|
[ Home | Idea Database | Tip us! | Tell a friend | Contact | Subscribe for free | Download PDF ] |
Another week, another collection of interesting new business ideas from around the world: micro-manufacturing in London, hybrid drivers education in California, W Hotel's new brand in Second Life, happy tropical shrimp in the port of Rotterdam, and more. Our next edition is due on 22 August 2006. 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! |
|
|
||
|
Drivers Ed Direct aims to revolutionize the drivers education industry, by getting rid of "old cars, dimly-lit sterile classrooms and out-of-touch instructors". Not only have the old cars been replaced by brand new cars, they've been replaced by gas-electric hybrids: the school's entire fleet is hybrid. In addition to passenger cars (Toyota Prius), Drivers Ed Direct also offers behind the wheel training in hybrid SUVs (Ford Escape), since SUVs require special handling, and many teens will drive them as their first car. Founded by two life-long friends in California, Drivers Ed Direct isn't just bent on teaching young drivers to be more environmentally aware. The company also believes that a high-tech approach is a far better way to reach teens. Instead of dull classroom lessons, driving theory is taught online, with no classroom attendance required. Which no doubt appeals to high school students who already spend enough time in class, and are extremely at ease online. The interactive, web-based program lets students complete the course at their own pace, and includes animated lessons designed like video games. As you may have guessed from our previous articles about hybrid taxis and hybrid rentals, Springwise is very much in favour of minimizing the environmental impact of driving. Creating a new generation of eco-friendlier drivers is a step in the right direction. One to copy to the rest of the world! Website: http://www.driverseddirect.com Forward, comment or link to this entry » Spotted by: A.C. |
|||
More Eco & Sustainability ideas » |
|||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
Unto This Last is a miniature Ikea, situated on Brick Lane in London's East End. Like Ikea, prices are low and many products are sold as flat-packs (pre-assembly optional). Unlike Ikea, everything is manufactured uber-locally, and the designs aren't overly familiar. The workshop uses the latest 3D modelling software to design and produce innovative and inexpensive furniture, which it sells directly to the public. Orders are manufactured to measure, within a week, at mass-production prices. Most of Unto This Last's chairs, shelves, tables, storage units and beds are made from birch plywood, chosen for its lightness and sustainability -- all of the timber comes from cultivated forests in Latvia and Finland. And since pieces are made to order, customers can choose from various finishes and sizes, like adapting chairs to fit specific seat height requirements. The company's name was taken from John Ruskin's 1860 book advocating a return to the local craftsman workshop. Using modern technology, Unto This Last has been able to follow Ruskin's manifesto, decentralizing production while maintaining competitive prices. The company hopes to grow by duplicating the workshop to other locations. We love the micro-manufacturing concept: less stock, no warehousing, less transportation and less packaging, equates more choice and lower prices for consumers. Cutting back transportation also means less air pollution, and the 'still made here' production pumps consumer spending back into local economies. Plenty of opportunities for local versions in every medium or large city. Partner with Unto This Last, or start your own retail-workshop, as close to your customers as you can get. Website: http://www.untothislast.co.uk Spotted by: Flavorpill London |
|||
More Homes & Housing ideas » |
|||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
Women make up roughly half of the workforce, and a large portion of them are of child-bearing age. Although it's no secret that employers need to become more family-friendly if they want to attract top talent, many are slow to take action. Which is why Vancouver-based Sarah Fowles and James Sadler created a classified ad site specifically for moms seeking jobs. Instead of avoiding them, employers who post jobs on Yummy Mummy Careers actively recruit women with children, and (one would hope), are willing to accommodate their needs. Women who'd like to get back to work, or want to find a family-friendly position, can post their resume with Yummy Mummy Careers. The website also features a 'career spa', offering financial advice and tips on issues like finding childcare. Since working mothers are hardly a niche audience, we can see local versions of this concept taking off across the world. And what about Yummy Daddies? Help parents create a manageable work-life balance, help employers find well-educated and creative employees, and help yourself to some well-deserved profits. Website: http://www.yummymummycareers.com |
|||
More Lifestyle & Leisure ideas » |
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
||
|
Reminiscent of the pop-up cinemas we wrote about earlier (and earlier), Ghetto Gourmet is a 'wandering supper club for lovers of fine cookin', conversation and art set in uniquely comfortable environments'. The pop-up restaurant started out as an experiment, in a basement apartment in Oakland, California. Two brothers, Joe the chef and Jeremy the poet, now organize regular get-togethers in a variety of surprise locations, from parking lots to art galleries and private homes. Ghetto Gourmet's customers sign up for email alerts of when and where the next dinner will be held. Patrons are expected to 'be cool' with sitting on floor cushions at low tables, and asked to bring their own beverages. Four course menus are around USD 40 per person, including live music, stand-up comedy, photography and other forms of art and entertainment. Fun business (if you'd even want to call it that) for gourmand entrepreneurs more interested in spreading improvised joy than racking up revenues. Enjoy! Website: http://www.ghetto-gourmet.com |
|||
More Food & Beverage ideas » |
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
||
|
Dutch Boomerang Media recently came up with a new advertising outlet. Their so-called 'dressboxes' are roomy, circular changing rooms that are placed on busy beaches and are, of course, fully branded. Boomerang is placing dressboxes at 50 different locations this summer, offering advertisers 'on the spot' advertising. Perfect for purveyors of sunscreens, sunglasses, and cold drinks. Nivea Sun booked the entire network for this season. trendwatching.com would call this sympvertising: infusing consumer advertising with a pinch of sympathy. Although Boomerang and Nivea aren't doing so, it also seems like a prime spot for tryvertising: handing out product samples in a relevant setting. Opportunities? For those in the southern hemisphere, there's time to (quickly) set up a similar network for the upcoming summer. Marketers and media companies in the northern hemisphere have a bit longer to prepare for summer 2007. Website: http://www.boomerang.nl |
|||
More Marketing & Advertising ideas » |
|||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
FlipClips' books are like old-fashioned flip books: quickly flipping the pages creates a low-tech animation. What's different about FlipClips, is that consumers can create their own books, simply by uploading a video to the company's website. 15 seconds of digital video converts to 75 flippable pages. A standard FlipBook is 3.5" wide x 2" high, and priced at USD 8.99. Larger sizes include a greeting card format, and a story book, which can hold up to 30 seconds of high-resolution DV or DVD video. Easy to carry and more tactile than viewing a video on a pc or camera screen, the books make great gifts, souvenirs or promotional items. Fun product that finally gives consumers something to do with those short digicam videos (other than posting them on youtube.com). One to get local distribution rights for! P.S. For the corporate market, Flippies offers a similar product. Flippies has a design and development team that works with clients to create custom flip books, and can also coordinate professional animation or video shoots of products or events. Website: http://www.flipclips.com / http://www.flippies.com Spotted by: Photojojo |
|||
More Media & Publishing ideas » |
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
||
|
Announced last year as W Hotels' new brand for the select-service hotel category, the first aloft hotel won't open until 2008. So, what does a brand do to create some pre-opening buzz, and give future customers a taste of what's to come? Build a virtual hotel in Second Life, of course. Like American Apparel's foray into Second Life (which we wrote about here: brave new retail world), aloft is set on an island within SL. The hotel's virtual developers, Electric Sheep, started off with 64 acres of raw virtual land, and are working their way up to a beautifully landscaped island featuring a full-fledged aloft hotel. Each step of the design and building process can be followed, both in Second Life, and via a dedicated blog: virtualaloft.com. aloft is the world's first hotel brand to place a replica inside a virtual world, and will open its virtual doors this September. If well-executed, a three-dimensional metaverse outpost can be valuable in conveying the feel of a new product or concept, in this case the transformation of the mid-scale, business hotel segment from drab to delightful. At least that's what aloft is aiming for ;-) If you'd like to read up on branding in virtual worlds, trendwatching.com's YOUNIVERSAL BRANDING is a good place to start. Not part of big brand? Why not start an agency specalizing in helping other brands set up shop in the Second Lives of this world. Plenty of space in the US, and absolute virgin territory in Europe, South America and so on. Website: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels |
|||
More Tourism & Travel ideas » |
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Who ever said everything is going to be outsourced, from salary slips to agriculture? In The Netherlands, Happy Shrimp is working hard to build Europe’s first tropical shrimp farm, located in the very non-tropical port of Rotterdam. Promising fresh (‘superfresh’) shrimp, aimed at local restaurants, the business is taking on low cost shrimp farming in Asia. It does so by smartly capitalising on trends that the competition may find it hard to latch on to. First of all, Happy Shrimp is thoroughly eco-friendly. Its farm is located next to a power plant, and benefits from a heat-exchange system, using waste heat that would otherwise be released into the air. Farm waste, meanwhile, is used in a biological filter bed (many existing shrimp farms in the southern hemisphere pollute coastal wetlands). Secondly, Happy Shrimp promises wary, demanding consumers that the food on their plate is safe and unpolluted. An ISO 22,000 system is implemented throughout the whole process, while the farm is a closed recirculation system, which means nothing can enter or exit. Thirdly, as the current trend in food and beverage is all about freshness, with supermarkets increasingly shifting from packed and canned goods to fresh, if not produced on the premises offerings, Happy Shrimps prides itself on being able to deliver shrimp to local restaurants within hours after ‘harvesting’, without freezing or month long travels on mega freighters. The opportunity for anyone in agriculture: talk to these guys to bring shrimp farms closer to their markets, from restaurants in Stockholm to WholeFood stores in Manhattan. And if you play the eco/safe/fresh cards right, there are no doubt many other services that you can (again) produce locally, defying the current wisdom that production is only about the lowest possible wages, even if those are 12,000 miles away. Website: http://www.happyshrimp.nl |
||||
More Eco & Sustainability ideas » |
||||
|
||||
|
|
||
|
Here’s a smart idea that could be turned into a global cottage industry: sound resistant cell phone booths. The Cell Zone, produced by Salemi Industries, can be placed in nightclubs, restaurants, libraries, on airports, train stations, at concerts, and all other places where a bit of peace and quiet is often hard to get. Booths cost USD 2,400 to 3,500. It’s a win-win: with two billion people owning cell phones, the related yapping and other noise pollution produced on a global scale already drives millions nuts, while many callers would actually prefer to have a bit of privacy, or just to be able to hear the person on the other side of the line. When placed in a commercial setting, the Cell Zone will also help keep patrons from leaving the establishment, Cell Zone’s website helpfully adds. The revenue model? Good old advertising, as the whole thing can be branded, by the owner or through a third party. The latter hasn’t been pursued… another opportunity. We bet loads of telcos would love to sponsor them, too (check out the non-permanent Nokia Silence Booth as covered in trendwatching.com's briefing on being & brand spaces). Time to make some noise! Website: http://www.salemiindustries.com |
|||
More Telecom & Mobile ideas » |
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|
[ Home | Idea Database | Become a spotter | Tell a friend | Contact | Subscribe for free | Download PDF ]
|
