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How To Think Like a Billionaire (with Examples)

Everything I learned by studying billionaires

Jakub Jablonsky

Principle: Focus on Inputs, not the Goal

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What it is

Concentrating on what you can control (inputs) rather than obsessing over outcomes

How it works

Instead of fixating on "I want to make $1M" focus on "I will make 50 customer/investor calls daily"

Example

WRONG - focusing on the outcome that is hard to control

"My goal is 1,000 customers by EOY"

CORRECT - Focusing on Input you can control

Every day I will:

Talk to 10 users

Fix 3 customer complaints

Improve one product feature

Make 5 partnership calls

How to apply

Start with the actual goal and outcome that you want

List all key results that, if accomplished, will get you to the main goal

List:

How will we get there with pure effort? (System and Process)

What daily habits do we need to implement? (That we can control)

What skills do I have to have to achieve the main goal?

Who do I need to hire that will help us get to our main goal?

List potential threats and how to prevent each

Now, eliminate all distractions

Execute and adjust based on results

I share a detailed version of this inside

insider.group⁠

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Principle: Triple Leverage (Capital, People, Tech)

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What it is

Using three multipliers that turn your effort into massive results. Most people trade time for money. Billionaires use leverage to create exponential outcomes.

How it works

Capital Leverage: Using other people's money to grow faster

People Leverage: Building systems others can run

Tech Leverage: Using code to automate and scale + remove waste

Think of it like this:

Instead of lifting a boulder yourself, you're using a lever (tech), several people helping (team), and someone else's crane (capital).

How to apply

Start with tech leverage (lowest risk)

Create systems that scale

"What can I automate today?"

"What manual work can software do?"

"How can code multiply my effort?"

Add people leverage

Hire 10x people (A players)

Replace & multiply yourself with the best talent

Add capital leverage

Prove model works

Raise money to scale faster

Some people start here

Principle: Focus on big markets

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What it is

Playing in markets so massive that even small success makes you rich. Most people think small—"How can I get customers?" Billionaires think big—"Is this market worth my time?"

How it works

Before starting anything, look at total market size.

If you can't build a $100M+ company by capturing just 1% of the market, it's too small. Period.

Example

WRONG - Small thinking

Local gym ($2M market)

1% of small = $20K

CORRECT - Big thinking

Global fitness app ($100B market)

1% of big = $1B

How to apply

Analyze the market size using SOM, SAM, and TAM formula

TAM (Total Available Market): Entire market size

SAM (Serviceable Available Market): What you could reach

SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market): What you can capture

Focus on actual problems (”painkillers”), not nice-to-have (”vitamins”)

Ask: "Are people already spending money to solve this?"

Principle: Have a long time horizon

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What it is

Thinking in decades, instead of months

How it works

Every major decision is evaluated on long-term impact — It's not about what's profitable now, but what builds empire-level value over time.

Short-term pain is acceptable for long-term gain

You're building assets that compound over time

How to apply

Make decisions based on 10+ years impact and understand that time compounds value

Decision Framework

Will this matter in 10 years?

Does this build a long-term advantage?

Principle: Obsession with Capital Allocation & Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)

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What it is

A ruthless focus on the money you put in versus what comes out. Billionaires obsess over this because it shows the true health of a business, not vanity metrics like revenue.

How it works

Before any investment or business decision, you calculate exactly how much capital you need and what returns you'll get.

Think of it like a money machine: put in $100K, how much comes out each month, and how fast do you get your initial money back?

Example

WRONG

"We're doing $1M in revenue this month! We're crushing it!"

(While bleeding cash and taking 2 years to get initial investment back)

CORRECT - Big thinking

I put in $100K. Each month:

$50K comes in

$30K goes out

$20K is profit

I get my money back in 5 months, then it's all profit. Can we speed this up?

How to apply

First, track every dollar like a hawk. For any business or project, write down:

Initial capital needed

Monthly revenue expected

All costs (including hidden ones)

Time until you get your money back

Net return after everything

Second, before any investment ask: "If I put in $X today, exactly when do I get it back? Then what's my ongoing return?"

Optimize your cash cycle. The faster money comes back, the faster you can reinvest it. This means:

Get paid faster by customers

Pay suppliers/expenses later

Cut anything that slows down cash return

Review weekly. Not monthly, not quarterly. Weekly.

Ask: "Where's our money? When is it coming back? How can we speed this up?"

Be ruthless. If something isn't returning capital fast enough, kill it. Don't wait. Don't hope. Kill it and reallocate that capital to something better.

Principle: Asymmetric bets

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What it is

Making moves where downside is limited but upside is nearly unlimited. Billionaires don't take "fair" bets. They look for unfair advantages with massive upside.

How it works

Find opportunities where:

- If you lose, you lose 1X

- If you win, you win 100X or 1000X

Most people try to avoid all losses. Billionaires optimize for massive upside.

How to apply

Firstly analyze the risk, before you consider the reward

Ask yourself: Is the ratio extremely favorable to success, and limited in risk?

Principle: Information MOAT

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What it is

Having knowledge or insights others don't. Billionaires often win because they see what others miss or know what others don't.

How it works

While everyone else reads the news and copies competitors, you dig deep into one specific area until you know it better than anyone else.

You build unique insights through obsessive learning, customer conversations, and network building. The best opportunities aren't public

Examples

Sam Walton visiting every competitor's store, counting cars in parking lots, measuring their aisles

Elon Musk learning rocket science from the ground up

Charlie Munger reading 8 hours daily for 70 years

How to apply

First, pick your domain. One specific problem or industry you'll own. Don't be a generalist. Be the expert in one thing.

Second: Spend 10,000 hours on the problem/market

Compound knowledge by talking to people in your industry and more experience

If you enjoyed this, you will enjoy other case studies at

insider.group⁠

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— Jakub Jablonsky (Entrepreneur & Investor)

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