Everything begins with an idea. An idea for an invention, business, story, play etc and brilliant ideas can strike us anytime. Some work on it better it and end up realizing their dreams, others not so much. So what ideas are worth the risk? Here are 5 best ideas for your startups based on answers given on Quora.
1. Sneaker Resale Marketplace
People stand in long lines to buy sneakers (typically limited edition sneakers that brands like Nike limit supply )for hundreds of dollars and sell them on say eBay for thousands of dollars.Create a niche mobile marketplace where sellers can just snap a photo and list sneakers for sale, and buyers can purchase with 1-click. Remove all friction – take care of shipping, returns, everything. Keep 20% of the transaction. If the power sellers come, they’ll bring their buyers along, and you have the flywheel going.
2. Personal Google Shopping Express
Say you go to on an exotic vacation, love that large painting, but can’t buy it because carrying it back is a pain.Create a simple mobile experience where the user can just take a photo of an item and someone magically buys it and delivers to them when they want. A global “Google Shopping Express” that magically delivers exactly what you wanted from where you saw it; and takes care of all the customs and other transaction pain points. Keep 10% of the transaction.
3. Cross Border E-Commerce
Payments are becoming faster and easier, and shipping is becoming faster and cheaper as well. If you dig into this space, there’s probably many opportunities to match supply and demand and make a profit even without building a product – just by levering global marketplaces like Etsy.If you have international connections and have the appetite for e-commerce, this could be a good idea.
4. A better Tax Preparation Service
Preparing taxes is painful.For the simplest ones, it takes 1-2 days, even more, to collect everything and use that tax prep software to file your taxes. And it’s not cheap, adding up your hourly rate and the software price, it runs into hundreds of dollars. If you have a small business, it gets even more complicated. Create a “tax as a service” where throughout the year you just scan all tax papers as they arrive, and a certified CPA is “watching” them and automatically filing your taxes. They watch, warn you in advance if something looks odd, and give you personalized tips to save taxes.
5. Kayak for Cruises
Did you know that Cruise travel agents keep 70%-80% of the bookings? This space is decades behind the mainstream travel industry and full of inefficiencies. High barrier to entry, but if you can break in and create a compelling experience for buyers, this could be a huge business.If you have inroads into the cruise booking industry, this could be a good idea.