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Oliver Buchannon
Michael Girdley

Business builder and investor. 12+ businesses. 30+ years of experience. 250K+ readers.


The Ross Perot school of business partners

The Ross Perot school of business partners

Q&A from a recent talk on business incubation.

Distribution =/= business. Orange County Choppers learned the hard way.

Distribution =/= business. Orange County Choppers learned the hard way.

OCC had $40M. Then nothing.

What every Papa John's post-mortem misses

What every Papa John's post-mortem misses

John Schnatter’s meltdown was just the surface

How I’m starting my next business

How I’m starting my next business

My three-year prediction is paying off.

Fast no beats long maybe

Fast no beats long maybe

What I've learned from killing ideas (and when to do it)

Every business needs bug bounties

Every business needs bug bounties

Stop operating with incomplete information.

Your brand is only as strong as your filter

Your brand is only as strong as your filter

More isn't always better.

Deal fever will cost you millions

Deal fever will cost you millions

Gap knew better. They did it anyway.

The hiring crisis nobody saw coming

The hiring crisis nobody saw coming

It started 45 years ago.

Don’t stick to the plan

Don’t stick to the plan

Run the test. Let it teach you.

Don’t get stuck in your own moat

Don’t get stuck in your own moat

Your biggest strength might be killing you.

The counterintuitive path to $27M per restaurant

The counterintuitive path to $27M per restaurant

Slow compounds into dominant.

Deepfakes only cost $2 now

Deepfakes only cost $2 now

If the pond keeps shrinking, we’re all big fish eventually.

Cheap signals lie

Cheap signals lie

Ford learned the hard way not to pop the dream.

When to be unreasonable

When to be unreasonable

“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose.”

Building remote teams 101

Building remote teams 101

Side by side, not face to face.

More reader questions!

More reader questions!

And why Steve Kerr is a great coach.

Ownership has no free lunches

Ownership has no free lunches

Busting out my graphic design skills

In a gold rush, sell tollbooths

In a gold rush, sell tollbooths

How chokepoints can be win-win.

It’s too soon for AI tactics

It’s too soon for AI tactics

You need strategy instead.

Thanksgiving leftovers (the business kind)

Thanksgiving leftovers (the business kind)

Seven answers you can use

Owners x Proximity = Business Health

Owners x Proximity = Business Health

Who suffers when things go wrong?

3 offshoring mistakes

3 offshoring mistakes

It’s not just a money thing.

I spoke to businesses about AI. This is what I learned.

I spoke to businesses about AI. This is what I learned.

I’d love your take on this.

How I build businesses I don’t work in

How I build businesses I don’t work in

Stop being an employee.

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