Imagine if you could open up a successful startup like a machine and see what makes it tick. That’s the power of reverse engineering—studying how great businesses were built so you can learn their hidden blueprints.

Start by choosing a startup you admire—Airbnb, Notion, Duolingo, or a local success story. Then break it down into key parts:

• Problem-Solution Fit: What problem did they solve, and how did they know it mattered?
• Product Launch: What was their MVP? How simple was it?
• Marketing Tactics: How did they find their first 100 users?
• Monetization: When and how did they start making money?

Next, dig into interviews with founders, blog posts, investor decks, and Reddit AMAs. You’ll find gold in the details—like how Airbnb originally sold cereal to fund the company or how Duolingo used gamification to grow a user base.

You can document your findings in a simple one-pager. Think of it like a startup autopsy, but for learning, not criticism.

The real magic? Taking those lessons and applying them to your own idea. Maybe you copy a pricing model, a user acquisition hack, or even a way of pitching investors.

Learning from books is good—but learning from real companies that actually made it? That’s next-level.