For those of you that are new, welcome to Next Gen Ideas, the newsletter that provides the catalyst for entrepreneurs and innovators looking for a little creative spark. Each week, I will send 5 ideas that have randomly popped into my head as a regular everyday guy – I’m no billionaire, no business guru, just someone with an overactive imagination.

This week we offer ideas that bring friends close, keep us feeling close even when separated by oceans, and make it easier for us to get to our friends, and well…be close. Consider this issue a small homage to the family you chose. Enjoy! As always, if you ever try to action one of these ideas or have actioned them in the past, please reach out and share your experience with me! I’d love to feature you on a newsletter.

-        Chris

NEXT GEN IDEAS

Idea 1: Live Betting with Friends App

          Sports betting is being legalized and becoming popular in more and more states every day. We see this idea as a more family friendly way of integrating popular gambling with social networking. Upload your friends on the app, and next time they are out on the golf course, or taking their shot at going pro in your local beer league, start a live stream and open bets on if they make their next free throw, or if they can find the fairway. Whoever streams the event, sets the odds, and off you go. Your friends are all betting on your friends! Way more entertaining then professionals, and way less serious. Get the high of sports betting in a much friendlier environment. Use real money, or in app currency. As with all apps, eyeballs equal money, so let’s let people feast their eyes on the delusions of self-grandeur we all have.

Idea 2: Golf Cart Rentals for Tailgating

          Tailgating is arguably more of a spectacle and an event than the actual game (at least for college football in the South). The downside? Walking miles and miles around the stadium, to and fro all of your friends’ tailgate spots. Traffic is usually blocked off, so there aren’t many alternatives to working up a sweat. Why not be the savior everyone is looking for, and make a little money in the process? Rent golf carts to people. Need one just to buzz over and say hi? Short term, hour rentals. Want to go ahead and reserve one ahead of time for the entire game? You certainly can. Of course, we here at NGI follow the motto “Safety First”, so ensure before they sign for their rental, a breathalyzer confirms no one has had too much fun before getting behind the electric wheel.

Idea 3: Conservation Housing Construction Company

          Housing inspired by nature already exists in many places across the globe – Google images of houses with grass and flowers growing on the roof, or air conditioning units that minim termite mound airflow – but it hasn’t taken off in the United States yet. However, those winds are a-changin. More and more states are beginning to offer tax benefits to homeowners who are more environmentally conscious. For example, Texas offers partial property tax relief for those managing for native landscapes and critters. In the Great Plains (West Texas), this is as easy as planting some native grasses that songbirds use. Be one of the first to this emerging market. Designing homes with native mosaics on top or with anthill inspired airflow not only offers tax breaks, but also has been shown to reduce energy bills by as much as 50%. In hot areas like the Plains, these benefits begin stacking. So as Nelly says, “It’s Getting Hot in Here, So Start a Nature-Inspired Construction Company.”

Idea 4: Time Zone Reminder App

          . Travel a lot? A friend galivanting across the globe? A loved one doing some international business? We live in an ever-shrinking world, which means travel is becoming more and more commonplace. Tired of keeping up whether or not your brother is on the East coast or the West coast? Your buddy hopping time zones faster than Mr. Worldwide? Dale! Let’s create an app that reminds us of what time it is for the person we’re texting. It can run in the background, but similar to Find My Friend, accept your friend’s invites and when you text, not only is their location displayed at the top, but their time is as well. Quit playing the guessing game, quit losing track of time, let’s make it easier for everyone to stay in touch with loved ones, no matter where they are in the world.

Idea 5: Small Town Data Centers

          Data centers are vital in the Data Age. What are data centers? Your mind goes to massive warehouses with sophisticated cooling systems winding through rows and rows of towers with enough wires coming out of them to scare off even Ethan Hunt or Danny Ocean. Well, in reality, data centers don’t need to be massive warehouses that become a target of National Security. The demand for this infrastructure in rural areas is only increasing as ideas like Tele-medicine are beginning to fill crucial needs in rural America. Well, what do data centers need? Real estate and access to a power grid. What do thousands of small towns with US highways running through them have (if you want to know more about how the Interstate Highway system killed small towns, watch the Pixar classic – Cars)? You guessed it. Cheap real estate and power lines. One small town or county might be a small market, but bundle a few together and that becomes a viable business. Not to mention, you’re providing a much-needed service to an underserved area.

Next Gen Ideas encourages the free and independent use of these ideas, and any monetary gains generated from these ideas is the sole property of the individual who took action on these ideas. Next Gen Ideas forgoes any inherent right of ownership over these ideas.