What the Fibonacci sequence is
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233… — each number is the sum of the two before it. It starts small and gentle, then compounds into something enormous, without ever skipping a step. That makes it a natural fit for a ladder of real, earned money: every rung is proportionate to the one before it, so no step ever asks for a leap you haven't already practiced.
Why Fibonacci rather than e?
Honestly, I would keep Fibonacci for this experiment. The number e (about 2.718) is the natural language of continuous growth and compounding, but it is not itself a sequence. A ladder built from its powers would begin 1, 2.72, 7.39, 20.09… and each rung would demand roughly 172% growth. Fibonacci eventually asks for about 62% growth per rung, while its rule—add the previous two—is visible without a calculator. That makes it gentler, easier to remember, and better suited to discrete earning experiments.
Neither choice proves that a business idea will work. Both are arbitrary constraints placed on a messy reality; Fibonacci simply makes the more playable game. If the experiment were about modelling continuous proportional growth rather than completing one transaction at a time, e would be the more honest mathematical choice.
And because e deserves its moment
eiπ + 1 = 0
Euler's identity: five fundamental constants, one remarkably small equation.
The main idea
Pick one concrete finish line, then turn €1 into €2, €2 into €3, and €3 into €5—one small, honest, verifiable earning step at a time: a resale, a small service, a tiny product, a fix-up-and-flip. Small stakes mean small failures, which makes the challenge playful while quietly practising sales, negotiation, and delivery. The prize can be a child's phone, a first car, a family experience, a mortgage payoff, or anything else worth playing for. Climb only as far as that prize requires; there is no obligation to reach the top.
This ladder begins above the floor
The chosen prize should not carry the weight of survival. If basic needs, debts, or recurring emergencies are already consuming your attention, pause this challenge and use The Path to Solid Ground first. Once life is stable enough that losing a rung is disappointing rather than dangerous, this can run beside the Vision Ladder as the more playful track.
My own experiment
The main idea is already here. I also have my own private version: the working list I keep in front of me, mapped from €1 to more than €1 billion through increasingly ambitious business ideas. I am only beginning to climb it myself, for fun. In theory, I think it can work; in practice, it is still an experiment, not a proven method or a record of results. I may share parts of the journey publicly, or I may keep it personal.
Ask to see my version
If you want the list I am currently using, you may offer its current asking price: €1. Its price will rise along the same Fibonacci sequence as I climb the ladder myself. While it remains mostly a plan, I see no reason for it to be widely distributed, so an offer does not guarantee access; I will decide whether I want to share the current version. Reach out via LinkedIn, X, or phone and, if I agree, I will provide either the password or a copy of the page.
Already have the password? Open my working ladder →