just history degrees. When you grasp the free market forces acting on a business, the preceding statements become almost tautological. There shouldn’t be anything non-obvious or deep about the fact that when competition is at play, old formulas for success necessarily must erode. If you are running a successful business that relies on some specific formula, then two things will happen (all else equal, and assuming you do not have some sort of e.g. legally enforceable moat). First, other companies will copy your formula, eroding your market share. Second, some will try to simply displace you entirely, making your old formula entirely obsolete. This is just natural selection and survival of the fittest. Said differently, the probability that a profitable business stays profitable goes to zero over long enough period of time. As it turns out, the same is true for nature: the probability for a specialized species to survive goes to zero over a long enough period of time.

There are absolutely no rules to the game, you just gotta figure out the strategy that works for you. That’s it. All the rules will depend on the opportunity that you want to tackle. Nobody has the answers, so you’re gonna have to figure it out for yourself.

Does this mean that all business literature is a waste? Certainly not, that’s nonsense. While the rules of the game change constantly, humans remain fairly consistent in their thinking and fallibility. There are many lessons to be borrowed from history, but … beware … there be dragons. Be aware of those lessons, and always question them in the context of the market timing of your opportunity. Do not, ever, take lessons at face value. They are not lessons. They are merely historical artifacts to refer to. Reading history books on ancient Rome probably won’t make you a great statesman in 2025. Same for entrepreneurship.

So, in the light of all this, which I believe to be undeniably true, you might understand why I find the question disappointing. It is because there are no rules to the game, and people limit themselves in the meantime thinking that there must be a formula they haven’t learned yet. There isn’t one. Just do the thing.

May all the luck be on your side.