Seattle-based insurer Safeco recently launched an insurance policy for teenage drivers: Teensurance. A combined package of insurance and a GPS tracking device (the 'Safety Beacon'), Teensurance offers parents the ability to monitor their teenage children's behaviour on the road. Using the Safety Beacon, parents can set how far their children are allowed to drive, at what maximum speed and what time of day. If one of the boundaries is crossed, parents immediately receive a notification by phone.

Using an online interface, parents can track where their children (and cars) are, and how fast they're driving. Teensurance also provides a Teen-Parent contract to help both parties agree on personal driving rules. Safeco claims it can't see data that's being collected, and won't be able to use it if an insured party is involved in an accident. Teensurance is available to customers with Safeco auto insurance, at an introductory price of USD 14.99 per month, which includes 24/7 roadside assistance .

While the 'Big Parent is watching you' angle may seem invasive and distrustful, the knowledge gained does provide parents with more peace of mind and with plenty of information to give inexperienced drivers useful feedback. Opinions on personal privacy aside, it's a good example of an integrated approach to financial services, combining a somewhat abstract, 'just-in-case' insurance policy with a useful day-to-day tool.

Website: www.teensurance.com
Contact: www.teensurance.com/ts/contact.asp
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Spotted by: John Hildebrandt

Americans who are in the market for new automobiles, but don't want the headaches of searching or haggling for the best price, now have an alternative that can help them sidestep the usual dealership woes—No Haggles, a new car buying service that promises to save customers time and money by negotiating all of the details of the sale on their behalf. Started by former car dealership managers, No Haggles negotiates with dealerships in a customer's area to negotiate price, financing, warranty and trade-in allowance, when necessary, for a small fee.

Customers contact No Haggles directly by phone or e-mail with information about the make and model of car they are looking for, including any desired add-ons or special features. No Haggles shops local dealerships for the customer to find the vehicle at the best available price and facilitates the entire transaction. At no point is the customer contacted by anyone but their No Haggles representative, who even participates as a signing party on the buyer's agreement and can provide the customer with a detailed report of the negotiations. The representative is right there through all steps of the sales process, including delivery and inspection of the vehicle.

While certain dealers have long offered no-haggle pricing, No Haggles is unique in that it's not affiliated with any particular brand or seller. Customers can use the service to negotiate sales on any make or model. No Haggles currently serves customers throughout the United States, but the best-deal-without-haggling concept could easily be duplicated or expanded upon. In fact, the company is already running a test market program with the largest U.S. auto insurance company to further serve its customers.

Website: www.nohaggles.com
Contact: www.nohaggles.com/contact_us.html

Spotted by: Marcus Sanchez

Those of you who haven't visited a US mall lately might have missed the fuzzy phenomenon known as Build-A-Bear Workshops, a hugely successful chain of stores that lets patrons build their own teddy. Build-A-Bear was founded in 1997 and now operates 300 stores worldwide. For one reason or another, the workshops mainly attract girls and their mothers. Boys and their fathers (and car loving daughters) no longer need to feel left out — as of Friday, they can pimp their own toys at Ridemakerz, whose first store opened in Myrtle Beach, SC.

How the concept works: kids select a 10 to 12-inch chassis, body style, paint scheme and sound effects. After assembly in the customizing shop, personalization continues: customers can add decals, grilles and other elements. A free wheel chassis retails from US 12 for a basic unbranded ‘RZ Wedge’ to USD 28 for a Dodge Ram Rampage. Extras are, well, extra: USD 25 for remote control, USD 6.50 for working lights, USD 3 for a soundtrack or screeching tires and growling motors set to rock or electronic music. Each car comes with a certificate of title, personalized license plates and assembly tools, and birthday parties will be catered to starting this summer.

Ridemakerz was founded with financial investment from Build-A-Bear, which is also sharing infrastructure, marketing data and back-office support with its four-wheeled sibling. “Our partnership with Build-A-Bear Workshop allows us to fire on all cylinders from the very start,” says Ridemakerz’ CEO Larry Andreini. Currently, The Ridemakerz Customizing Shop in Myrtle Beach and four outlets to be opened this year are company owned and operated, not franchised. Opportunities? Build-A-Bear has started to spread to other parts of the world, along with local copycats. But both ‘do it yourself together’ concepts still have plenty of room to grow outside the US and are great examples for (toy) manufacturers and retailers who want to add a strong layer of experience to their products.

Website: www.ridemakerz.com
Contact: servicecrew@ridemakerz.com

Dutch SellSigns helps consumers sell used cars by combining customized for sale signs and online profiles. How it works? The seller creates a profile containing the car's details, plus his/her own contact information. The website then produces two small banners that sellers can place on their own websites or blogs, as well as a PDF. The PDF can be printed and taped on a car window, and shows the car's price, mileage and year. This offline ad directs potential buyers to sellsign.nl to find more detailed information and contact the seller, using the car's license plate to locate it on the website.

Springwise thinks it would make more sense to include a short URL that goes directly to the car's page, as well as an SMS option that would let potential buyers text message a car's ID to a phone number, receiving full details by return message. That said, it's a useful combination of offline and online DIY advertising, and an alternative to sellers posting their phone numbers on hand-made for sale signs. One to learn from and improve on if you're in the business of facilitating sales or rentals.

Website: www.sellsigns.nl
Contact: info@sellsigns.nl

Related: See-snap-buy - Infolust

Spotted by: Eduard de Wilde

Spotting one new business idea is good. Spotting two new business ideas working together is even better. Last month, we wrote about Peasy, an online exchange for parking spaces. A very similar British service, ParkAtMyHouse.com, also lets people rent out their private parking spaces, and recently partnered with ZipCar, a company we first featured back in 2003. With about 80,000 consumer and business drivers, ZipCar is the world's largest and fastest growing car sharing service. Founded in the United States, ZipCar recently launched in London, which will become the hub for the company's expansion into Europe.

The partnership between ParkAtMyHouse and ZipCars gives ZipCars more places to park in London, and parking space owners a larger pool of potential clients. By renting to ZipCar, they'll receive their usual payment as well as GBP 85 worth of free driving credit if they sign up for ZipCar. Consumers or businesses who have a parking spot but don't own a car can monetize their parking space and have the luxury of a ZipCar parked on their doorstep, ready to use when they need it. (ZipCars cost from GBP 4.95 an hour, which covers parking, petrol, insurance, maintenance, Congestion Charge and 60 miles of driving.)

At bit more about ParkAtMyHouse, which was founded by 23-year-old Anthony Eskinazi: anyone can register to rent out their parking space to consumers and businesses. Car owners can pre-book a spot daily, or one-off for a football match or a day of shopping in the city. Usually for much less than they would otherwise pay for parking. ParkAtMyHouse offers a smart search functionality. For example, typing in 'Sadler's Wells' displays all parking spaces for rent near the theatre, ordered by proximity. A quick search reveals that 311 spaces are currently available in London. Members can also put up ads for spaces wanted. Listings show the need for city parking spots, and range from "I'm a doctor at Kings Hospital and URGENTLY need a parking spot nearby - can anyone help?" to "Looking for a lockable garage or bay in secure multi-storey for a classic car."

Those of you setting up an online parking exchange in your own neck of the woods, be sure to hook up with your local car sharing companies!

Websites: www.parkatmyhouse.com - www.zipcar.com
Contact: support@parkatmyhouse.com - info@zipcar.com