YOUR WEEKLY FIX OF ENTREPRENEURIAL IDEAS
We’ve selected 15 new business ideas this week that will
provide entrepreneurs with plenty of inspiration. Spotted from
countries all around the world, these ideas offer a taste of
what’s to come.
Beginners Guide to TikTok for Search - Rachel Pearson - We are Tilt __ Bright...
Springwise weekly | reading the web at 600 wpm, and the rest of this week’s most exciting new business ideas — 27-05 March 2014
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YOUR WEEKLY FIX OF ENTREPRENEURIAL IDEAS !
Top 10 business ideas & opportunities for 2014!
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We’ve selected 15 new business ideas that will provide
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entrepreneurs with plenty of inspiration. Spotted from
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countries all around the world, these ideas offer a taste of
what’s to come.!
!!
4. 1. Read a 300-page book in 90 minutes with this app!
As online content continues to be
increasingly consumed through mobile
platforms, it’s no wonder we’re seeing
new formats to deliver information more
quickly and fluidly. In the past, we’ve
seen Wibbitz present any news story as a
visual and dynamic infographic instead of
plain old text. But now Spritz believes that
humans can read much faster using its
system of ‘streaming’ text at up to 1,000
words per minute.!
Read more about Spritz »!
5. 2. This machine turns water into wine!
Home beer brewing is already a popular
activity for hobbyists and ale lovers, but
many people might think that winemaking is preserved for the vineyards of
France. Hoping to change that, The
Miracle Machine is a device for the home
that makes a bottle of fine wine from
simple ingredients in a couple of days.!
Read more about The Miracle Machine »!
6. 3. Service lets web users sell their data for cash!
Most people are uneasy about
companies making money from the
personal data they make available online,
but are happy to turn a blind eye if it
means they can continue using services
such as Facebook for free. Aiming to give
web users more control over what they
share, Datacoup is a marketplace that
lets anyone sell their personal information
direct to advertisers.!
Read more about Datacoup »!
7. 4. Café for cats set to open in London!
Animal lovers don’t like to go anywhere
without their dogs and cats, but public
venues aren’t so keen on filling their
space with pets — aside from the
occasional pet-friendly hotels we’ve seen
in the past. Opening this weekend in
London, Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium is
not only open to cat-lovers, but even has
its own resident felines to entertain
guests.!
Read more about Lady Dinah’s Cat
Emporium »!
8. 5. Augmented book enhances the story with tactile sensations!
The publishing industry is one that has
been hit particularly hard by the advent of
digital, but the technology can bring new
experiences to reading. In the past we’ve
seen Poland’s Elektrobiblioteka offer extra
digital content when readers turn the
page, and — hoping to enhance the
emotional experience of reading — now
the Sensory Fiction project coming out of
MIT has developed a harness that
delivers haptic feedback at relevant
points in the narrative.!
Read more about the Sensory Fiction »!
9. 6. Hair clip collects evidence in the case of a street attack!
This is part of a series of articles that looks at
entrepreneurs hoping to get their ideas off the
ground through crowdfunding. At the time of
writing, each of these innovations is currently
seeking funding.!
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Traditional attack alarms for women may
not discourage the most determined
criminals, often only really work if
someone is nearby to hear the signal and
can often be mistaken for a car alarm.
Making the devices more discreet and
smart, First Sign is a hairclip that
automatically detects a violent attack,
notifies friends and relatives, and collects
evidence to help secure a prosecution.!
Read more about First Sign »!
10. 7. QR code name tags help return kids’ stuff to their owners!
Smartphones come with a number of
technologies that enable them to detect
the presence of objects that have gone
missing, from GPS and Bluetooth, to RFID
— which has been used in innovations
such as the Bikn locator tag. Other items
that currently aren’t enabled with such
technology are still prone to evade
discovery however, especially when it
comes to kids’ stuff at school. From
Australia, StrayHat is using QR code
name tags to make the return of lost
objects easier for parents.!
Read more about StrayHat »!
11. 8. Vending machine promises hot burritos in 60 seconds!
While organic, fresh, gourmet superfood
salads straight from a vending machine
are making healthy meals a cinch, let’s
face it — sometimes all you want is a
burrito. Burritobox is a new vending
machine that delivers five different types
of filled tortillas on demand.!
Read more about the Burritobox »!
12. 9. Project turns URLs into book synopses to promote reading!
Web URLs can be a mess of letters and
numbers, which often prompts
businesses to use shortening services
such as Bitly to make them more
presentable — or tweetable. However, a
new project believes that the abridged
nature of online communication is killing
people’s desire to read. Turning URL
shortening on its head, URLITERATURE is
a service that lengthens any web address
with text from popular books.!
Read more about URLITERATURE »!
13. 10. Africa-friendly DIY shoe can be made by the people that wear them
Many people in the poor, rural areas of
developing countries spend the majority
of their time carrying out tasks that
citizens of the West simply don’t need to.
This means they don’t have the time to
pursue their own work and instead rely
heavily on aid and donated products. The
KLEM project now aims to help those in
Malawi use available local resources to
create their own shoes following a simple
design.!
Read more about KLEM »!
14. 11. App lets moms with baby health questions text doctors 24/7!
While services such as BetterDoctor have
previously made it easier for patients to
find a doctor that’s better suited to their
needs than their local one, it doesn’t solve
the problem of the laborious process
that’s required to register with them and
arrange an appointment. First Opinion is
an app that opens up direct and instant
communication between moms and
doctors who are also parents, in order to
offer expert advice in real time.!
Read more about First Opinion »!
15. 12. Live concert app launches seamless bar tab platform for venues!
Bars are busy at the best of times, but it’s
especially the case at gigs and concerts
where there’s a mad rush to get a drink
before the next act starts. Having already
made booking tickets for recommended
events easier and more social, WillCall is
now introducing BarTab, a tablet app for
businesses that lets gig-goers order and
pay for a drink simply by giving their
name.!
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Read more about BarTab »!
16. 13. Patch lets homeowners test a new color without ruining their wall!
When it’s time to redecorate, homeowners
typically use tester pots to see exactly
what paint will look like on their walls. This
can leave a temporary mess in their home
while also contributing to waste when the
packaging is thrown away. While digital
alternatives such as Decolabs have used
augmented reality to virtually alter what a
space looks like, iPatch is a simple sticker
that can be added and removed from any
surface without damage.!
Read more about iPatch »!
17. 14. This box could help revive failing relationships!
Regular readers of Springwise will
remember PartTimeLove.co.uk — the
service we recently covered that aims to
connect those who are too busy to
maintain an everyday relationship. Aimed
at couples who perhaps don’t have time
to organize a romantic evening, Unbox
Love now promises to deliver fun dates in
a box.!
Read more about Unbox Love »!
18. 15. Motorbike helmet add-on enables headphone-free listening!
Motorcycle helmets are growing up. First,
we saw the NUVIZ Ride:HUD — a helmet
add-on that gives them a Google Glassstyle head-up display with information
such as maps and speed. Now
HEADWAY from Germany-based startup
Rockatoo aims to replace motorcycle
headphones with a device that turns any
helmet into a loudspeaker.!
Read more about the HEADWAY »!