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.
For everyone, enjoy this weeks’ ideas. We have a subscriber sent idea that relates to one of last week’s ideas, and then some apps, gadgets, and ideas from the team at Next Gen Ideas. We have two ideas this week pertaining to covering up the ole think tank, because after all, here at NGI, we pride ourselves on our domes. We think you should too. 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: Dating App Reviews
Everyone loves to hate dating apps, yet dating apps are more popular than ever. Does that mean they have their matchmaking down to a science like some of them claim? Certainly not. Especially, when it comes to technological features on the apps themselves. This idea is another one that could be incorporated into already existing apps or it could make a run at being a stand-alone dating app. The concept is simple: along with their standard dating profile, they have a “review” section, where people can choose to leave anonymous (or not) reviews on how that person was on their date. Maybe they couldn’t stop talking about one of their odder hobbies. Maybe the chemistry wasn’t there, but they’re otherwise a nice person. Or maybe others should just outright avoid this person. This certainly has the potential to trickle over into the “cyber bullying” realm, so some sort of vetting process is most likely needed, but this idea could have a lot of potential. Aside from the awkward chit chat and boring profile metrics, wouldn’t you like to know what other people thought of your potential match? Not bad information to have, when you’re searching for your one fish amongst the sea of dating apps. Swipe right on this idea.
Idea 2: “Street View” for Golf Courses
Golf apps have tons of aerial maps and footage of almost any course you could imagine. Likewise, some even have augmented reality or fancy digital versions of the course map you pick up at the pro shop on the way to your tee time. Why haven’t these features taken off and revolutionized the golf world? Well, you only get so much information from a satellite image or top-view diagram. The next step? The piece of information that could send golf course mapping into the stratosphere higher than any satellite taking photos (don’t quote me on the scientific validity of that statement, just go along with it)? Introducing: golf course “street view”, or course view I suppose is more accurate. Just like your friendly neighborhood Google street view, this idea showcases the ability to click on a point on a certain hole and be able to see what that hole looks like from a ground perspective. Now, you have a clear idea of what lies around a bend, or just how little of an approach you have due to some trees and bushes. Additionally, you could provide seasonal or yearly updates for certain courses to ensure the most accurate information is available. Want more? The technology to accomplish this already exists. Get drone pilots to fly courses and take footage from standardized points and compile them together on a database / website that is user friendly for golfers to search up their hometown course. Many ways to ease into this idea – start with a local market and grow from there, hire freelance drone pilots across the nation, do the filming yourself if you’re up for it, start with a unique QR code for individual courses rather than a full-blown app or website. Lots of options. This idea has some distance to it. FORE!
Idea 3: Travel Recommendation Apps
Here we have another subscriber sent idea. On a similar note from last week’s idea No 3, this idea is a travel recommendation app that does more than just your standard Yelp. We are inundated with choice, and that often leads to choice paralysis and the dreaded hours spent asking each other “where do you want to eat? What do you want to do?” Instead, an app that allows you to put in preferences and then generates a few ideas at a time based on your preferences with the highest ratings. You can include a way to make a reservation as well. However, you could also take it one step further by having it track your location and offer recommendations based on your location – talk about taking road trips to a new level. Imagine, pulling into a random town and a notification on your phone pops up a suggestion to try a mom-and-pop joint that happens to be the tastiest thing you’ve ever tried. Or maybe the random mechatronic Jurassic Park that a random dude built on the side of a US highway aligns with your interests and now you have afternoon plans (definitely not speaking from experience). We’re beyond the point of wanting every option in the world at our finger tips – we want curated, highly recommended options we can explore.
Idea 4: Baseball Cap Steaming Wand
The truth is, there isn’t a great way to clean ball caps right now. There’s plenty of “life hack” videos on Youtube, or even dishwater attachments, but none of them are very good. The process is either too lengthy, too involved, doesn’t clean well enough, or destroys the structure of the ball cap (we all know the horror of putting your favorite teams cap in the dryer and watching it become a floppy, wrinkled mess). So we at Next Gen Ideas created a solution…in our minds at least. A cleaning wand with steam, light detergent, and drying features. Imagine a wand that you control the steam output, the timing and amount of detergent, and then a vacuum as well. You could slowly move the wand across the inside rim, letting out a jet of steam as you choose. Maybe an area has more dirt and sweat caked on then others? With a touch of a button hit it with some detergent that sprays out in aerial form too. Then after a touch up with more steam, switch to the vacuum to clean it all up and dry it out. It’s a 3-in-1 solution that is easy to use, effective, and keeps your ball caps looking great. Let’s put an end to the needless destruction of baseball caps everywhere. This tragedy is one that we can, and must stop now. Doesn’t hurt if you can make a little money along the way.
Idea 5: Bike Helmet with Reflectors and Turn Signals
Biking can be dangerous even without the fact that cars are flying by you constantly. Add in a late night or early morning ride, and the danger is heightened. You can mount reflectors and even turn signals on bikes, but they’re small and flimsy, not to mention can easily be covered up by clothing, bags, or anything else you’re trying to carry on your frame. How about a bike helmet with reflectors and turn signal lights? A small battery pack wouldn’t add much weight (we’re thinking a couple AAs) to the helmet, and the lights would be much more visible to traffic. You could even wirelessly connect them to switches or buttons that you stick to the end of the handle bars, so you can activate the turn signals with a quick flick of your thumb. Seems like a no brainer idea to help cyclists keep theirs.
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 right of ownership over these ideas.