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Startup idea list

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Startup idea list

#131

Post by krallja »

tocomment wrote: post #117

Problem: Customers ask for a cup for water in restaurants with selve serve soda fountains and proceed to fill the cup with soda. (Is this a big problem?) Solution: QR codes (or something else) printed on the inside bottom of each cup intended for soda. (water cups would be normal cups.) Then the machine would only dispense soda if it sees the QR code. (Or same idea with RFID)

The QR codes could also be used to gather data about your customers - what's their favorite drink? How much do they drink per visit? What size drink do they prefer?

Re: Startup idea list

#132

Post by bravura »

[meta: Basically, a site that powers this sort of thread, except with the requirement that it must be something you'd pay for, not an idea you just came up with.]

A website to help you find services that you have a burning need for, and would pay for.

It also helps you find initial customers for services that you're building.

You post: "I would pay for this technology." Other people upvote if they would pay for it too.

Participants can post an answer and say: "That already exists. Here."

If no good solution exists, you can pay a small amount of money to contact everyone on the thread, and say: "I'm building this. Here."

Re: Startup idea list

#133

Post by wpietri »

cryptoz wrote: post #2

Here's a few I've been thinking about: - Remote aid delivery by drone: build and send small robotic aircraft to remote areas and drop aid, preferably starting with medicine (lightweight and very useful). Small helicopters (quadrotor drone copters as you see at TED/MIT) could land and accept return packages if necessary. Trips could be made to hazardous places where human-driven aid drops can't venture. Additionally,…

My low-rent version of the drone delivery idea is the burrito cannon.

You order burritos via your phone. When they're ready, your phone tells you to go stand outside. Once there's a solid GPS fix, a precise, high-powered catapult throws the delivery package way up in the air. Like a smart bomb, it uses tailfin guidance to home in on your phone, popping a 'chute at the end.

Re: Startup idea list

#134

Post by jussy »

1. P2P travel insurance. Similar to kickstarter campaign, your friends insure you for small claims <$5000. No claims, friends get money back. P2P company holds money and profits on short term interest rates. Larger liability and medical expenses would still need to be underwritten by normal insurance companies. 2. Smart Water Meters - Develop water flow meters on each pipe/faucet to report flow information to an application. Should then be able to detect leaking taps, validate water efficiency of appliances and remotely shut off water to certain pipes for those in cold climates. 3. Eventography - Develop an event based photo sharing application to help people collaborate on photos taken at an event, such as a wedding or concert, with one click.

Re: Startup idea list

#135

Post by beobab »

drcongo wrote: post #11

A system that lest me maintain my contact details in one place, that other services can subscribe to for up-to-date info. Should also let me maintain who can see which details. When I change job, or lose my phone, or whatever, I can update my details, and my vCard in all my friends' address books gets updated accordingly.

I think that a Freedom Box [http://freedomboxfoundation.org/] has something like this in mind.

Re: Startup idea list

#136

Post by mulya »

sandipc wrote: post #127
eranation wrote: post #102

YourMechanic for groceries. I want to pay a flat recurring fee and have my fridge be filled with basic food products (e.g. like a hotel's minibar) you chose from 3-5 preset packages out of 3 pricing levels, setup how many people are in the house and you are done the service will calibrate (with your help) the content of the packages, e.g. if you see you eat more bread than you drink milk and end up with too much milk…

>> Having a massive buying power, the prices of these basic products will be much, much cheaper than any grocery store more buying power than your local chain supermarket?

I agree with the OP, potentially yes, if a startup focuses only on a few core products, and buys only them in volume, they might get the same wholesale prices as the chain supermarkets, but since they don't have the same costs, they can offer lower prices to the customers, or at least in theory...

Re: Startup idea list

#137

Post by Mutinix »

alainbryden wrote: post #58
chegra wrote: post #45

Collectively purchase/own items. For instance, baxter[programmable android] came out yesterday/today, and you would like to try it out, but the price point of 22k is too much. A group of people, say 22, can collectively purchase it and rotate the usage of baxter amongst themselves.

Are you familiar with Timeshare ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeshare )? It usually refers to property ownership, but can apply to pretty much anything. Most people consider the middlemen in timeshare situations to be scammers, so it would be tough to market.

I have a similar concern with this. It's too easy for a scammer to just walk away with an object. Invest a small amount, run away with an object of far greater value.

Re: Startup idea list

#138

Post by PratPreneur »

alainbryden wrote: post #49
georgespencer wrote: post #13

A service which allows me to upload a document (PDF, .doc, whatever), input an address and then pay for it to be printed and sent to that address via mail (courier optional). I'd use this service so much: 1. Printers are fast becoming a thing of the past. How often will people need to use printers in five years time? 2. Lots of government functions still require printed documents (heck, even Twitter insisted that I f…

On the same vein, someone could write software allowing individuals or organizations to set up a remote print-and-pickup service. For example, every campus would hugely benefit from a service where students could just email a document to a specific address (smith.hall.printer@mycollege.com), have 5 cents a page automatically charged to their account, and pick up their assignment on their way to class to hand it in. S…

Breezy.com does exactly that for universities. Except, you can count it against your current printing credits too.

(Disclaimer: I work here. This also means I can help get it to your university if you get in touch with me).

Re: Startup idea list

#139

Post by mulya »

bravura wrote: post #132

[meta: Basically, a site that powers this sort of thread, except with the requirement that it must be something you'd pay for, not an idea you just came up with.] A website to help you find services that you have a burning need for, and would pay for. It also helps you find initial customers for services that you're building. You post: "I would pay for this technology." Other people upvote if they would pay for it to…

Like a reverse Kickstarter? I like it...

Re: Startup idea list

#140

Post by lberger »

tocomment wrote: post #93
hp wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Insurance can't work if either all or none of your customers are going to file a claim, because the premise of insurance is that those who don't file claims pay for those who do. This insurance would have to charge a premium that would cover the "everyone files a claim" case, which means people would be paying N dollars in order to have a chance of getting their N dollars back. Not a good deal ;-)

Right, unless the insurance company can hedge their bets. At it's simplest they could insure themselves with a re-insurance company. They could also figure out financial consequences of social security going away and place long term bets on that. If they are able to hedge properly, they're basically reselling that hedge.

Sounds like a pyramid scheme to me.
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