Monopoly

(This was written while I was on a long flight and had nothing to do but play Monopoly.)

After losing many times, I finally figured out the strategy to win: I passed up on a lot of great offers I had. I auctioned them, and my opponents took the bait.

However, I found one good opportunity and went all in. That was decided by research and experience. After that, I invested all I could into it. That part is easy. The hard part was ignoring the distractions. I thought even a small investment in something else could be nice. However, I didn't diversify.

Once I got 3 of the same colors, I built max houses on them. Spent maybe $800. Then every time someone came there, I made $650. Then I decided on another area I would focus on, and simply focused there.

Even when I changed my focus, I didn't invest in many things at the same time till later on. I wanted to be sure I wouldn't go bankrupt. I came close. However, my opponents also had troubles, so that was fine.

I believe the same principles apply to startups as well! You cannot win by investing in every area. You must first attain a monopoly in one niche and be very strong there. After that, you can pick the second thing you want to focus on, and so on.

Another fascinating part is that even if you're not doing great, that's fine. Maybe your competitors are struggling too.

To end it off, as Charlie Munger says: