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This week's dozen business ideas includes vegetarian fast food, books sold by the chapter, man-made surfing on the Thames, and more. Our next edition is due on 27 February 2008. In the meantime, check out our daily postings on www.springwise.com, send us your tips, and please don't forget to tell your friends and colleagues about us. Much appreciated! |
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Every parent of young children has an unwanted-toy graveyard somewhere in the home. Today’s prized playthings inevitably become tomorrow’s cast-offs, ready to be given away, discarded or boxed up in the garage. The alternative, offered by Texas start-up Babyplays, is to receive four to six toys by mail each month. Parents can keep the toys as long as they like, and send them back to receive a fresh batch. Monthly subscription rates range from USD 36.99 to 64.99. Babyplays offers a range of age-appropriate toys, and depending on their membership level, parents can rent up to 10 toys a month. Besides reducing clutter, members can save money by renting instead of owning. You could call it the Netflix rental model applied to toys. We’ve seen start-ups tweak the rent-not-buy concept in innovative ways: in August 2007, we wrote about a German company, Lütte-Leihen, that sends parents a fresh batch of baby clothes that can be exchanged for new ones each month. The same model has been applied to women’s accessories, with companies like Bag, Borrow or Steal offering members access to designer handbags and jewellery. A factor all of these firms must reckon with is the need to acquire an adequate inventory of items to accommodate customer whims—a potentially expensive proposition. That said, the rental model still has plenty of new potential applications. What’s key is that many consumers are becoming less interested in full ownership, opting instead for the convenience and flexibility of renting or fractional ownership. For many more examples, check out our sister-site trendwatching.com’s briefing about transumers. Website: www.babyplays.com Spotted by: Bill McMahon
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Thanks to YouTube, web surfers throughout the world have grown comfortable posting and watching online videos. So it’s no surprise to see niche sites pop up with videos focused on specialized topics. Last June we wrote about RealPeopleRealStuff, a just-launched video classified ad site that challenged users to create and star in their own commercials. RealPeopleRealStuff wisely sought out partnerships with newspapers to increase visitor traffic in a channel that—eBay notwithstanding—is still highly localized. Now, just over half a year later, RealPeopleRealStuff’s founders have launched a sister site named VideoJobShop.com, a kind of Monster/YouTube/Craigslist/Facebook mix. For rates ranging from free to USD 25 or more, VideoJobShop.com lets employers post videos describing the work and benefits they offer. To help them, the site contains a lengthy library of pre-recorded videos describing common occupations. Job hunters, meanwhile, can upload their video resumes in the hopes of catching an employer’s eye. A widget lets them link their online resumes to their Facebook profiles. VideoJobShop isn’t the only site harnessing video for job seekers. Back in 2006, we looked at HireVue, a site that lets job seekers tape their responses to employers’ questions, creating what might be termed speed-dating for employment. Then last fall we spotted CareerTours, where companies post videos touting the benefits they offer new hires. The video employment space will no doubt continue to evolve, opening up fresh opportunities for entrepreneurs. Up until now, for example, these sites have been largely national in scope. So going strictly local could be an option. Focusing on high-demand job categories is another option. It’s not hard to imagine sites devoted to health professionals or video game programmers. Focusing on niches may be the best strategy for avoiding the danger that major sites such as Monster or its IT counterpart Dice.com will heavily promote low-cost video job descriptions and resumes, decisively trouncing new entrants. (Dice.com has already posted a thoughtful article on the benefits and pitfalls of video resumes.) Another entrepreneurial opportunity? As video resumes become more common, job seekers will need videographers and coaches to help them create professional, convincing and confident video portraits. And the same goes for employers seeking to hire. Something to explore and get started on soon! Website: www.videojobshop.com
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Consumers can buy blended fruit concoctions at just about any shopping mall or airport. But a Malaysian chain called Dessert’s Bar adds a twist by serving them up in a sophisticated cocktail lounge atmosphere. The menu at Dessert’s Bar is an unabashed homage to fruit, including items such as smoothies, sorbets, fruit salads, along with pancakes and crepes heaped with strawberries, melon balls and berries. While sticking to non-alcoholic offerings, as befits a country where two-thirds of the population is Islamic, the fruit drinks at Dessert’s Bar are served in martini and wine glasses. Which adds a level of sophistication and makes the establishment a welcome alternative to bars and coffee houses. Dessert-only restaurants have been around for a while. But like the three we profiled in 2006, many specialize in admittedly delicious yet calorie-laden creations. By contrast, Malaysia’s Dessert’s Bar focuses on flavourful indulgence without guilt. There’s a concept which could find a ready market in any city with a large health-conscious population. Website: www.dessertsbar.com Spotted by: Suki Goh
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Last year we covered Blyk, which offers select users of its mobile phone service free minutes in exchange for viewing targeted ads. A new Belgian player is offering similar 'free love' by paying users cash to watch ads on their cell phones. While Blyk operates as a mobile virtual network operator and offers the free minutes only to those who use its service, however, Pumbby pays cash to users regardless of the mobile network they subscribe to. When users sign up for Pumbby online, they simply indicate which network they use and how many ads they are willing to receive each day, out of a maximum of 10. Pumbby then sends those ads as WAP links via SMS, and for each one that gets displayed, it credits the user's account with EUR 0.44. The resulting funds can be used to pay the user's mobile bill, deposited directly into the bank or used toward purchases of DVDs, books or tickets to movies and exhibits. Brussels-based Pumbby's service just launched last month, but with its cross-operator approach, its prospects are promising. Given that the mobile web is the next frontier for marketing and advertising, you can bet others won't be far behind.... Website: www.pumbby.com Spotted by: Jean Friesewinkel
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Who knew? London has 60,000 surfers, according to the British Surfing Association, a fraction of the roughly half million enthusiasts throughout the UK. Up till now British surfers basically had two options: don wet suits and brave the crowds at Cornwall and other close-to-home spots or hop a flight to catch the waves abroad. But a GBP 20m outdoor wave machine along the Thames set to open in 2011 could create an urban surfers’ paradise in East London. The attraction is part of a huge planned sports complex called Venture Xtreme that will also include rock and ice climbing walls, mountain bike and skateboard courses, what’s touted as the world’s longest artificial cave system and a vertical wind tunnel that simulates a skydiver’s freefall. Venture Xtreme’s backers hope it will give active Londoners an exciting alternative to an after-work health club visit, the Guardian noted. An hour’s session in the surf reportedly will cost GBP 30, higher than rates charged by Adrenalina, the smaller wave-machine-in-a-mall-sporting-goods store we profiled earlier this month, but cheaper and more convenient than a day trip to the English coast. And in fact, Venture Xtreme is the latest among several new and extravagant sports complexes located within major urban areas. Like Dubai’s famed indoor downhill snow-ski slope and a similar attraction called Xanadu now under construction in the New Jersey Meadowlands near New York City, Venture Xtreme will give city dwellers easy access to experiences they would otherwise need to travel for. While putting together a major development such as Venture Xtreme requires considerable access to capital, managerial acumen, not to mention political savvy, these new sports mega-facilities should offer plenty of other opportunities for retailers and service providers, which makes them worth watching. Website: www.venture-xtreme.com Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
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The lure of Apple's iPhone notwithstanding, most cell phones today are essentially variations on the same theme. Not so modu, a tiny, modular phone that is designed to be snapped into other devices. Resembling a black and white domino, the modu is smaller than a credit card and weighs just 1.3 ounces. It can be used on its own as a fully functional mobile phone, or it can be snapped into a variety of interchangeable ‘sleeves’ that enhance the phone with other capabilities. By slipping a modu into the modu media mate, for example, users can download and share movie clips with their friends. Inserting it in the modu music slider, on the other hand, transforms it into a high-end music phone equipped with dedicated music functionality keys, high-quality loudspeaker and hidden camera. modu night mate lets users dock their phone next to their bed while it quietly displays their incoming SMS messages and calls. Through a partnership with Universal Music Group, a series of music jackets will include artist-specific attributes and access to preloaded content and music subscriptions. modu features 1GB of built-in memory and Bluetooth connectivity, and can also be used as a mass storage device. The first modu products are due in the fourth quarter of this year; prices, reportedly, will be USD 200 for the phone module bundled with two jackets, with additional jackets priced from USD 20 to USD 60 each. Israeli modu was founded in 2007 by Dov Moran, founder and CEO of USB flash drive maker msystems, and the modu device was unveiled earlier this month. Strategic partners include leading mobile network operators including Telecom Italia’s mobile division TIM, BeeLine (VimpelCom) of Russia and Israel's Cellcom along with mainstream consumer electronics manufacturers including Blaupunkt, the company says. Opportunities include degrees of customization that were previously unthinkable. For anyone in wireless or consumer electronics, this is one to watch closely! (Related: Build your own mobile phone.) Website: www.modumobile.com Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
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We've already written about nap pods in New York City and airport Yotels, both of which provide a quick bit of rest for the weary. Picking up on the airport theme, Nemorelax is now rolling out cocoon-like rest modules to give airport travellers a way to decompress. Whereas Yotel's pod-like rooms are booked in increments of at least four hours, Nemorelax pods can be reserved for as little as 30 minutes. Dubbed an "oasis of calm," each pod features a Stressless recliner chair from Norwegian furniture maker Ekornes encircled by a cocoon of sound-isolating materials. In addition to sleeping or making private phone calls, travellers can watch a movie on the pod's touchscreen monitor, listen to music on the sound-on-demand system or get some work done on the fold-away work table. Each Nemorelaxer offers free wifi connectivity, and loaner laptops are available at no extra charge. Nemorelaxers will be set up in suites of 6 or more in central airport locations with an on-site, staffed desk. Wake-up services will also be available. Netherlands-based Nemorelax is currently talking with international airport and transit authorities, and its first Nemorelax Suite in Europe will open soon. It's a sleep-deprived world out there—no shortage of opportunity for this one across the globe. Website: www.nemorelax.com Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
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Back in September we covered examples on both sides of the Atlantic of social carpool matching sites that link drivers with passengers. PickupPal, which just launched last month, is now offering a like service on a global basis. Like Zimride, GoLoco and isanyonegoingto, PickupPal also uses a social networking component to ease consumers' fears about sharing a car with a stranger. When users join the site, they create a profile with information including their picture and an "about me" description; over time, that information gets supplemented with ratings from those they have travelled with on trips through the site. Users planning to make a drive can tell PickupPal to see if any passengers (or packages) need to go there too; conversely, they can also request a ride to a particular place. PickupPal informs drivers about potential pick-ups, allowing them to make an offer for the trip based on how much they want to charge and the passenger's feedback ratings from previous trips they have made. Passengers, meanwhile, can choose from among the drivers that have made offers based on prices and their ratings on the site. Once a match is made, PickupPal issues a "ticket to ride" to both parties with all the necessary information. At the end of the ride, the passenger pays the driver, who pays a 7 percent commission to PickupPal. Both sides are also asked to rate the other for incorporation into their profiles. PickupPal uses a GIS-based software application that sorts and matches rides anywhere around the world. Currently the Barbados-based site is available only in English, but it has already begun working on translations into French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Dutch, it says. And a good thing, too: with gas prices and carbon footprints the focus of increasing global concern, demand for services that help consumers use cars more wisely will continue to be on the rise. Website: www.pickuppal.com Spotted by: Sarah Vogel
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When Charles Dickens was writing his serialized novels, crowds used to gather at the docks in New York whenever a new chapter was due to arrive by boat. Today, Random House, the world’s largest publisher, has brought the practice back in electronic form, starting with the business communications bestseller ‘Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.’ Each chapter of the book, which had a hardcover print run of more than 200,000 copies, costs USD 2.99 and can be downloaded as an Adobe Digital Editions file, a format that is itself readable via a free download from Adobe. Random House, a US subsidiary of German media giant Bertelsmann, explained that the chapter-by-chapter sale was intended for those who only need to glean one or two lessons from a book. The Wall Street Journal noted that the experiment follows the music industry’s success selling songs individually, and that it’s an attempt by the company to discover how modern consumers might want to receive publishing information, particularly at a time when cell phones, PDAs and other digital devices such as Amazon’s Kindle make it easier for them to read electronic documents anywhere and everywhere. Other publishers have launched similar experiments with downloadable chapters. In January, for example, Springwise looked at DailyLit, which makes classic texts available free via email and RSS, and modern texts at prices roughly in line with those of paperbacks. Indeed, that relatively low-tech approach could be easily emulated by book-publishing entrepreneurs. Choosing the right content will be key, of course. And while the chapter-by-chapter niche might seem best suited to business books, irresistible fictional stories or tales or real-life scandal and intrigue might also become piecemeal best sellers of the future, bringing together crowds of readers, just as Dickens once did on those New York City docks. Website: www.randomhouse.com/madetostick Spotted by: Murtaza Ali Patel
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We've covered examples of design-your-own sites that let consumers create their own duvets and dresses. Recently, one of our spotters uncovered Peter Hutchinson Designs (PHD), which is bringing the concept to sleeping bags. UK-based PHD's standard sleeping bags already let customers choose the length, outer fabric and zipper configuration on the bag they order. Its Design Your Own Sleeping Bags system, however, offers choices in 17 different areas of the bag's design. To start, the site provides two "routes" to designing a bag, depending on the user's experience. The "guided" route for novices asks users to begin by specifying the minimum temperature their bag must withstand, and prompts them for choices from there. The "free" route, on the other hand, lets experienced buyers navigate through the many options themselves. Some of the choices to make are relatively simple, such as adding a bivvy cowl for extra protection in exposed conditions. Others are more complex, such as specifying not just the quality of the down that goes in a bag—700 or 800 fill power—but also the amount, ranging from as little as 200 grams to as much as 1300 grams. Customers can even specify how the down should be distributed within the bag—more at the foot end for those with cold feet, for example. Prices for PHD's custom sleeping bags begin at GBP 124, with updates to that cost shown automatically as each feature choice is made. As we've said before, there seems to be no limit on consumers' appetite for customization. Same goes for opportunities to provide it—from dresses, duvets and sleeping bags to infinity and beyond! Website: www.phdesigns.co.uk/customsleepingbags.php Spotted by: Bill McMahon
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When we wrote about Florida's Healthy Bites Grill back in 2002, we even went so far as to wonder if it might become the next McDonald's. While HBG doesn't appear to be winning that coveted title, New York's Zen Burger is a new contender that has gotten off to a flying start. Zen Burger aims to revolutionize the fast food world with natural, wholesome vegetarian foods that have the look, feel, texture and taste of meats without the negative effects on health and the environment. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, the restaurant specializes in meatless comfort foods that mimic those sold in traditional fast-food environments, such as the ZenSausage breakfast sandwich, ZenBeef burgers, crispy ZenChicken sandwich, ZenTuna sandwich, Zen Burger was founded by James Tu, owner of Zen Palate restaurants, and reportedly the plan is to take the chain nationwide, with the next restaurant slated to open in Hollywood in the middle of this year, according to Midtown Lunch. While vegetarians make up a still-small but rapidly growing part of the U.S. population, "flexitarians"—or those who eat a vegetarian diet some of the time, but not always—are a much larger group, and Zen Burger's real target, Tu told TheStreet.com. "The key is the taste," Tu said. "Ideally, I don't want people to know what they are eating is vegetarian." Appealing to serious and sometime vegetarians alike, it's hard to imagine anything but a warm reception to this concept around the globe. One to get in on early? Website: www.zenburger.com Spotted by: Anand Gupta
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Thanks to the rise of "fast fashion," discarded clothing finds its way into landfills at an alarming rate, including one million tonnes of the stuff each year in the UK alone, according to the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. While there are many charitable organizations that collect used clothes for resale and reuse, two global retail chains have launched initiatives of their own to give the clothes they've sold another life. Japan's Uniqlo chain, owned by Fast Retailing, began recycling its fleece jackets back in 2001, and has since expanded the program to include all Uniqlo garments. Collections are held during the months of March and September each year at all Uniqlo's Japanese stores. Items that are still wearable are distributed to developing countries through the Japan Relief Clothing Center and other like organizations. Items that are no longer usable as clothing are either recycled into fiber and used to make thermal insulation, work gloves and cotton rags, or they are converted into power-generating fuel. As of March of last year, almost 800,000 items had been recycled, roughly 90 percent of them for use as clothing. UK-based chain Marks & Spencer, meanwhile, launched an effort with Oxfam just last month to encourage consumers to recycle their worn clothes. Consumers who donate clothes—which must include at least one Marks & Spencer item—will receive a voucher worth GBP 5, valid for one month, to use with their next purchase of GBP 35 or more on clothing, homeware or beauty products at M&S. Donations can be made at any of Oxfam's 790 stores across the UK and Ireland, where they will be sold to raise funds for Oxfam's work in global relief. (From February 20–24th, M&S and Oxfam will also host a 'Fashion Amnesty' on the lawns of the Natural History Museum in London, which brings to mind IKEA’s furniture swap in Amsterdam.) Whether it's printer cartridges, beverage containers, cell phones, eyeglasses, plastic bags or clothing, recycling the products you've sold benefits not just the environment but also pretty much everyone involved. Website: www.fastretailing.com/eng/csr/environment/recycle.html — plana.marksandspencer.com Spotted by: RK
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