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Another week, another helping of smart new business ideas from around the world: customized cookbooks, picnics on ski slopes and pay-as-you wish restaurants. But it's not all about food—we also spotted Advent calendars that deliver to design buffs, downloadable shopping maps, and more. Our next edition is due on 21 November 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. Thank you! |
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A new form of in-store marketing lets advertisers place their messages right between shoppers' hands, on shopping cart handles that have been modified by Modstream. Messages are wirelessly streamed to a small screen in a hard plastic case that replaces the standard shopping cart handle. Advertisers and retailers log on to modstream.com to enter their messages, selecting stores where they want their message to appear. Messages can be run across a complete chain or targeted to specific regions, stores or times of day. Since the messages can be changed on the fly, it's easy to adapt the ads for short-run sales or clearance items. Since a majority of purchase decisions are made by consumers while they're shopping, it makes sense to target them while they're rolling down the aisles. Other companies have tried video screens on carts, but while those might serve up more engaging ads, they're also expensive to purchase and maintain. Modstream's message handles, meanwhile, stand up to rain and snow, and have a 5-year battery life. The system is currently being tested at Home Depot stores in eight states. One to partner with and distribute to other parts of the world, creating a new media space for advertisers and an additional revenue stream for advertisers? (Related: Next-gen shopping cart.) Website: www.modstream.com
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Small companies can readily compete with major players by refining the experiences they provide customers. For Picnics on the Piste, a new catering business operating at ski resorts in the French, Austrian and Swiss Alps, those experiences are bound to leave lasting memories. After shushing through the crisp mountain air to a clearing offering a majestic mountain view, they can break for a buffet of hot soup, foie gras and aged cheeses with champagne chilling in a snow bank nearby. Or ski down a trail to an igloo gleaming in the sun, with a waiter inside, ready to serve lunch. Then after the meal (or before it, if they have sensitive stomachs), clients can opt for a brisk jaunt on a skimobile or a short ride in an ultra light plane. Adding to the service’s appeal, British-French Picnics on the Piste’s spreads are affordable. A light gourmet lunch on a beginner’s slope starts at about EU 15 per person. Meals catered for expert skiers on more difficult-to-reach black slopes cost about EU 69 per person. Wine and other extras come at an additional cost. True enough, hotels and resorts have long offered similar high-end services. However, Picnics on the Piste is likely one of the first companies to brand its mountainside meals by making them available at a growing number of resorts. The company has partnered with local villa and chalet management firms at several locations. A wise move, since those companies are experts at bundling lodging, meals and activities into the kind of customized vacation experiences their clients desire. Naturally, peak experiences needn’t be confined to the ski slopes. A gourmet meal on a canyon trail in the American Southwest or a secluded beach in the Canaries could prove every bit as memorable. For the entrepreneurs doing the catering, the benefit is a low-cost way to start a company in a place where most of us can only dream of living. Website: www.picnicsonthepiste.com Spotted by: Bertjan van Dijk
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MyFootballClub, which we've been tracking since they launching in May 2007, just announced that they've agreed to buy a controlling stake in Ebbsfleet United FC, with the option to buy the the remaining share in the future. To refresh your memory: in less than three months, MyFootballClub signed up 50,000 people willing to pay a GBP 35 membership fee to buy and manage a football (soccer) team with a crowd of other dedicated fans. MyFootballClub members will vote on player selection, transfers and all other major decisions. When it got down to picking a team to buy, MyFootballClub was approached by nine football club owners and also sought contact with several others. Some of the crowd's favourite clubs didn't make the cut, because they had too much debt or were too regional. One of the reasons for picking Ebbsfleet United is that it stands a good chance to reach the national Football League. Ebbsfleet United's manager, Liam Daish, seems to be pleased with the deal: "Everyone has worked wonders to get this club to in the top half of the Conference. We all agree the club needs something extra to take it to the next step. As a football fan, I think the MyFootballClub idea is fantastic. And as the coach, I look forward to the challenge of working with thousands of members to produce a winning team." Website: www.myfootballclub.co.uk Spotted by: Sam Kelly
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Advent calendars have long helped build excitement and anticipation on the countdown to Christmas, typically revealing a pretty picture or piece of chocolate behind the cardboard door for each December day along the way. Charles and Marie's Holiday Calendar, on the other hand, apparently aims to blow all others out of the water by delivering luxury gifts to one's front door instead. Available for preordering from the German-American shopping curators between October 22nd and November 16th, Charles and Marie's Holiday Calendar service delivers "a very, very large" gift box containing 24 wrapped gifts, one for each day through Christmas Eve. The products contained are were selected for Charles and Marie by euro design duo Alissia Melka-Teichroew—best known for her acrylic jewelry and her InsideOut Bar-ware collection—and Jan Habraken, of Flow Chair and Trestle Table fame. Planned scarcity is also part of the service, as the products included are available through the site only in this holiday package. Pricing is EUR 1350 / USD 1800 for the luxe version, or EUR 500 / USD 600 for the more accessible Cosmopolitan Edition, with delivery available around the world. As we're fond of saying, there's nary a thing in this world that can't be upgraded and made more exciting for consumers who are spoilt for choice. Upscale advent "calendars" are a case in point, and you can bet there are consumers willing to pay the far-from-trifling price. What other holiday traditions can be super-sized, luxified, gravanitized, massclusified, or otherwise elevated to new heights? Website: www.charlesandmarie.com Spotted by: Emma Crameri
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After featuring Paste magazine's pay-what-you-want subscriptions last month, one of our Springspotters alerted us to a restaurant in Vienna where diners decide how much they'd like to pay. Located on the Liechtensteinstraße, Der Wiener Deewan serves five different Pakistani curries daily, three of which are vegetarian. Prices for drinks are fixed, but customers decide how much they'd like to pay for the food. Most pony up a fair price, and the restaurant doesn't seem to suffer from its unusual pricing plan. A bit of research shows that Der Wiener Deewan isn't the only restaurant to take a laissez-faire approach to prices: Melbourne's Lentil As Anything also lets customers pay what they can afford or what they think the meal was worth. The business now runs three locations in Melbourne and provides space for artists and writers. The One World Café in Salt Lake City and the SAME Café (So All Might Eat) in Denver operate on a similar basis, and also let customers specify portion sizes (which isn't a bad idea for any restaurant). While a few customers might take advantage of a restaurant's altruistic motives, most are happy to shell out a little extra to cover free meals for those who can't afford to pay. Could be just the thing for restaurateurs looking for a way to combine social entrepreneurship with a love of cooking. Websites: www.falter.at/web/wwei/detail.php?nr=5266 — www.lentilasanything.com — www.soallmayeat.org — www.oneworldeverybodyeats.com Spotted by: Martina Meng
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Keeping kids at the head of the class often involves a joint effort by teachers, students and their parents—so it makes sense to get them all on the same page. The HotChalk Learning Environment does exactly that, using the convenience and versatility of an online community to complement the classroom experience for grades K-12. Teachers can create websites for their classes and can log on to manage lesson plans and grades, post assignments and announcements for students, including attachments and even video clips. They can also collaborate with other teachers and take advantage of continuing education opportunities, available through a partnership with McGraw-Hill. Students can receive and submit homework, view handouts and reference materials, access grades and, of course, pose questions and comments as needed. And parents can keep a watchful eye on their children's progress and stay in touch with teachers. HotChalk is free of charge, so schools and parents can take advantage of all of its features without breaking the bank. Funded in part by corporate sponsorships, the site does accept money from advertisers, but it does so very selectively, using the HotChalk Community Standards Engine. The company doesn't accept any ads they deem inappropriate. Moreover, ads are never displayed during the school day or to children younger than age 13. One of the fastest growing internet properties in the US, HotChalk may well be a model worth adapting to other regions or professions. Website: www.hotchalk.com Spotted by: Bill McMahon
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Visitors to Sydney who want the scoop on where all of the best boutiques, cafes and galleries are need only point their browsers to Urban Walkabout to download attractive, pocket-sized walking maps in PDF form, complete with a detailed listing of shops and other attractions—for free. Maps are clean and concise and include information on buses, trains and other public transit. What's more, customers can take advantage of special offers, such as discounts at certain establishments, just by showing their guides. The Urban Walkabout Sydney Shopping Guides are published twice a year. Versions are currently available for five areas—Bondi, Double Bay + Potts Point, Paddington + Woollahra, Surry Hills + Darlinghurst, and the Sydney Central Business District. In addition to downloading them from the web, customers can pick up copies from every retail establishment listed on the website and in hotel lobbies, tourist information booths and visitor centres. In addition to the guides, there also is a wealth of information on the Urban Walkabout website, including a listing of special offers and events. While city maps and shopping guides obviously are nothing new, Urban Walkabout wins points for simplicity, aesthetics and accessibility, providing an upscale alternative to tacky, ad-plastered city maps that are handed out near tourist hotspots. Letting customers do the printing keeps costs low, and allows data to be continuously updated. The concept could do well in shopping districts all across the globe, and could be fine-tuned to suit other interests such as history buffs, foodies or families, with carefully selected advertisers to match. Website: www.urbanwalkabout.com Spotted by: Emma Crameri
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It's not every day that a new credit card is launched, and it appears that the new RevolutionCard is not an everyday credit card, either. Breaking away from the long-standing MasterCard and Visa mold, the RevolutionCard aims to establish a more flexible, secure and internet-enabled model of credit card. First on the list of paradigm-busting features is that the RevolutionCard does not print users' names or account numbers on their cards; rather, use of the card is based entirely on encryption and a 4-digit PIN. There is no annual fee, and the interest rate charged on unpaid balances depends on the user's credit profile. Consumers can store money on the card, loaded from their bank accounts. Merchants accepting the card, meanwhile, pay a fee of just 0.5 percent of the total sale, rather than the industry average of 1.9 percent. The RevolutionCard was launched in late September by Revolution Money, a new iteration of the GratisCard division of Revolution LLC, which was founded in 2005 by AOL cofounder Steve Case. (Revolution Money is backed by Citi, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank.) Along with its new card, Revolution Money also just launched an invitation-only beta version of Revolution MoneyExchange, a free, online money transfer service that consumers will be able to link to their RevolutionCards and that clearly aims to take a piece of PayPal’s huge money transfer pie. Due to be widely available later this year, Revolution MoneyExchange can be used across a variety of internet platforms, including social networks and instant messaging portals. Website: www.revolutioncard.com Spotted by: Susanna Haynie
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Who says you need a full-size concert hall to present live musical acts? Mini music moguls like Canada's 7 Street Lofts are serving up cozy concerts in a surprising new choice of venue—their own homes. Located in the warehouse district of downtown Edmonton, Alberta, 7 Street Lofts hosts small performance concerts on Friday nights up to 8 times per year in an intimate space that holds just 35 guests—some seated, others mingling around the kitchen island. Admission is by reservation only and is negotiated via email. Events are promoted via MySpace, so fans can log on at their convenience to see what acts are coming up and to get further details about events. There's a suggested donation of CAD 15-20, and guests are urged to bring an additional CAD 20 or so to purchase CDs, when available, to further support the artists. Once expenses for hosting the event are paid, all proceeds go directly to the performers, so the loft concerts obviously aren't profitable in and of themselves. However, the notoriety of hosting such exclusive events might build a nice reputation for music-loving entrepreneurs in any region who want to get in on their local music scenes. Similar to the Polish ‘home theatre’ concept we featured early last year, loft concerts feed into—and market via—customers' need for intimacy. They also create an accessible stage for a new generation of artists who skilfully promote themselves and their concerts through their own websites, blogs and MySpace pages. And though small-scale is the name of the game here, if this trend continues, one might wonder if there be opportunities to partner with some big name sponsors? How about MySpace, for starters? Website: www.myspace.com/7streetlofts Spotted by: Tracy Hyatt
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Social shopping is a trend we’ve written about before, with sites like Stylehive, Crowdstorm and ThisNext giving users a way to make product recommendations and discuss things they’d like to have, sharing their desires and buying intentions. Now TeethYou gives shopping fans a place for showing off what they’ve actually purchased. Taiwan-based TeethYou, launched in July, aims to help shoppers around the globe share the details of what they’ve just bought. To list a purchase, users enter a short description of the item along with its price and any post-purchase thoughts about it; photos can be uploaded as well. Registering on TeethYou is free, and all entries are broadcast instantly on MSN. TeethYou also functions as a social network, allowing users to make friends and track their purchases. Wish lists can be created as well. TeethYou is clearly still in its very early days, with few users, language challenges and a website that’s still rough around the edges. But the concept is a good one: Sharing the details of actual purchases could appeal to shopping addicts and ‘casual voyeurs’ alike, tapping into a common interest in things like What’s in my bag photos on Flickr. Savvy marketers should be interested, too—what better way to get the pulse of your customers? Could be a good one to bring to a market near you.... Website: www.teethyou.com Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz
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Anyone with more than a passing familiarity with the kitchen probably has one: an unsightly, disorganized collection of index cards, labels and scraps of paper bearing some of their favourite recipes. Now TasteBook, which just launched, offers a way for consumers to take control and turn those messy scraps into beautiful, hard-cover cookbooks, printed on demand. TasteBook aims to help foodies and recreational chefs transform their recipe collections into personal, yet expertly organized, cookbooks. While other online self-publishing ventures—like Blurb, which we’ve covered in the past—let consumers create and print their own, professional-looking cookbooks, TasteBook has added a very smart feature: not only can personal files be tapped, but users can also search more than 25,000 recipes from Gourmet and Bon Appétit magazines on Epicurious.com, as well as premixed TasteBooks created by top cookbook authors and editors. (Epicurious is owned by CondéNet, which has also made a financial investment in TasteBook.) A simple drag-and-drop interface makes assembling the list of recipes much like creating a playlist for music, and users can add tips and suggestions on each recipe's page. The final product is a tabbed, notebook-style cookbook with customized cover that can be opened at any time to add, remove or share recipe pages. Users can create cookbooks for each season, for example, or preserve passed-down favourites. Using the TasteBook service is free, and each personal cookbook costs USD 34.95 for up to 100 recipes. Website: www.tastebook.com Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
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Online entrepreneurs can respond to changing economic conditions with a speed unthinkable in the pre-web era. Witness UK startup Propertysnake, which helps buyers find properties whose priced have dropped. While the real estate downturn in the UK hasn’t been as severe as in the US, deeply discounted homes can still be found even in London’s most desirable neighbourhoods. Propertysnake makes the task of finding those homes easier. Users can search by region and by price. But Propertysnake also emphasizes the kind of information savvy realtors and property managers typically hone in on: the number of days a home’s been on the market, for example, the percentage that sellers have reduced their offering, and the number of other homes in the vicinity that have reduced their selling price. Unlike websites maintained by real estate agencies, Propertysnake posts comments from those who’ve visited the properties. Site visitors may advise that a property’s poor state of repair or other circumstances warrant its price reduction or that the property’s discounted price needs to drop further. It’s important to realize that sites such as Propertysnake actually benefit home sellers who need to unload their properties quickly. Before this type of information became available online, ‘fire-sale’ home prices were often known only to real estate insiders. Posting the information on the web actually adds to the number of potential buyers, which can speed sales and even lead to higher prices for sellers. The entrepreneurial lesson here is that opportunities avail themselves no matter which direction markets move. The key to success is figuring out a new and more efficient way to match buyers and sellers. (Related: Property prices by text message.) Website: www.propertysnake.co.uk
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