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, we will send 5 ideas that have randomly popped into our heads as regular everyday people – we’re no billionaires, no business gurus, just some people with overactive imaginations. We end each issue with progress, lessons, and behind-the-scenes notes from moving one idea from ideation to action in Into the Water.

This week’s ideas feel like they were born out of very specific moments: staring at a neighbor over a too-short fence, arguing with a vent that refuses to cooperate, digging through a suitcase like it’s a clearance bin, climbing a ladder you probably shouldn’t be on, or wondering what exactly is walking through your yard at 2 a.m. None of these are world-changing revolutions — they’re upgrades to the small scenes we all find ourselves in more often than we’d like to admit. 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 us! We’d love to feature you in a newsletter.

Modular, foldable fence panels that can be attached to existing fencing temporarily in backyards, driveways, or event spaces. Perfect for renters, short-term gatherings, backyard projects, or even blocking an unsightly view during renovations. Instead of committing to permanent fencing (and the cost of it), homeowners get flexibility—and rental companies get recurring seasonal demand.

Do the built in deflectors on AC vents actually work? Either they guide air exactly where you don’t want it, or it tries to deflect the air in all directions and the room feels stuffy. We at NGI decided to say, there’s a better way! A simple 3D printed device that redirects AC or heating airflow up, down, or sideways—without replacing vents or systems. It solves uneven room temperatures, draft complaints, and wasted airflow. It’s one of those tiny mechanical fixes that feels almost too obvious, which usually means people will buy it.

Trail cameras are fun… until they sit in a drawer 10 months of the year. A local or regional rental service allows people to borrow cameras seasonally—for deer scouting, backyard wildlife watching, or even property monitoring. Hunters, nature lovers, and parents showing kids “what comes into the yard at night” are all willing to pay short-term access rather than full ownership. You could even include a higher tier subscription that allows access to certain cameras’ live streams, so that round the clock monitoring is possible – hunters and nature enthusiasts (probably birders) would certainly pay a pretty penny for that.   

It’s time to reimagine luggage. Dream with us, as we imagine, a luggage set that comes with a collapsible insert that allows you to use your suitcase like a chest of drawers. No more unpacking onto hotel surfaces, no more digging through a layered mess. Frequent travelers, families, and business professionals would pay for something that turns travel chaos into order.

A not so far off future sees this: Small drones equipped with inspection cameras and light debris-removal attachments designed specifically for residential gutters. Instead of climbing ladders, homeowners schedule a quick roofline flyover. The opportunity isn’t just hardware—it’s the service network that operates them at scale.

Into the Water

When we first landed on the dehumidifying gym bag, the real question wasn’t “Can we build it?” It was, “Is this actually a problem?”

So we started simple. We asked coworkers who hit early morning workouts what they did with their bags during the day. Most answers were some version of: “Zip it up and hope for the best.” Damp clothes. Closed lockers. Draped on car seats.

The natural follow-up was, “what would you think about a gym bag that solves that problem? They said all we needed to keep going – “yes”. But then came the segway into what we needed to do next – “Can I see one?”

Of course we weren’t ready with a product, but we had validation, so we bought a commercial off-the-shelf mini dehumidifier, shoved it into a gym bag, zipped it shut, and let it run. No custom housing. No airflow redesign. Just a crude proof-of-concept to see if it would do anything at all.

Would moisture actually collect? Would it smell noticeably better?

Those scrappy tests told us more than any whiteboard session could. It wasn’t polished. But it worked enough to justify iteration and exploration.

Since that early burst of action, we at NGI have turned our fumbling into a simple 7-day idea-to-action challenge we now use to pressure-test concepts. If that’s something you’d ever want, let us know and we’re happy to share it with you.

            Next week, we’ll share with you where we decided to go next and how learning to prompt engineer with AI was crucial.