|
This week we spotted innovative Christmas tree sales in Norway, a California-based social network for restaurant staff, an eco-friendly way to clean up after dogs, and more. |
|
|
||
|
While most personal navigation devices come with a variety of voices to select from, from soft-spoken to stern, they all get boring after a while and aren't, well, personal. To the rescue comes YourPND. For EUR 6.95, users can record instructions on www.yourpnd.com using their computer's microphone. Recording a full set of instructions takes 7 minutes. Once they're done, YourPND creates a file that the navigation device will be able to use, and gives full instructions on how to install. Instead of the basic "Turn right at the next junction," users are encouraged to get creative, adding their favourite catchphrases. Or someone's name: YourPND is pitched as a perfect gift. Customers can record instructions and have them sent to a recipient on a USD flash drive, for EUR 19.95 including shipping. YourPND currently only supports TomTom's navigations devices, with other systems to follow soon. Another smart example of personalization as a business concept! (Related: Insurance discounts for GPS-guided drivers.) Website: www.yourpnd.com Spotted by: RK
|
|||
 |
|||
|
|
||
|
We first covered "a deal a day" websites in 2006. Since then, the concept has proliferated, with niche and regional players joining the field. Nonetheless, Ideeli, which is due to launch next week, caught our eye. Like Woot and others, Ideeli creates buyer excitement with deep discounts and by only selling one item at a time. Unlike Woot, Ideeli is members-only and new users need an invitation to sign up. Members are alerted by email when sales start. Premium (1st Row) members also receive a cell phone alert and have access to sales one hour earlier than 2nd Row members. The subscription service provides an additional stream of income for Ideeli—1st Row members pay USD 7.99 per week, billed to their cell phone. While in testing mode over the past 6 months, 10 percent of members chose to sign up for 1st Row access. Besides making money through subscriptions and on items sold, Ideeli is also supported by sponsors looking to promote products. Brands can sponsor weekly giveaways or have Ideeli include samples with customer purchases. The New York venture is focusing on the female market, selling luxury handbags, sunglasses and jewellery for 50 to 90% off the original price. As Ideeli puts it: "It's like a sample sale, but no getting elbowed." Website: www.ideeli.com Spotted by: Sara Jacobsen
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
Norwegian Jule Tre Fra Skogen ("Christmas trees from the forest") believes that every tree is unique, and shouldn't be sold anonymously. So, founders Anders and Bartosz trekked into the woods with a camera and took pictures of the trees they liked, and gave them names inspired by their appearance: Kjedelig Tre (boring tree), Jesus Gran (Jesus spruce), Voldsomt Ordinær Gran (Highly ordinary spruce), etc. The snapshots were posted online to let customers find a tree they like the look of. Trees are priced at NOK 300 (USD 54 / EUR 37.50) and reserved by emailing Jule Tre Fra Skogen. Anders and Bartosz then head back into the forest to carefully chop down the selected trees for delivery to Oslo. Customers can pick up their tree at a central meeting point or have it delivered for an extra NOK 100 (USD 18 / EUR 12.50). While your inner Grinch might find the concept overly whimsical, JTFS's personal touch is entirely in line with a strong consumer trend—the desire for authenticity and story elements. Buyers don't just like picking a tree with a name, they also enjoy sharing the whole story with friends and family. "The tree? Yeah, we bought it online, from these crazy guys who went out and took pictures of trees and gave them names. We picked this one, and they went back and got it for us." Start preparing now to set up something similar locally in time for next year's holiday season. And how about Easter eggs from a personable hen of your choice? Website: www.juletrefraskogen.no Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
|
|||
 |
|||
|
|
||
|
Get people from the same industry into a room together, and they'll invariably spend the whole time talking shop; get them into a social network together, and the whole industry could benefit from the discussion. That's a rough approximation of the idea behind FohBoh, a new vertical social network dedicated to those involved in the global restaurant industry. California-based FohBoh (a play on the insider terms "front of house"—FOH—and "back of house," or BOH) is designed to enable connection, communication and commerce among employees, owners, operators, vendors, suppliers and service providers of the restaurant and hospitality industries worldwide. Personal profiles, blogs, forums, groups, photos and videos are among the social networking tools available to members of the site, which just launched in November. Beginning in January, it will kick off a rewards program that gives members the opportunity to earn points for community participation, redeemable for gifts and shadow stock in FohBoh. Membership on the site is currently free, but in the future FohBoh plans to offer value-added, subscription services such as a job bank and restaurant marketplace. It also plans to host sponsored live events in regions around the globe and travel excursions for networking and education. Advertising opportunities are coming soon too. General-purpose professional networking site LinkedIn currently boasts more than 17 million users, but there are 40 million workers or so involved in the global restaurant industry alone, FohBoh says. Time to unleash the vertical contenders—in hospitality and beyond! Website: www.fohboh.com Spotted by: Mark McKellier
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
Local artists have long donated their talents in support of charities—to the benefit of both. Artists get name recognition, and worthy causes receive cash from the sale of donated works. British venture Part of It shows how the concept can be streamlined and taken online, and in a way that perhaps more effectively harnesses the creative energies of the artists who are showcased. While many charities solicit donated works from artists as part of a fundraising effort, Part of It invites artists to submit works in support of causes they themselves are passionate about. Money from the products’ sales, of course, goes to the charities they’ve chosen. The likely theory being: an artist just might channel some of that passion into a superior work. The bright designs of Part of It’s t-shirts and tote bags support causes ranging from saving polar bears to combating dyslexia. That’s also in keeping with a philosophy shared by founders Christopher Sleboda and Kathleen Burns who are themselves artists. “Activism,” the pair say on their website, “can be fun, personal, beautiful and engaging.” Bios of contributing artists help establish links between products, creators and buyers. That kind of person-to-person connection is eons removed from what consumers experience at large retailers when purchasing mass-produced items marked with a charity badge denoting that an (often undisclosed) portion of proceeds will be donated to a good cause. We're not saying that massive fundraising doesn't make a huge difference to charities. But—as is the case in many areas of business—small can be big for social entrepreneurs looking to make a connection while making a difference. Website: www.partofit.org Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
Coffee drinkers around the world are expected to consume almost 7 million tonnes of the stuff each year by 2010, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, and that means a heck of a lot of spent grounds to dispose of. Rather than throw the nitrogen-rich material into landfills, global chain Starbucks has found a greener solution by giving it away to consumers with gardens. Eco approaches may be all the rage today, but Starbucks's Grounds for Your Garden program actually began as a grassroots initiative back in 1995. After growing steadily for almost a decade, it was officially launched in 2003, offering up free spent coffee grounds to North American customers year-round on a first come, first serve basis. Grounds are packaged in reused coffee bags and sealed with simple directions for using them in the garden or compost pile, where they can help improve soil quality. “Coffee grounds are a valuable source of nutrition for the garden," explains Ben Packard, director of environmental affairs for Starbucks. “Reusing coffee grounds in the garden is a great alternative to disposing this rich resource from our stores. It’s a win for gardeners and a win for Starbucks.” Indeed, now that the spotlight is shining full-force on companies' environmental practices, this kind of approach really is a win-win for everyone. It's relatively low-cost and easy to implement, but it means less waste in the landfills, a benefit for consumers and their gardens, and a warm and fuzzy green image for Starbucks—definitely worth emulating! Website: www.starbucks.com/aboutus/compost Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
Two days ago, we covered a Brighton grocer who only sells products produced within 50 miles of his store. Opening today on the other side of the Atlantic, is a Brooklyn establishment that operates on a similar premise. Urban Rustic, located in Williamsburg, is a grocery store and café that aims to connect local urbanites with local farmers and producers, much like farmers' markets do. The store will primarily sell food and dry goods produced less than 100 miles from Brooklyn. Anything from farther afield will be sourced from sustainable sources. One of the shop's founders is Aaron Woolf, who produced and directed King Corn, a documentary about America's most productive and most subsidized grain. It's no surprise, then, that Urban Rustic is well-stocked with stories: from details about its upstate New York apple and arugula farmers, to the provenance of the store's timber, sustainably milled from Woolf's own property in the Adirondacks. More uber-local grocers to follow soon, no doubt! Website: www.urbanrusticnyc.com
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it—pick up dog waste, that is. Rather than struggle with plastic bags, dog owners now have a tidier and greener alternative: the Skooperbox. Skooperboxes are small, pop-open boxes made from 100 percent recycled materials. Complete with lid and a scraper, each Skooperbox makes it quick and tidy to clean up Fido's mess. The boxes are available in two sizes and are completely biodegradable in less than a month—as opposed to plastic bags, which are thought to take at least 100 years to degrade. Skooperbox's founders explain: "We at Skooperbox are ordinary pet owners who were dissatisfied with the choices available to us to clean our pet waste. We also knew plenty of good people who did not pick up because of lack of a good product. Picking up the warm squishy mess is gross enough, but when the bag breaks or if you find a hole in the bag while you're picking up, it can really ruin your walk." You can say that again! California-based Skooperbox was founded in 2005 but spent more than a year perfecting its products, which are now available in retailers throughout North America as well as online. One to bring to the rest of the scooping world? Website: www.skooperbox.com Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
Anyone who's ever travelled is surely familiar with the dreaded Manila Folder—that sheaf of printouts, receipts and tickets we rely on to stay on schedule during a trip. Now TripIt promises to free us from those manila shackles with an online service that organizes all the pieces into a single, consolidated itinerary. Users begin by simply forwarding all their travel confirmation emails to TripIt. The site can accept booking confirmations from most travel agencies, airlines, hotels, rental cars, rail providers and even restaurants. All information is kept strictly secure and confidential, and TripIt's "Itinerator" automatically combines everything into a single master itinerary. TripIt then searches the web for complementary information, including Google maps and directions, weather from the NOAA, SeatGuru airplane seat advice, Wikipedia city information, current events information from Eventful, city photos from Flickr, and dining reservations from OpenTable. Users can print out their itinerary and go, or they can customize it with additional maps and directions, notes and webpages. Itineraries can be accessed while on the road from a mobile device, synched into Google or Outlook calendars using iCal, and also shared with friends, family and colleagues through the site's social TripIt Friends component. TripIt is free to users around the world; advertising and referral revenue opportunities are in the works. TripIt was launched into beta in September by a San Francisco-based team including former executives from online travel firm Hotwire. They explain: "We are frustrated travellers who have worked in both travel and technology for a long time. We know firsthand that using the Internet to make travel plans and organizing the details is difficult and time consuming. And, the problem is getting worse as more people choose to make their own travel plans and as online travel options continue to proliferate." TripIt's mission is to simplify the Internet travel experience, and by combining an email-enabled mashup with social networking, it appears to be succeeding. The site was a finalist at the TechCrunch40 conference in San Francisco as well as one of just six Launch Pad finalists at the annual Web 2.0 Summit. The company is open to partnership possibilities. One to investigate—or emulate? Website: www.tripit.com Spotted by: Linda Smith
|
|||
|
|||
|
| |||
 |
|||
|
|
|
Home | Idea Database | Become a spotter | Tell a friend | Contact | Subscribe for free | Download PDF
|
