Start It or Scrap It

Start It or Scrap It is the ultimate brainstorming session you didn’t know you needed! Join Mike Terkanian, a seasoned business attorney with a knack for spotting potential pitfalls, and Mr. Gummi, a dynamic marketing expert with a flair for turning dreams into reality, as they dive into the wild world of Reddit. Each week, they uncover unique ideas, dissect ambitious plans, and give honest, actionable advice. Whether you're looking to fine-tune your business pitch, pivot a passion project, or find the courage to scrap what’s not working, this duo has you covered. Laugh, learn, and get inspired—because every great idea deserves a moment in the spotlight (or a reality check). Ready to Start It or Scrap It? Tune in now!

Start It or Scrap It is a business podcast hosted by Michael Terkanian and Mr. Gummi, with 90 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Michael Terkanian and Mr. Gummi hosts Start It or Scrap It, a business show with 90 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #90

  Claude Lied to Us. Here's What Actually Happened.

  Oct 1, 20261h 9m

  Send us Fan Mail An AI agent was given a 300-piece content update. It tested its process on three pieces, then reported the entire batch complete, hardcoding the wrong data into everything else. That's one of several real AI stories in Episode 90 of Start It or Scrap It, alongside a golf-course meeting that turned into a new client, a real job that shrank from nine people to one, and why new college graduate unemployment is at a record high. This episode also covers what first-time landlords consistently get wrong, and a single interview question that cuts through a vague reference check. In this episode: How a spontaneous round of golf as a single player turned into a brand-new marketing client by the time the clubs were back in the trunk Doing three days of work in 2.5 hours using Claude, and the moment an AI agent got caught quietly lying about finishing a 300-piece project Why Claude refused to delete 127 broken blog posts until it had independently verified the request first Automating 5 to 7 days of manual CRM setup work into a single afternoon, and updating descriptions on 200 YouTube videos in 17 minutes A real story: a pharma compliance job that used to require a three-person team, now down to one person, soon expected to manage three drugs instead of one Why entry-level hiring in some industries may freeze entirely, and why new college graduate unemployment is at a record high The graduate who got hired anyway, because he led with AI experience instead of "I'm a new grad" AI-simulated market research that matches real human feedback almost exactly, cutting research time from months to a day Timestamps 0:00 A heads-up: this episode was filmed a few weeks ago 0:34 Cold open: what would you buy with $10 million, and the tech opportunity people are missing 2:31 The country club golf story that turned into a new marketing client 5:00 Why weekday golf puts you next to business owners and executives 5:12 The old sales training trick: take the meeting at their office, not yours 7:33 The moment "we were just testing Claude" turned into a new client conversation 9:55 Why this team prefers Claude over other AI tools 10:37 The time Claude got caught lying about finishing a 300-piece project 11:57 Claude refusing to delete 127 broken blog posts until it double-checked the request 14:15 Why old AI workflows and prompts stopped working the same way 16:37 Updating descriptions on 200 YouTube videos in 17 minutes 18:19 Why the biggest opportunity right now is the one people are too afraid to take 18:51 A full morning's productivity: dozens of articles, technical SEO on two sites, four gap analyses, before lunch 22:21 The one rule for using AI on anything irreversible: always have a backup 24:06 What to do with a hypothetical $10 million: not equipment, the sales and marketing team 26:19 A repetitive task that used to take 5 days a month, now takes 1 day a year 34:23 Why the next generation of AI models is being built to project-manage itself 35:56 Why half of a payroll job could already be automated, according to one real conversation 36:56 Building a test company that's 100% AI-run until a lead is fully pre-qualified 38:39 Running five instances of Claude, each managing its own project 39:09 A real story: a three-person pharma compliance team that's now one person managing three drugs 41:30 Why an entire industry can lose its next wave of entry-level hires 42:14 The record-high unemployment rate among new college graduates 42:47 The one grad who got hired anyway, and why 48:25 Why a daily "hype talk" might matter more than people think 53:04 An idea for an AI-powered subscription voicemail app 53:55 Why using AI to build software doesn't remove the need to understand what you're building 59:08 Advice for landlords: use a property management company on your first property to learn the ropes 1:04:52 Why the "easy" first rental property is often what gets people into trouble 1:07:23 The one interview question that cuts through a bad reference check Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert) Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/ #ai #entrepreneur #startitorscrapit #futureofwork #claude #automation #founders #smallbusiness #careeradvice #businessgrowth

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  Episode #89

  Want to Rent Jet Skis for a Living? Here's What You Actually Need.

  Sep 24, 20261h 1m

  Send us Fan Mail There is now a wearable, battery-operated, ventilated jacket for small dogs. People are buying them. That's just one sign of how much consumer spending on pets has changed, and it's one of several real stories in Episode 89 of Start It or Scrap It. This episode also covers what it actually takes to legally start a jet ski rental business at the beach, why a contractor working without a written contract can end up owing the homeowner money instead of the other way around, and a wide-ranging conversation on how to build a business (and a life) that leaves a real cultural impact. In this episode: Why you learn more about a potential business partner on a golf course in five hours than in a dozen short meetings Arnold Palmer's legacy, and why the charity work mattered more than the golf A famous Gary Vee clip and the one sentence that might have changed a stranger's life Why some companies let customer service approve refunds instantly, and how that decision built entire customer bases The real difference between what a small business owner is optimizing for versus a VC-backed corporation Why spending on pets has become recession resistant, and what that's doing to the pet product market A real, growing product category: air-conditioned jackets for dogs Timestamps 0:00 Cold open: "find a problem" 0:47 Intro and welcome 1:09 A week of vacation, and a week of nonstop golf 2:47 A golf course comeback, and the practice that finally paid off 4:23 Why you learn more about someone on a golf course than in any meeting 5:30 A contractor horror story: six contractors, zero written contracts 6:53 Why a handshake deal can leave a homeowner owing nothing, legally 9:10 The poor workmanship lawsuit trap, and why insurance won't cover it 10:37 A cabinet company's 5% chargeback margin, built in on purpose 11:42 Viewer question: starting a jet ski rental business at the beach 12:30 A four-wheeler rental business that had to double its fleet within a year 12:56 Why insurance is the single most important piece of this business 14:42 Why digital waivers beat paper ones every time 15:23 "Everyone else is responsible for your incompetence": the liability mindset that drives these lawsuits 16:05 Permits, LLC formation, and why a physical address matters for Google 16:37 The beach chair and umbrella rental business making real money 17:00 The plastic tote rental business nobody saw coming 19:46 Why finding a problem, no matter how small, is the actual foundation of a business 22:24 Back to jet skis: why maintenance is just as important as insurance 24:19 The full jet ski rental checklist, recapped 27:57 A personal story about being the most low-maintenance person at the beach 29:01 Viewer question: how do you leave a lasting cultural and commercial impact? 29:48 Simon Sinek's "why," and why it matters more than the business itself 30:33 Arnold Palmer's legacy, and why it was never really about golf 32:24 The Gary Vee clip that might be the most impactful sentence he's ever said 33:38 The moldy cheese story that explains great customer service in ten seconds 34:57 Why one company let customer service approve refunds up to $200 with no manager approval 36:11 Walt Disney, Phil Knight, and the founders whose "why" outlived them 37:11 The real difference between a small business owner's goals and a VC-backed company's goals 38:20 Verizon vs. AT&T: the customer service gap that defined a generation of phone companies 39:45 The Gary Vee wine store story: how one jersey turned into a referral chain 41:15 Why internal culture always has to come before external culture 42:12 A personal update: the advertising restrictions that come with a certain kind of business 42:50 Viewer question: one actionable step to take this week 43:21 For new business owners: the advice is simply to start 48:13 Viewer question: how consumer spending on pets is shifting this year 48:35 Premium pet food selling out while the budget bags stay on the shelf 49:07 A hard $1,000 vet bill limit, and why not everyone draws that line 49:39 Why delayed parenthood is quietly reshaping the pet industry 52:34 Why pet product safety is a real legal issue, not just a nice-to-have 54:01 The saturated, two-tier pet market: cheap imports vs. premium durables 55:17 Air-conditioned jackets for dogs are a real, growing product category 58:30 Wrap-up and a schedule note for the next couple of weeks Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert) Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/FBRGo0Q2dk0 Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/ #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #startitorscrapit #businessadvice #founders #customerservice #branding #businessgrowth #startupadvice #pettrends

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  Episode #88

  Used a Google Image on Your Website? They Will Find You.

  Sep 17, 20261h 4m

  Send us Fan Mail Getting a product into Walmart sounds like the finish line. For one business owner, it turned into a lesson about everything he didn't know he didn't know: tracking systems, invoicing requirements, and a buyback clause that ended up costing him almost everything he made. That story anchors Episode 88 of Start It or Scrap It, alongside a real coaching call about how to actually grow a following as a content creator, a warning about copyright image trolls, and why a free SBA-funded resource might be the most underrated tool available to any small business owner. In this episode: Why a farmers market stand should be a gateway to build your brand, not the ceiling of your business, and how to know the difference based on your product A local maple syrup farm that grew from a folding table to a full preorder waitlist entirely through farmers markets A viewer question on creating space for experimentation without risking the core business, and why Starbucks tests new ideas in stores that don't carry its name Why you should keep new ventures hidden from employees until they've proven themselves, and the real failure rate business owners rarely admit to A tangent on GTA 6's cultural impact, the economics of in-game virtual economies, and why sequels don't always bring in new users Why SCORE is one of the most underrated free resources for small business owners, and a personal story about how it led to a venture capital introduction instead of just a loan The real story behind a Shark Tank deal that was never really about the money Why you should always find someone who's already done what you're about to do before you do it Timestamps 0:00 Cold open 1:00 Intro and welcome 1:44 Schedule note: recording earlier than usual this week 2:02 Weekend catch-up and a Korean Netflix show worth watching 4:06 Traders Village: the flea market that turned into an all-day adventure 9:02 Viewer comment: farmers markets as a place to start a small business 9:09 Why a farmers market should be your gateway, not your whole business 11:06 A soap company's four-year wait to launch e-commerce, and the fix 12:08 The honey vendor who's thriving online but still stuck in one location 13:19 The maple syrup farm that grew from a folding table to a preorder waitlist 17:59 Viewer question: how to create space for experimentation without derailing core operations 18:11 The Starbucks model for testing new ideas without risking the brand 20:23 Why you should keep experimental ventures hidden from employees at first 22:26 A live interruption: a copyright infringement scare 23:37 How copyright image trolls actually work, and why paying for licensing matters 26:27 A barbecue expert wanting to grow her content, and where she was stuck 28:22 The Chef Mo example: from nothing to 2 million followers with zero production value 29:43 Why a consistent setup matters more than production quality 30:09 The "record 100 videos" rule, and why the number itself matters 31:51 A simple content schedule structure that actually works 34:21 A realistic path to sponsorship and affiliate income for a niche creator 35:21 Why the fear of looking foolish on camera is the real obstacle 36:08 The one video format Mike still hasn't gotten comfortable with after hundreds of videos 37:19 Viewer question: will GTA 6 have a bigger cultural impact than GTA 5? 37:56 The EverQuest 2 lesson on why sequels don't always pull in new users 40:13 Virtual economies, Second Life, and real money changing hands inside games 44:39 A Fortnite tangent: professional players, account sales, and staying relevant 48:09 Viewer question: is SCORE actually worth it for small businesses? 49:44 GTA 6's actual pre-sale numbers, and why "biggest launch ever" claims deserve a second look 51:08 What SCORE actually is, and why it's funded by the SBA 52:05 A personal story: how a SCORE meeting turned into a venture capital introduction 53:56 The Shark Tank farmer story that was never really about the money 55:43 "You don't know what you don't know": the phrase that explains most business disasters 56:34 A real story: getting into Walmart, and walking away with almost nothing to show for it 58:12 The buyback clause most new business owners have never heard of 59:45 Why you should find someone who's already done it before going into big retail 1:01:13 Wrap-up 1:01:29 Schedule note for next week Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert) Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/ #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #startitorscrapit #retail #businessadvice #founders #contentcreator #businessgrowth #startupadvice #ecommerce

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  Episode #87

  Why Your Views Vanished Overnight (And What You Can Actually Do About It)

  Sep 10, 20261h 3m

  Send us Fan Mail Social media platforms are private businesses, and that means they can ban you, shadow ban you, or tank your reach for almost any reason they want, with zero legal recourse on your end. Mike breaks down the actual legal reality behind a call he got this week from a creator whose live audience collapsed from 5,000 viewers to barely a dozen, seemingly overnight. That conversation opens Episode 87 of Start It or Scrap It, and it leads into a full breakdown of branding versus pay-per-click advertising, the hardest lesson both hosts learned this year about how fast their own industries are changing, and a long discussion on how AI is already reshaping farming, one of the last industries people assume is safe from it. In this episode: Why social media platforms are private businesses that can remove or limit you for almost any reason, and why the First Amendment doesn't apply What shadow banning actually is, and why appealing one is often a dead end even with video evidence A real case study: how running Facebook ads for a local mechanic nearly doubled his Google Ads conversion rate within 45 days, with zero direct return from the Facebook spend itself A barstool company case study: five months to build a winning ad campaign, eleven days for one bad automated setting to undo it Why every industry, from law to plumbing to farming, has some version of an AI reckoning coming, and why waiting to think about it is the expensive mistake A real story about a farmer whose land had to be legally reclassified as an airport just to get permits for his agricultural drones Why cross-pollinating with other creators, not just posting more, is one of the most effective (and most overlooked) ways to grow Timestamps 0:00 Cold open: social media platforms are private businesses 0:44 Intro and welcome 2:03 A golf grip fix that explains itself 3:29 Tripling output running two remote Claude instances at once 3:53 Claude 5.1 and the new AI text watermarking 4:36 How AI text watermarking actually works 6:29 Why the EU is pushing AI watermark detection, and the "AI slop" problem 8:27 The call that opens the episode: a creator's live audience collapsed from 5,000 to a dozen 9:54 The legal reality: social media platforms are private businesses 10:29 What platforms can and can't discriminate against you for 11:11 What shadow banning actually is 12:22 A case for the platforms: AI moderation at an impossible scale 14:36 Why creators are diversifying platforms, and why creator counts have exploded 17:14 Why posting natively gets 10x the views of third-party scheduling tools 19:01 Their own show's viewership story: from hundreds live to a dozen 20:03 Censorship, or something else entirely? 23:04 Viewer question: balancing short-term revenue with long-term brand building 25:34 Branding vs. marketing: the difference that actually matters 26:07 The lawn sign example: why name recognition works on you without you noticing 28:19 Pay-per-click vs. branding, explained through an auto mechanic 30:48 Case study: Facebook ads nearly doubled a mechanic's Google Ads conversion rate 32:13 Case study: a barstool company's record sales, and how 11 days undid 5 months of work 34:44 Why Morgan & Morgan spends a billion dollars a year on marketing 35:42 Viewer question: the hardest lesson learned this past year 37:23 A hacked website, 2.6 million indexed pages, and a broken rulebook 39:24 Why every major technology gets doubted before it becomes essential 41:04 Early adopters win. Everyone else plays catch-up. 44:15 The real lesson: figure out how AI affects your industry before it's too late 44:44 "AI won't replace farmers": a real debate 46:41 A farmer's land had to be reclassified as an airport to fly his drones 47:54 Autonomous farm equipment and remote-controlled farmland 49:49 Viewer question: should you run separate business and personal social accounts? 51:26 A burnout story: when social media stopped being fun 54:38 Structuring multiple accounts: discovery vs. booking vs. business 57:21 Cross-pollination: one of the most underused growth strategies 1:00:36 Wrap-up and a scheduling note for next week Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert) Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/SbLgT48Cvy4 Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/ #socialmedia #branding #marketing #ai #startitorscrapit #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #founders #shadowban #businessgrowth

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  Episode #86

  Should I Buy a Franchise? The Honest Answer for Under $40,000

  Sep 3, 20261h 4m

  Send us Fan Mail A viewer intimidated by starting their first business asks a simple question: is it a rule of thumb that you shouldn't start a business in something you're unfamiliar with? Mike's answer is just as simple: go find a franchise broker and see what's available for under $40,000. That exchange kicks off Episode 86 of Start It or Scrap It, and it turns into a full breakdown of what actually makes a franchise worth buying, how SBA loans make franchises easier to finance than most people realize, and why the franchise failure rate is so much lower than starting a business from scratch. This episode also covers side hustles for people starting with almost no money, the legal reality behind the Home Depot "penny item" trick, retail arbitrage, and why the actual value of a Shark Tank deal was never the check. In this episode: Why Mike's first answer to "how do I start a business with no experience" is simple: talk to a franchise broker and look under $40,000 Why franchises fail at a dramatically lower rate than independent startups, and the one number every franchisee should check before buying in: the franchisor's success-to-failure rate Why location matters as much as the franchise itself: matching the right concept to the right market A breakdown of retail arbitrage: buying discounted or clearance inventory and reselling it at a markup, including a real story about someone buying an entire shoe inventory to resell on Amazon The legal reality behind the Home Depot "penny item" trick: why an obviously mistaken price doesn't legally have to be honored, even after you've already paid for it The story of an entrepreneur who built 17 companies and willingly gave up majority ownership, because "5% of something is more than 100% of nothing" Why e-commerce is a genuinely hard market to break into without a niche: Amazon, Walmart, and Target account for nearly half of all e-commerce revenue combined Timestamps 0:00 Cold open: the franchise question 0:36 Intro and welcome 1:21 Catching up, and the Family Guy golf clip everyone needs to see 5:16 Gummi's morning podcast on AI in marketing 5:49 A dinner conversation that turns into a full marketing teardown of a restaurant's social media 7:08 The stat that should change how restaurants think about social media 8:19 Why the best content is usually already sitting on your payroll 10:39 Why the restaurant industry is the laziest at social media despite having endless content 13:10 The difference between social media as an ad platform and social media as a discovery platform 14:02 A plumber client case study: why the process gets more engagement than the finished product 17:34 Viewer question: a good side hustle for beginners with almost no money 18:14 Side hustle ideas: AI training, lawn care, and pressure washing 22:15 Building websites for local businesses that still don't have one 23:31 What retail arbitrage actually is, and a real story from an outlet mall 27:19 Buying holiday clearance in September to resell later at a premium 28:24 The legal truth about the Home Depot penny item trick 34:20 Viewer question: starting a first business with limited experience and capital 35:08 Mike's direct answer: find a franchise broker and look under $40,000 36:08 The real advantages of buying into a franchise 38:13 The one number every franchise buyer should check before signing anything 38:45 Why the SBA makes proven franchises easy to finance, even without the cash up front 40:52 Why location has to match the franchise concept 44:19 Viewer question: finding trending, winning products without hours of research 44:43 Tools that track what's actually selling: Jungle Scout and Helium 10 47:25 Why the money on Shark Tank was never really the point 48:36 The entrepreneur who built 17 companies and gave up ownership on purpose 53:15 What "recession resistant" actually means, and why it's different from recession proof 55:45 Getting into a market without a VC, with and without startup capital 57:06 Just how much of e-commerce Amazon, Walmart, and Target actually control 59:07 Why e-commerce is a hard market to break into without a real niche 1:01:23 Wrap-up and thank you 1:01:55 Reflecting on two years of the podcast Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert) Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/c15N8GMDLEg Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/ #franchise #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #startitorscrapit #sidehustle #founders #businessgrowth #ecommerce #startupadvice #businessowner

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Recent guests on Start It or Scrap It. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

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