Post all of your ideas and random problems you’ll never execute on...

[Leo Hartas]

For a project at school I attached a doorbell to a remote so you push the doorbell button which you could put on your tv and the remote would ring.

Yes! This is a really elegant and simple solution. This is an example of something that has been done before - thinking of those Apple tags you can attach to items then find them using your phone, but they are overkill for this purpose, and unnecessarily expensive along with all the creepy Apple are watching you issues. The tech to do this must exist, as in the door bells, and be relatively inexpensive. It would just need to be repackaged into a friendly design and marketed as, 'Never loose your remote again'.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Create some kind of mountable horn that you can attach to the back of your car where you can wirelessly activate it to tell those that are following too closely behind you to go piss off.

If it’s a shiny new car turn your windshield washers on, it will back spray on the tailgater getting their car wet with windshield solvent.

 

[Ed Schimmel]

If it’s a shiny new car turn your windshield washers on, it will back spray on the tailgater getting their car wet with windshield solvent.

Or a latch opening, releasing crow's feet

 

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[Hanabi]

Hi Hanabi Thank you for your reply. I was not suggesting that cosmetics that contained the chemicals referred to should not be made or sold, nor did I suggest that warnings should be included on cosmetics labels. Rather, I was expressing my opinion that I would not apply to my skin any product containing those hazardous materials.

Ah, I see. When I read your post, I thought it could be alarming to some readers, perhaps causing them to research more about cosmetics and the industry on the internet. Unfortunately depending on how a person types about the topic (or any topic really), the search results would present info slanting to what the person would want to see or be more likely to believe, as opposed to the actual truth. My intention was to shed some light on how the industry actually works, so potential readers won't think we are out to harm them.

I have no intention of arguing

2 Timothy 2:23-24

I think I need only point out that long term nicotine patches are widely used to administer small amounts of nicotine through the skin in order to gradually wean the addict off smoking.

You and I have valid perspectives on this. With the majority of drugs being administered orally and through needles as opposed topically like the nicotine patches, I see it as evidence the overall skin being extremely barrier proof. About 10-95% of ingredients in patches fully passes into a person's skin, so it really uniquely depends on how resilient a person's skin barrier is.

 

[Fr33zerPop]

Yup ) Couldn’t believe this.



Tech based textile that changes colour. You’ll become a billionaire in a matter of weeks once you have it working

Speaking of Hypercolor (I had one of those shirts) I always though someone needed to invent the "hyper-diaper", which has something that changes color on the outside when it's wet on the inside.

 

[Giallo]

Door to door cleaning shoes.

I hate dirty shoes and many people don´t care about it, just for the reason that last thing they want to do at the evening is to clean their shoes. And usually it´s necessary thing to do every day.

Yes. Building on this, cleaning and restoring sneakers is a service that I'm having a hard time to find. Only big and modern cities offer this kind of niche service. I have some beloved pairs that I would pay serious money for.

 

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[Guest-5ty5s4]

I like this idea. I have sold without a RE agent every property I have owned. The last one was listed with an agent for a very long time because I was otherwise occupied, and finally I advertised on a Sale By Owner site and sold the property within a few weeks.

For the sale of one of my properties, not only did I advertise and sell it privately, but I also purchased a guide to DIY the conveyancing process, and that went through very smoothly. Such a guide could be a worthwhile bonus on such a site.

Walter

Walter, great idea, and the guide itself would make a nice self publishing product, too.

I’ve thought the same about putting another type of guide together. Not going to mention it here because I might do it

As for the website idea, it should be FSBO but the big skew would be to save all the sold prices, so you could always see what houses sold for... users would agree to that in the terms. Would be massively popular. Even the realtors would end up going there.

 

[Hong_Kong]

Plastic packaging! I hate it, not only because it's bad for the environment. I notice now that virtually all food comes in those plastic trays with tear off plastic film. At the end of week my recycling bin is overflowing with the stuff. Even cheese comes in plastic wrappers printed to look like fake waxed paper. You need to attack them with a knife to get into it. They slide about in the fridge. I'm suspicious that chemicals in it leach into the food. (apparently it's an issue that's effecting sperm counts!)

I know there are some companies coming up with innovative solutions using sustainable packaging but the supermarkets are hardly jumping on it.

I read an article somewhere that as oil use is falling for transport the oil industries are artificially promoting more use of plastics to offload their output. No idea if this is the case, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Apologies if this sounds too much like a rant but it's my job each week to sort the recycling bins! I've had enough!

Single use plastics are getting banned in a lot of countries (slowly). I think this trend will continue (with exceptions for certain industries).

An interesting alternative is to grow mycelium (or mushrooms). This can be processed into a wide variety of plastic like materials with varying hardness and properties. No plastic, biodegradable, and not made from petroleum.

Another big one is palm oil alternatives.

 

[Emiljasta]

Nice to read all the posts guys. I was thinking about the following, but I do not know whether this is possible:

A lot of my friends experience hardships when talking with their bosses about their salary. When we are discussing it, they are like: ''I will ask a 10% raise, otherwise I will do this or that''. But once they have the conversation with their boss, the situation is different and they back off and are not able to ask what they initially were planning to do. So what happens is that they are unsatisfied with their work, and might leave later on, which is a problem for both the employee and employer.

SO, maybe you could make an agency that discusses the salary for you. You tell them about your experiences, the numbers you did, the value you add to the company etc etc. They talk to the company in ''your name'' and discuss the possibilities. By doing so, you are sure that the bond between employee and employer is not harmed. You see this for example in the soccer world, where every soccer player has a manager that does negotiations.

 

[mdot]

I have an app idea that might remedy this…

Basically it’s like a file structure, but instead of files and folders, they’re indexes, categories, subcategories, etc. Each item gets more detailed the further down the tree you go…

Health
- Diet
-Fasting
-Item to perform action on (calendar, reminder, notification, etc
-More fruits and veggies
-Item to perform action on (calendar, reminder, notification, etc

-Exercise
-Cardio
-Item to perform action on (calendar, reminder, notification, etc
-Flexibility
-Yoga
-Item to perform action on (calendar, reminder, notification, etc
-Strength
-Item to perform action on (calendar, reminder, notification, etc

Wealth
-Business
-Investing
…etc etc etc

Make that data in a CRUD app that’s completely customizable and fully featured

Reminds me of Johnny Decimal (More info)

 

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[Leo Hartas]

This probably exists.. let me know if it does because I'd be interested.

A one stop SAAS solution that hardens your device/browser, etc. against corporate and government snooping and makes you appear as a 'norm' or 'granny'. Basically it would 'hide' your machine behind a 'fake' data stream so you appear to be a regular user, even a false identity.

The idea being not to block the data stream (which is a flag in itself), but to pollute it to protect your identity, and reduce the quality of the data held by big tech.

I do the best I can with secure browsers, avoiding Google, blocking Microsoft telemetry, etc. but beyond the basics it gets complicated and time consuming. A service that does the work of keeping up to date with developments and changes to keep on top of it all, (I'm thinking of the recent Duck Duck Go revelations), but is simplified to 'one click' for the end user.

Sadly I think the market for something like this is relatively small as most people don't care that their data is being harvested for totalitarian surveillance.

 

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[Bigguns50]

I have 50 healthy snack vending machines in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, and growing quickly. They pay very well when you put them in the right locations. It turns out people would rather eat healthier snacks/beverages, but they aren't widely available and convenient as the unhealthy options.

I'm glad you're doing well with this. I thought of this a few years ago after meeting someone in the business. I just didn't think people would choose a healthy snack over the junk. BTW...I'm in Sedona.

 

[Keeton]

I'm glad you're doing well with this. I thought of this a few years ago after meeting someone in the business. I just didn't think people would choose a healthy snack over the junk. BTW...I'm in Sedona.

That's what a lot of people think. But I learned people will eat what you put in front of them, if its not healthy they'll eat it, if it is healthy they'll eat it. Doesn't mean you don't need to be smart about the locations though. My best selling machines are in places like gyms and cross-fit centers.

 

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[Bigguns50]

Found this article for you regarding Solar vending machines. TD Solar Powered Vending Machine Enables Company To Lower Carbon Footprint

 

[Olivier20]

Top of my list would be my failed invention, Miracle Brush this was shaped like a toothbrush having copper bristles in the middle and nylon bristles on the outer edge . Plastic frame small enough to scrub corner in a square pan and colored red. AS SEEN ON TV thought it could cause lawsuits . FULLER BRUSH COMPANY seemed interested but backed out during the last ten days of my Provisional Patent BRAUN was willing to manufacture it if they could change the design and charge me 160 per hour. Consider at the time in 2015 I was earning less than 10 dollars per hour and living paycheck to paycheck . As a dishwasher the goal was to find a way to scrub pans and not leave pieces of steel wool behind that sometimes ended up in customers food. Other ideas a mobile bus tub for clearing tables a bus tub on wheels not one that has to be carried. A app for cellphones you can use to record purchases it automatically records what you spent and where. This one is a little difficult as most cellphones can scan receipts but nothing exist that I know of that generates a receipt automatically just through hearing and recording a voice it should be a option when you speak in your cellphones that it generates
a receipt and files it in your phone. All I have in my inventors Journal that is still open. I have more but they are lined through they already exist and need no tweaking in my opinion .

Your first idea just gave me another thought. Recently my girlfriend and I bought a Frigidaire dishwasher. What a piece of crap ! Everything made out of plastic. The door latch failed after only a month and a half of use. Had hard time contacting Frigidaire (no direct line need to give an email and a number for someone to call you back).

I just thought we should start again doing what was made in the past - > everything made out of steel. Just need to buy an actual home appliance, copy every piece of it and then cast it with steel.

The thing is : how to make this without costing an astronomical amount of money ?

 

[Antifragile]

There’s a subreddit called buyitforlife

A massive built in customer base for products like this that’s only going to grow


I guess that’s the same problem these companies have, some probably do offer something like this but the price is probably double for basically the same product. Really it’s the customers who are the problem always buying the cheapest, not the companies trying to serve them.

Products can absolutely be built to last. But it’ll cost 5x the price and most people buy cheap. Except when we don’t… like my Vitamix blender. It can power a lawnmower! That shit will outlast anything.

Just remember that globalization and consumerism created a desire to keep changing products. If something lasts 20 years but doesn’t fit the decor of your hope in 3 years…

 

[Jadus]

Just for fun, here's an idea I've had for a long time. It may sound crazy and it would probably take an engineer or hiring one to get it designed. Manufacturing would not be cheap either.

I've lived in mosquito territory for a long time and one of the worse things is getting one in your room at night and not being able to find it with the lights out. They hide behind curtains, furniture or some other dark place until the lights go out. Then, they wait a while until they think you're asleep. Next thing you know is you have one buzzing in your ear, or if you're asleep, feasting on you.

My vision is to have a small machine that could scan the room at night with thermal imaging, target a mosquito if it finds one and fire a small but deadly (to mosquitos) laser at it and vaporize it. Of course, it would have to be programmed to not fire at any large thermal images, like you getting up to go to the bathroom.

 

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[Henderson]

What really is a problem for me is highlighting sections of an audiobook. I want to be able to highlight sections of an audiobook while running. Same for podcasts. Then the highlights should be sent to Readwise or something like this (in audio original, but also as text).

 

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[Rauschmi]

A friend of mine and I came up with a sound-isolated jar. You scream in it, and nobody will hear you. I think it's unironically an ok idea, but I don't know if it's doable, lol. We also gave it a name: "Yell Coffer". You're welcome if you become a millionaire by making this. Send me one.

Hushme Inc

Hushme Inc

gethushme.com

My talent:
I know things

 

[Niptuck MD]

This is a huge opportunity for someone to solve in a non-bias, or a unique way. Already seen some ideas here (like Ground News ) but still lots of opportunity.

i agree however wouldnt this violate barrier of entry and furthermore the existing user base that these phony and (shitty) news agencies have built up over the past five decades? I agree journalism has gone to the dogs, but lets say we present an unbiased view from the ground, wont we get fact checked and selectively silenced by big tech?

I know many investigative journalists that are constantly threatened or have their youtube or fb accounts temporarily banned or investigated etc....

 

[JustinBoshans]

So the local axe throwing business closed down and I was talking about it with the missus.

Why not just do a mobile axe throwing business for parties.

People want to throw axes but maybe only once and maybe only with a group so why not just forgo all the overheads and staffing and take it to parties and events.

Not fastlane unless you somehow franchised it but man what a hustle. Buy a couple of axes and make some kind of safe portable fence and target setup and you’re in business.

I live in a large city that has about 3 axe throwing places within a few miles of me. One of them has a trailer sitting in their parking lot with 2 axe throwing boards inside separated by a barrier for just that purpose.

 

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[DuncDad]

I have 2 Vitamix. One is at least 10 years old and works perfectly. The other I bought for the office.

I think if you are to make a product that is built to last, and charge accordingly, you have to choose carefully so the design doesn't go to far out of style, or maybe style doesn't matter so much. Like my Webber grill.

My mum still has an Osterizer blender she bought in the early 60s. Just needs a new seal as it leaks a little

 

[DuncDad]

Another problem that I found from an off grid living book,

¨In the average home, more than 50 percent of the electricity used to power electronics is consumed while the devices are turned off! In the United States alone, phantom load costs consumers more than $3 billion a year and adds up to the output of several full-size power plants.¨

Phantom load is an issue but not sure how companies will respond to this.

A friend of mine lived off-grid. Solar and batteries only. When they updated their old fridge, they reduced their power consumption by 25%, that s was 2 years ago. If they updated again, they could get a bigger fridge that uses the same power!
I recently updated my hot water heater, the old one was 17 years old. The new one is 20% greater capacity and my electricity usage for hot water, halved!

 

[Nomadic]

An app that you put all of your friends / family birthdays into. It integrates with amazon to tell you what they might want / need based on their amazon cart or shopping history, and it orders gifts for you in time enough for them to be there.

Birthday shopping automation

 

[DuncDad]

I used to have a CB radio. Mine didn't have it but some came with a PA function. You could just turn the loudspeaker around I suppose.

I've long had the idea of a programmable LED sign board that can be mounted in your back window so that you could push a button to send a message like "BACK OFF!". Both ideas would probably instigate road rage though and made illegal.

make the LED sign linked to a distance measuring sensor and it comes on automatically. It could even have varying messages as thew tailgater got closer

 

[DuncDad]

Another problem that I found from an off grid living book,

¨In the average home, more than 50 percent of the electricity used to power electronics is consumed while the devices are turned off! In the United States alone, phantom load costs consumers more than $3 billion a year and adds up to the output of several full-size power plants.¨

Phantom load is an issue but not sure how companies will respond to this.

One idea I would implement when building a home, would be to have separate circuits. Some a powered full time, for fridges and freezers etc - some would 'live' only during certain periods. SO devices never need to be shut off, the power points and some smart electrics in the house take care of everything.

I found this out the hard way when starting a new job. Each cubicle had red and black power outlets, no one told me that the red ones were powered down after 6 pm. Guess where the laptop was plugged in to charge overnight! silly me

 

[The Sandman]

Here in Australia, the Government actually did this -- National Public Toilet Map

Here's one for San Francisco, only for the sidewalks (which are used as toilets)

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=b6fab720912642b6aedafdb02a76d2a4

 

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[Royce2]

here I go!

1. AR cooking app. An app thats like diner dash, but you’d have real skillets and it would show a fake version of whatever food you want to cook in that skillet, and it would gamify simple basics of maintaining heat, which oils, fats to add not to burn the thing. And you can move the phone away from the skillet but the cook time would continue and if you move the phone back to the skillet after 4 minutes, the food would have cooked accordingly. This could be as fun for kids as it would be useful training for aspiring chefs who dont know why their scrambled eggs end up dry.

2. A hot rock diffuser product. Just a cool looking diffuser with a stone that is hot and above it would have some water with essential oil and it would drip on the rock and create a stony earthy smell. Probably already exists but hey.

3. Smart shelves organizing service. -

multiple products here. shelves that are integrated with a tagging/sorting/organization system using qr codes, nfc tags, etc. Im sure big warehouses do this but scale it down.
For example: A mechanic that might have a wall of different type bolts with different thread sizes would have QR codes next to each and every bin that links to an ordering portal for that exact bolt so you don’t have to search it every time, you see its getting low, scan code, order more, boom. And the business model could aid in setting all that up.
or Just your garage shelf could be instantly transformed with qr code stickers, pop them on, scan the toilet paper barcode with your smart phone, link the purchase portal and boom,

this is a convenience business and could also be argued that it is a safety business, systems building business

 

[shayfer]

Great thread and great ideas!

-Well water meter
Living in the country millions of people have wells. Never know the levels, especially if you are wanting to run your sprinklers, fill up a pool,etc.
The only methods that are accurate, besides commercial equipment that is expensive, is dropping ice down the casing and counting the drop time or steel measuring tape and looking where it's wet.
I was thinking something basic that had magnets on either side to hold onto the casing with maybe a sonar sensor that hits the bottom and uses wifi to an app on your phone with levels. (There is already electrical at the case or battery powered) With alerts?

-Uber but for mechanics. There are millions of shade tree mechanics that would love an opportunity to do some side work. Mainly be able to pick and choose. Have you been to a dealership or car repair place? It's insane. As a car guy let me give you an example. My 2017 F350 diesel 6.7 was notorious for oil pan leaks. upper mainly. the cheapest place I could find quoted me at $4700. I went on youtube and researched it thoroughly and after buying some tools and OEM brand Motorcraft parts did it for $200. I have the tools and if there was an app like that I would be interested in seeing if there is any other Ford's I could do the same. (I mean I don't but would rather create the app)

Warning on the next statement that I do not endorse the site as whole but there is some good subs for ideas.

-reddit
I like the woodworking/construction/hvac/electrical/plumbing/justrolledintotheshop subs.
While there is load stuff you would have to sift through on those subs, professionals in their industries, that "create or make" a tool that doesn't exist to help them get a task done. (I suspect this might run into some patent issues that maybe no one ever acted on but you would be surprised at how often it comes up) Example is another car one since I just saw it on justrolledintotheshop sub was oil pan drain plug that has a lever on it instead of having to screw it off. I mean there is only 2 competitors in this market. Fumoto $30+ EZ $25. I mean everyone has a vehicle and gas engines will be around for awhile. Isn't there room for another competitor? Maybe not the best example but quite a few tool ideas on all the subs.

 

[BizyDad]

If you produce an app iyou have to sell it and once sold you have to find more mechanics who will buy it. See my answer to BizyDad below

YourMechanic operates in "2000 cities" and employ mechanics who are casuals who can choose where, when, and can "Work evenings, weekends, or full-time -- you decide!" The company doesn't reveal how they make profit from employing those mechanics.

I think a franchise network would be much more profitable and easy to manage.

Walter

Disagree on ease of management. It is simply a different set of problems for each. Theoretically, a well designed app would lead to greater efficiency as evidence by the lower time and money spent on hr activities compared to a franchise network.

Your mechanic is essentially a lead gen website, with quoting and revenue capture in most of those cities, with actual employees in a handful of locations.

Franchise network could work. I have pushed a friend to do this for years and he refuses.

The chief issue is the balance of finding quality, reliable labor when you compete against shops for the labor pool.

It really depends on the goals of the entrepreneur. But this is a space prime for disruption. YM has been gobbling up anyone who threatens their business model. They began with the goal of being an industry disruptor, but they are missing the mark.

The issue any app start up will have is getting the proper raw data to set up the quoting system. It can be done, if you know where to look. And then being able to "get the word out" to both halves of the equation... Users and mechanics.

Like most apps, or even franchising, you should limit the launch to one city and go from there.