TextMe - Too much texting apps started popping around.
Cactus - Photo sharing app with option to put a title on it. Had this a while ago, then whisper and others showed up.
Escape the Monster - iOS kids game, some creature have to avoi d obstacles to escape the monster. Lack of time.
Invoicer - Mac app for making invoices. Lack of time.
Donster - Texting using only recorded sounds. Lack of time.
Ask HN: What's your best startup idea that you're not going to pursue?
211–214 of 214 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's your best startup idea that you're not going to pursue?
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have thought about this too, but in the country I'm currently living (France), it would be too much of a mess with the licence / legal side - if somebody gets really sick after a dinner, that could end bad. That being said, it's a great idea and I would love to work on this one day.
Isn't this what super-marmite.com was doing?
Thanks ! Didn't know that one, but seems to be this.
Doesn't seem to really take off - 6000 users in France after 3 years of operations (data from a french article a year ago, not sure if reliable), and their FB page has last posts about a year ago too - I would say it's dead now.
I'm gonna take a look why it didn't take off.
Btw, the same idea in UK - Cookisto.
Re: Ask HN: What's your best startup idea that you're not going to pursue?
#213Order while you wait infrastructure at restaurants. Basically pull up the menu via wifi while waiting for your table to clear. Take the order, and maybe even pay ahead. Orchestrate the order so that the food is available shortly after you sit down. This lets the restaurant increase their profits by serving more parties through their tables at peak times - maybe 10-15 min per table that uses the order system. Some var…
I've always had a funny lower-tech idea along the same lines. It's an airplane themed restaurant where each table has one of the service buttons that airplanes have. When you want a server to come by, hit the button. It lights up at the table and at the server station.
The Yo! Sushi chain in the UK does this. When you press the button, something on your table lights up and a cute (usually)Japanese-ish soundbite rings around the restaurant.
Re: Ask HN: What's your best startup idea that you're not going to pursue?
#214Identify damaged roofs via satellite imagery, match to addresses, and sell the list to roofers for marketing?
These guys have a similar concept. Except they really only seek to estimate materials quantities.
I have used their xml files previously to automatically tile roofs with solar panels.