I Wish There Was...

[petethepeddler]

I was thinking about ideas for businesses and the whole needs fulfillment process. I had a thought... What if there was a website where one could post a need ( I wish there was x...) So I googled " I wish there was" and what do I find?

I Wish There Was :: Welcome

Someone already beat me to it.

It seems to be somewhat new and/or they haven't been discovered quite yet.

The basic concept is that people post what a problem (A wish) and people respond back with a solution that is already out there or an idea of how to solve the problem.

What better way to come up with an idea than to have people tell you their pain/needs?

I want to stress that I have nothing to do with this website, just wanted to share with others looking for ideas.

 

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[petethepeddler]

I just went through the website more thoroughly and it is a great idea, poorly executed. It only has 7 posts from 2010!

Kinda gives me an idea...

 

[petethepeddler]

Another website similar:

Idea Wish List

 

[BrandonAg]

I was actually thinking about this same exact thing the other day..funny. Reminds me of one of MJ's recent videos where he talked briefly about the fact that there are probably thousands of other people who have your same ideas.

I was thinking of a website where consumers could come and post their problems. In turn, entrepreneurs/others could come up with solutions and the community would be able to vote on the solution they liked the best.

Spin it off in some way and I know I would participate!

 

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[petethepeddler]

I was actually thinking about this same exact thing the other day..funny. Reminds me of one of MJ's recent videos where he talked briefly about the fact that there are probably thousands of other people who have your same ideas.

I was thinking of a website where consumers could come and post their problems. In turn, entrepreneurs/others could come up with solutions and the community would be able to vote on the solution they liked the best.

Spin it off in some way and I know I would participate!

Other then ads, how could it be monetized though?

 

[FDJustin]

Other then ads, how could it be monetized though?

Fulfill the wishes?

Yeesh, lots of interesting ideas on that idea finder site!

The 'iwishtherewas' site might have good ones too, but it's not intuitive enough for my tired mind to bother. Still "I wish I could always find my golfball" - sounds easy to fix. A hit-activated buzzer with a time delay, or gps, or even neater yet, clear balls that when hit, you break open a glass cannister inside ala glowstick. Which makes it glow. For many hours. It would be possible to design them to be reusable by having being able to open the ball and replace a cartridge.

Gonna have to bookmark me this.

 

[valuegiver]

I don't think it is a good idea. It is like Twitter. Up to last year 2009 they rolled out ads, and still they were not making money. I am sure this year they are also not making money. They have the eyeballs but not revenue generation. This is possible due to many rounds of venture funding.

 

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[BrandonAg]

I'll agree it is not the best idea to be generating revenue, but I am sure there is some way it could be done with a little creative thinking?



Valuegiver - I can't speak for Twitter specifically, but the creator of Twitpic brings in 1.5-2 million/year in ad revenue. I believe he is a simple 4 man company (including his parents) so he is probably running very lean. I think he quoted that they keep over 50% after expenses, etc.

 

[petethepeddler]

What if you charged the people/ companies a small fee to advertise their solution to the group of people who have shared their problems? It would be somewhat like lead generation, in that the company solved a problem with a product or service and the website would offer it to the people who expressed the problem. Very targeted advertising in that the customer has already expressed a need.

 

[valuegiver]

Brandon, thanks for the twitpic info

Valuegiver - I can't speak for Twitter specifically, but the creator of Twitpic brings in 1.5-2 million/year in ad revenue. I believe he is a simple 4 man company (including his parents) so he is probably running very lean. I think he quoted that they keep over 50% after expenses, etc.

 

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[David]

Similar idea to fmylife.com

 

[petethepeddler]

Similar idea to fmylife.com

That's what I was thinking. Right along with the iPhone app too. Get it used by enough people and the ad revenue should be pretty good. Not to mention the needs just waiting to be filled and monetized. Imagine over a dozen problems/needs/ideas pouring in everyday!

 

[ManWithABeard]

I'll agree it is not the best idea to be generating revenue, but I am sure there is some way it could be done with a little creative thinking?



Valuegiver - I can't speak for Twitter specifically, but the creator of Twitpic brings in 1.5-2 million/year in ad revenue. I believe he is a simple 4 man company (including his parents) so he is probably running very lean. I think he quoted that they keep over 50% after expenses, etc.

oh wow, didn't know that. thanks for that info man. Also, I had always assumed that the same folks who created Twiiter was the same folks who created/ran twitpic.

 

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[x9vjzs098u123rnl]

Yeah you make money off of this by creating solutions!

Check out the "Featured Wish" from iwishtherewas.com

there was a clothes locker AND laundry service at the fitness at I Wish There Was

I read this, and immediately knew that somebody had already made a solution (and built a 7fig biz around it). An entrepreneurship student at Northeastern got together with some engineering students, and they created lockers with wirelessly activated locks. You could go online, make a payment, and receive an access code to the locks. You then unlocked a locker at one of the conveniently placed locker stations with the code, stuck your laundry in, and within a day or two it was washed and returned to the locker. Once you took your clothes out, the access code lapsed.


..and check out these wishes just begging for a product:
I wish there were a vacuum for cars that could be charged up in the car at I Wish There Was
there was a steammachine which could help me steam my children when they get sick or have the flue at I Wish There Was
medically prescribed support stockings to be more fashionable at I Wish There Was

 

[CommonCents]

Something similar is whynot.net Ideas w/ ratings and comments.

 

[LightHouse]

You all are focusing on monetizing, If you have resources to create products, sites like these hold value outside direct revenues. Ideas, people with needs, good will etc. You may get an idea and create a product that makes you $5MM in 5 years, would you still want to reduce the usability of the site with some ads? I am sure that was the idea behind this site which is why it doesn't have ads or have ads yet. I am also sure if someone wanted someone could probably buy this site in its state and make it go somewhere.

 

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[FDJustin]

With the resources here for finding a particular idea / issue to solve, I think some information on how to further explore the issues would be nice. Off the top of my head, I can say that you could brainstorm several ways to ask for information on the same thing, then start doing searches for instances of those coming up. See if you can find some communities or whatever that have people collectively discussing/griping.

This will also let you find any posted solutions to mark down for testing, and possibly packaging and or improving.

After that you can try to solicit information directly from people who are most likely to be addressed for a problem, and ask how often people come to them about it, if they have a solution, and maybe even what they think a fair price for a solution would be.

And... Learn to use the adwords keywords tool properly. That may also be a good quick research reference (and the information doubles over for advertisement research if you go with it.)

For example, those slide-on cables for connecting your TV to the cable box, satalite, or VCR... Lets say they slip off too easy. They fix the problem of annoying and cumbersome screw-on cables, but create a new problem.
I like clamps. I find they solve a million and one minor issues. In this case, a simple clamp could be made where you press down on it, slide the cable in place, and release. The pressure keeps it from slipping off, and it's much easier than screwing a cord on. But it might turn out that the problem isn't persistent enough, or maybe people won't accept replacing their cord as a solution. In which case, it might have been better to sell magnetic washers that you slide on before the cable.

So my point... There's more than one solution, one may be more profitable, or better accepted over another. Sometimes, a problem, no matter how widespread will never be able to make for a profitable solution. It depends on what those with it are willing to accept. And you need to have good researching skills to figure out which ones are worth finding a solution for.

Hopefully this isn't just common sense?

Here's an idea, that I've actually seen done before in various ways. Take all the solutions you can find that are too cheap and easy to do to be profitable, (or even difficult and expensive, to the point where it's only good to hobbyist DIYers) and put them into a book of "Neat solutions to messy problems", or whatever a good title is. If this is your kind of thing, even the 'useless' venues you come up with can make you a mint.

 

[CommonCents]

For example, those slide-on cables for connecting your TV to the cable box, satalite, or VCR... Lets say they slip off too easy. They fix the problem of annoying and cumbersome screw-on cables, but create a new problem.
I like clamps. I find they solve a million and one minor issues. In this case, a simple clamp could be made where you press down on it, slide the cable in place, and release. The pressure keeps it from slipping off, and it's much easier than screwing a cord on. But it might turn out that the problem isn't persistent enough, or maybe people won't accept replacing their cord as a solution. In which case, it might have been better to sell magnetic washers that you slide on before the cable.

Whoever designed HDMI connections should be fired! LOL. No positive locking connections at all! That creates an oppty. I have a problem with them being pulled out easily, especially w/ heavier guage cables for home theater connections. Try and move any of your components and often they get torqued or pulled out! arggg.

 

[WestCoast]

Everyone says that if you live long enough you'll the ideas you executed make other people rich.
First time this has happened to me (not sure if those sites are making $$, but the point stands)

Jeez, this must have been 7 or 8 years ago. I had a webguy code up the 'Idea Database' as a way to get people to start talking about problems and entrepreneurial solutions to them. He did some basic database coding so you could do some simple searches and archiving.

I never pushed it and folded it a year or two later. Anyway, just funny to see other people rolling with it.
More power to them!!

 

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[Ferrari Girl]

Here's an idea, that I've actually seen done before in various ways. Take all the solutions you can find that are too cheap and easy to do to be profitable, (or even difficult and expensive, to the point where it's only good to hobbyist DIYers) and put them into a book of "Neat solutions to messy problems", or whatever a good title is. If this is your kind of thing, even the 'useless' venues you come up with can make you a mint.

Great idea to make use of even the "useless" ideas. Making money from them and helping people solve their problems, too.

 

[tonye]

Whoever designed HDMI connections should be fired! LOL. No positive locking connections at all! That creates an oppty. I have a problem with them being pulled out easily, especially w/ heavier guage cables for home theater connections. Try and move any of your components and often they get torqued or pulled out! arggg.

I just read your comment about the HDMI Connections...made me laugh.

I invented this product, called hd EZ lock. I used to work in the consumer electronics industry and it was something that was mentioned quite a bit. So I was thinking of solutions and invented this. We just recently received a US Patent, and it's been available for purchase for about two years now.

Yea, it's frustrating, and not only that, a lot of our clients have damaged equipment/cables cause of it!