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Another week, another heaping spoonful of interesting new business ideas from around the world: a home recycling appliance from Santa Barbara, GPS advertising on London buses, a pop-up salon for coffee and culture in New York, a German platform that enables fans to sponsor bands, and more. Our next edition is due on 29 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! |
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Faced with rocketing real estate prices, first-time homebuyers have a new option in the UK: buying with a stranger they've found online. Shared Spaces is a 'co-buyer network', enabling potential buyers to join forces with others. Like most online social networks, members begin by posting a profile. They describe their likes and dislikes, what they're looking for in a potential co-buyer/room-mate, and which towns and neighbourhoods they'd like to move to. The website offers tips on doing background checks and advises co-buyers to have a deed of trust drawn up by a notary, outlining issues like ownership share and what would happen if one of the parties wants to sell or move out. Membership is currently free of charge. Shared buying is meant to be a short term arrangement, whereby 2, 3 or 4 people help one another get a foot on the property ladder. While living in their shared space, co-buyers usually spend less than they would on rent and are able to share purchasing and owning costs. Which means they're able to work towards the goal of selling the place, turning a profit, and making their first solo property purchase. Coming to the rescue of consumers who can't afford to buy a house on their own seems like a viable business opportunity if you charge membership fees and/or attract advertisers. Considering high real estate prices are a problem for first-time buyers in most countries, the opportunities for this one are global. Get started on a local version, and become the Match.com of housing! Website: http://www.sharedspaces.co.uk Forward, comment or link to this entry » Spotted by: Zsolt Kohalmi |
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When discussing insperiences (the trend of bringing professional grade products and services into the domestic domain), one thinks of plush home cinemas and chef-worthy kitchens. An indoor recycling plant doesn't immediately spring to mind. But that could change with the arrival of the Ecopod. Created in partnership with BMW DesignWorksUSA, Ecopod's E1 Series is a household recycling center that aims to change the way consumers take out their trash. The appliance houses a compactor, and provides an efficient way to crush, store and redeem recyclable beverage containers, specifically plastic bottles and aluminium cans. Consumers throw their bottle or can in the appropriate slot, step on a foot pedal, and enjoy the satisfying sound of compaction. The compacted container falls into an internal bin, which can be removed for redemption or curbside disposal. Each pod has storage capacity for approximately 50 crushed containers, while an upper compartment has additional room for glass bottles, newspapers and other recyclable materials. Everything neatly stored away and ready to moved to the next step in the recycling chain. Anything that makes it easier for consumers to be green is worth partnering with. Ecopod will be available for the 2006 holiday season; if you're in household goods, it's probably time to start placing your orders. (The system will also be featured in Williams-Sonoma's January 2007 catalogue.) And if you're based outside the US: snap up local distribution rights. Website: http://www.ecopod.org |
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Voice over IP isn't just making phone calls cheaper. It's also spawning innovative services that make calls smarter. Case in point: a new start-up called Pheeder, which allows users to communicate with groups of people simultaneously, with just one phone call. How it works: a registered member calls Pheeder, leaves a message, and hangs up. Seconds later, the message is delivered to a pre-selected group of friends, who can either reply to the message or forward it to their friends. Members can also subscribe to another member's pheeds, turning phone calls into subscription phonecasts. (Will phoneblogs be the next podcasts?) Micro-broadcasting aside, Pheeder could be a very useful, time-saving service for consumers, whether they're coordinating a business meeting or a playgroup. One to partner with if you're in any way involved with helping consumers interact. Website: http://www.pheeder.com |
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London buses will soon carry the world's first GPS advertising. Yell.com has retained 25 buses outfitted with digital LED panels that will show messages matching the bus's geographical position. Yell.com is using the GPS panel system as part of a five-month campaign to raise awareness of its local search facility. Besides intelligent buses, the campaign (developed by AKQA) also includes knowledgeable bus shelters: interactive screens on bus shelters will highlight local shops, restaurants and bars and help users find their way. Time to set up an ad agency specialising in GPS/location based services?! On a related note, if you're interested in catering to consumers' desire for information, giving them the info when and where they need it, check out trendwatching.com's infolust. Website: http://www.yell.com
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While aviation has known easier times, the store devoted to air travel, Flight 001, is doing well. Flight 001 opened in New York in 2002, and was one of the first concepts Springwise covered. So we were happy to hear that the retail chain recently opened a shop in Brooklyn, adding to stores in LA, San Francisco, Chicago, Dubai and Berkeley. Named for the Pan Am flight that flew around the world (westbound) from San Francisco to New York, Flight 001 sells everything a frequent flyer might need, from a wide array of luggage to toile passport holders, in-flight aromatherapy kits and Pan Am lunch bags. Opportunities? We still think Flight 001 or similar stores would go down just as well in travel hubs across Europe and Asia. Website: http://www.flight001.com Spotted by: A Brooklyn Life |
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Much like the being spaces for mobile warriors that we previously featured (The Coffee Office in Canada and The Hubworking Centre in the U.K.), South African Habitaz offers flexible office space. A novel twist added by Habitaz is the pre-paid office card. While most of Habitaz' lease plans are per month, their pre-paid GreenCard allows customers to rent space and facilities by the hour, minute or megabyte. A card costs ZAR 1,000 (USD 145 / EUR 115), and gives holders access to all of the facilities at Habitaz, each of which are charged by use. Facilities include open plan workspace that's open 24/7, with free parking and 'bottomless Ethiopian coffee' (ZAR 22/hour), admin support and secretarial services (ZAR 19.74/15 minutes), phone calls, delivery services, etc. Everything is charged to the card, with real-time online billing to keep track of costs. When the card runs out of 'GreenBucks', it can be topped up for another ZAR 1,000. Habitaz is developing a network of furnished business centres, shared work spaces and meeting rooms in South Africa and all major business hubs in the rest of Africa. Perfect solution for travelling business people, virtual offices, and start-ups -- a group that's growing explosively in South Africa. Website: http://www.habitaz.co.za Spotted by: Hein Koen
As further proof that this concept has mileage, Australian Bureaux is also focusing on providing work space for mobile entrepreneurs. Selling point for this one? Style. Bureaux' membership-based business lounges are beautifully designed and equipped, creating an inspiring and impressive location for members to get some work done, or to hold meetings with clients. A cross between an office and a private club, Bureaux not only offers highspeed internet access and photocopying, but also a library, bar and even showers. Bureaux’ first branch opened in 2005 in Sydney, with another branch in Melbourne now open, and one in Brisbane due to open in early 2007. The company will be rolling out national and international franchise plans during the next 12 months. In an alliance with Bureaux, American Express is offering its corporate credit card holders three free visits annually, as well as significant discounts on annual memberships. Smart move! Spotted by: Yvonne |
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A trend hybrid, Starbucks Salon is a crossing between pop-up retail, being spaces and brand spaces. Starbucks just announced that it will open a temporary arts and performance coffee house in New York City this fall. The Salon will be open September 8-17th, with tentative plans to pop up in San Francisco, London, Beijing, and Boston in the future. The concept builds on coffee houses' history of being informal venues for arts and entertainment, and the Salon will feature both up-and-coming and established artists, including Ursula Rucker, Jose Gonzalez and Jim Carroll. The coffee giant did a dry run in Utah earlier this year, at the Sundance Film Festival. A website and full program for the New York Salon will be online on August 25th, and the coffee house will be located at 76 Greene Street (in SoHo between Spring & Broome). For more examples of temporary retail outlets, check out trendwatching.com's extensive coverage of pop-up retail. And while you're at it, you might be interested in reading about the brand spaces trend, too. Website: http://www.starbuckssalon.com |
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Aiming to empower independent artists, SellaBand has created a platform that enables fans to sponsor bands, and get a piece of the action in return. How it works: fans, dubbed Believers, find an artist they like on SellaBand.com. For USD 10, they can buy a share, or 'Part'. Once the band has sold 5,000 parts, SellaBand arranges a professional recording, including top studios, A&R managers and producers. Believers receive a limited edition cd of the recording. The interesting twist is that the songs are then made available as free downloads. Income comes from advertising revenues, which are split three ways: artist, believer and SellaBand. The company will also sell cds through regular channels, sharing profits with artists and believers. Since both believers and artists benefit from getting 5,000 parts sold, both are likely to actively promote the band (and SellaBand) everywhere musicians and music fans are active: on their blogs, on their MySpace pages, in online communities, to their friends, etc. Once the recording has taken place, the same goes for SellaBand's download portal: artists and believers profit from ad revenues created by driving traffic to their download page. SellaBand was founded by ex-music industry execs, and it will be interesting to see how this one pans out. Opportunities? Apply the same concept to other forms of art and entertainment, products and services, or set up platforms for specific music genres. (For more on crowd-funding, check out our previous articles about A Swarm of Angels and I am Verity.) Website: http://www.sellaband.com Forward, comment or link to this entry » Spotted by: Oliver Bolton |
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