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Another week, another selection of new business ideas from around the world: DIY-winemaking and selling in San Francisco, restaurant-goers claiming the limelight in New York, sampling beauty products by mail in the UK (and the US), and more. Our next edition is due on 20 June 2007. 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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When we first covered Crushpad two years ago, this state-of-the-art urban winery was already making its mark by providing the grapes, equipment, barrels and know-how—all the essentials—to aspiring wine enthusiasts who wanted the experience of creating their own ultra-premium cabernets, merlots or other fine wines, but didn't have the luxury of owning their own vineyards. Customers who were unable to visit the San Francisco-based facility in person could design their wines remotely, using grape harvests from some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyards, and monitor their wine’s progress online. With a customer base now numbering in the thousands, Crushpad is not only still going strong, but has expanded its offerings to include resources for those who want to capitalize on their winemaking experiences by launching their own brands. “Crushpad Commerce is a program that allows anyone to turn their passion for wine into a full-fledged commercial wine brand—without the high cost, complexity or time commitment required to operate a traditional winery.” Customers can get help creating their wines, building and marketing their brands, and even making the actual sales. Crushpad Commerce handles the logistics of order fulfillment, storage and distribution of funds, so customers can enjoy the perks of designing and selling their own wines without the hassles. And with so much wine-making and marketing knowledge to be passed around, an online forum is an obvious next step. Recently launched in beta form, Crushnet offers online winemaking discussion groups and even facilitates wine swaps among members. Users can take advantage of individual blogs, group messaging, community forums and “Enowiki”—a community knowledge base for winemaking. Last but not least, in a financing round earlier this year, Crushpad received a cash injection of USD 3.5 million, which will help the company nearly double production in 2007. Crushpad's example of how a single great business idea can be expanded upon is surely one to follow—especially for other entrepreneurs who might stand to profit from encouraging their customers' own entrepreneurial pursuits! The city chateau has plans to expand both nationally and internationally over the next few years. If you own a vineyard or are otherwise involved with winemaking in other parts of the world, now’s the time to get in touch with them and talk partnerships. Or start your own DIY-winery. Besides making it more convenient for your customers to sample their personal wines, local versions of Crushpad would also capture the benefits of the still made here trend—a growing consumer passion for all things local. Website: www.crushpadwine.com
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Backed by musician Peter Gabriel, British We7 is offering consumers free songs tagged with 10-second advertisements, which are played before the music track starts. Four weeks after downloading, We7 gives the user the option of downloading an ad-free, DRM-free version. Which makes for free music without piracy. We7 is currently in beta and hasn't signed up any major labels. The venture is currently working with independent record labels, featuring artists such as Youssou N'Dour, the Dave Matthews Band and Hall & Oates. (A similar service is SpiralFrog, scheduled to launch in Canada and the US later this year.) In theory, it's a win-win-win: consumers get free songs without pangs of guilt for stealing from artists, artists are paid for their music, and advertisers get the opportunity to "Intimately whisper into the ears of their targeted audience like never before", as We7 puts it. To make the concept work, We7 will need to sign up more top artists and hot up-and-coming ones. Still, it's yet another interesting example of what our sister site trendwatching.com dubbed free love, the practice of offering consumers free products and services, sponsored by advertising. Related free love concepts include free snail mail, free photocopies for students and free phone calls for teenagers. Website: www.we7.com Spotted by: Bill McMahon
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T-shirts have long been conversation starters, letting their wearers express bold political views, support their favourite artist or display their quirky sense of humour. Reactee takes the interaction to another level by harnessing the power of text messaging, creating t-shirts that "text back". How it works? A customer picks a personal slogan and a unique keyword, which Reactee prints on an American Apparel t-shirt. The user gets the t-shirt and flaunts it. Anyone interested in knowing more about the slogan or its wearer can text the keyword to 41411, and will get an immediate response as set by the wearer, who also receives a copy of the message including the sender's cellphone number. The response can be updated as often as the user likes, either at reactee.com or on the fly by cellphone. The shirts cost USD 20-27 depending on size and colour, and texting only works with US phones. Reactee users include individuals who want to connect others to a cause they're passionate about, or who simply want to ignite a response from potential admirers ("Am I hot?"). On a broader scale, organizations like the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas and YouthNoise are using the t-shirts to connect to supporters, as does MC Hammer (who's working on a comeback). Related, but more one-way: Italian Shyno, which launched two years ago and sells customized t-shirts (EUR 38) with a code that others can SMS to get in touch with the wearer: "All it takes is a simple t-shirt to find out, in complete anonymity, what others think of you." One to set up locally? Or find other ways to combine text messaging with low-tech objects in order to initiate conversations, sales, romances and other human connections. Websites: www.reactee.com & www.shyno.com
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Touted as Europe's first beauty testing program, recently launched Brand New You Tube sends subscribers a tube full of beauty products to test. (The venture is related to Brand New You magazine, not YouTube.) Customers sign up for GBP 20 + 4.95 shipping and handling, and are promised at least four beauty products worth a total of GBP 80 or more, delivered to their door. Brands that have signed up so far include Nivea, Lush, L'Oreal, Elizabeth Arden and L'Occitane en Provence. The price seems a bit steep, especially since customers are required to fill out a questionnaire about the products before receiving a new tube. In that sense, previously featured SheSpeaks is a better deal for consumers: that program rewards participants with free products in exchange for their valuable feedback. But the idea is good, and ripe for introduction to other countries and products. If you'd like to take the concept a step further, why not set up a tryvertising intermediary for a number of product categories, working for well-known and up-and-coming brands in each category, taking care of logistics and providing them with the consumer insights they need? (Related: Sampling salons for cosmetics.) Website: www.brandnewyoumagazine.com/bnytube
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People who work for large corporations have long relied on company tech support to get them through computer snafus and service issues. But what about individuals, small businesses, contractors and others who are responsible for their own computer equipment? Support.com is bringing large-scale tech support to the small scale. Launched by SupportSoft, an outfit that has provided tech support services to large service providers and Fortune 100 companies for nearly a decade, Support.com offers these services directly to consumers for just a fraction of what they might pay for computer repair services elsewhere. All services range from USD 29 to 99 and include data back-up, spyware detection and removal, system tune-up, and training and troubleshooting for printers, digital cameras and other equipment. Unlike similar ventures, customers aren’t charged a monthly ‘subscription’ fee. Most repairs can be done over the phone or online via a secure web server. And if a problem isn't resolved to a customer's satisfaction, a full refund is available. When customers contact Support.com either through the website or toll-free number, they connect with specially trained experts based in Syracuse, New York—not to customer service representatives. “Our Solutions Engineers don't just know computers; they are experienced in home networking, high-speed data services and popular gadgets from MP3 players to smart phones and personal digital assistants.” With more and more people telecommuting, starting small businesses, and networking home computers for personal or professional pursuits, catering to home office needs could be big business for entrepreneurs who can bring big business solutions directly to consumers. One to start up locally! Website: www.support.com
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It's hard to find someone who doesn't want to support efforts to relieve hunger and poverty, which continue to be a problem even in developed countries. But donating money or non-perishables to food banks, while philanthropic, can feel a bit detached—and therefore easy for consumers to overlook. Family-to-Family, a non-profit hunger relief program is looking to change that by making charity personal. Family-to-Family links middle class or well-to-do families to less privileged counterparts in poor rural areas of the United States. There are two options for sponsoring a family. With the first option, the sponsoring family actually shops and packages shipments of food and other essential items—such as warm winter gloves, over-the-counter medicine or shampoo—once a month. Alternatively, a family may choose to send a gift certificate or check in the amount of USD 35 earmarked toward the purchase of food each month with an essential item. Families also are encouraged to write letters to get to know one another, making the mission all the more personal. The organization, which was started with a meagre 17 names of families who desperately needed support, now serves more than 700. In the past, we’ve featured initiatives like Kiva and C4-World, both aimed at patrons in wealthy countries supporting businesses and individuals in developing nations. Unfortunately, poverty also exists in those donor countries. For example, Family-to-Family aids people in Mingo County, West Virginia where many residents do not have running water or telephones. Entrepreneurs who want to lend their business sense to making the world a little brighter for the less fortunate: take note! Website: www.family-to-family.org Spotted by: Roderick Cremers
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“Eat, drink and be famous” is the motto at Spotlight Live, a hot new nightspot nestled in the heart of New York's Time Square that's serving up whimsical American cuisine and American Idol style entertainment. A four-story performance amphitheatre, Spotlight Live is a far cry from your average hole-in-the-wall karaoke bar. Aspiring popstars and starlets of all ages can work with a team of entertainment professionals—from make-up artists and choreographers to back-up singers and dancers—to create live performances they will remember for a lifetime. Acts are broadcast online via streaming video and on Spotlight Live's own Times Square Jumbotron! Private recording booths are also available for those who want to cut tracks without taking to the stage. And performers can purchase CDs, DVDs and even posters or other memorabilia to commemorate their shows. The audience gets involved, too: Spotlight Live has employed some cool technology to make the experience interactive.“Diners can vote on their favourite performance, instant message other tables and post comments online using touch-screens at each table.” With talent-based reality shows like American Idol still creating a buzz around workplace water coolers, it's a smart move to cash in on those looking for their 15 minutes of fame. Website: www.spotlightlive.com Spotted by: thecoolhunter.net
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