A few months ago, I spoke with a creator who couldn’t understand why his $47 course wasn’t selling. “It’s packed with information,” he said. And he was right 10 modules, 50 lessons, lifetime access. But when I asked him what result his students get, he paused. He didn’t know. That’s the moment most online entrepreneurs get punched by reality: 👉 People don’t buy information. They buy transformation. Nobody pays to learn “how to.” They pay to become someone different. To look in the mirror and see progress, not potential. If your offer doesn’t bridge that emotional gap between who they are and who they want to be it doesn’t matter how much info you give. That’s why the most successful creators don’t teach everything they know. They teach the path that changes someone the fastest.

Last week, I was talking with a creator who told me, “I’m stuck… I have ideas, but I don’t want to build something nobody buys.” And I smiled, because that’s literally where every smart entrepreneur starts. They don’t fear failure… they fear wasting energy on the wrong thing. So I asked him one question:“What if you could get paid before you build it?” Have you ever heard of Perry Chen? In 2009, Chen founded a company that the very next year TIME Magazine called one of “The 50 Best Inventions of 2010." Chen was always big into the music industry. In 2001 he had an idea to bring a famous pair of DJs down to play a show during the 2002 Jazz Fest. He went through the trouble of finding an excellent venue andreaching out to management. Unfortunately, in the end, the show did not happen due to the lack of funds. He hated the fact that the people that mattered the most, the audience, had no say. He thought to himself, “What if people could go to a site and pledge to buy tickets for a show? And if enough money was pledged they would be charged and the show would happen. If not, it wouldn't.” During the next few years, he couldn't get this idea out of the back of his head. In 2005 he met his future partner, Yancey Strickler. They began working together and brainstorming how to make this idea he had come to life. They were determined to make this dream a reality and over the next few years, brought in other individuals and partners who were able to help. They created code, wireframes, and specifications for the website. Finally, it was complete and ready to bring to the world. They had no idea if anyone would even like this idea or if it would work. The idea for the website was simple. A creator can upload their idea for a product or project and ask for pre-sales and pledges. If enough people paid before the product/ project was complete, they would create the product. If not, then they did not create the product, and no further work was required. People that pledged early would get additional incentives that were delivered once the product was complete. Incentives that regular customers, later on, would not receive. Ten years later, this website has helped fund over 175,000 projects to date (and that number continues to climb), $4.7 billion has been pledged, and over 17 million people have gleefully paid for products yet to be created, thus allowing them to be created without cutting corners. Now they had the funds to make something great and the confidence it would sell. The name of this website is Kickstarter