Recent College Grad (introduction)/ Air travel Calculator idea

[humthesongg]

Hey everyone,

I finished reading the millionaire fast lane at the end of December 2023. I graduated from university back in May of 2023 after that I relocated from Indiana to Tennessee where I was offered a well paying job in IT. The job isn't bad or anything i get to work remotely most of the time but I always feel this urge to want to build something of my own. Starting a business and owning my time was something that was always on my mind growing up but I had no direction until I discovered the millionaire fast lane. Ever since reading the book I have been dedicating my mornings and weekends to market research in order to find any business idea I can start and escape the 9-5.

I am in a pretty good situation right now where I have zero debt and a good amount of savings to be able to invest into starting a business (living below my means with the intent to expand my means). Im happy to be here and offer value to the forum while being able to learn from all of you! Anyone have any advice on how to not to get paralysis analysis and quickly execute on something? I am looking into building an online calculator widget that compares google flights in terms of "value of time" instead of just price. It would help you realize if spending $300 on a flight that saves you 2 hours of your time is worth it given your current earning potential, or if you should go for the cheaper flight that adds 2 hours to your overall commute. This would vary from person to person based on their income and various other factors the calculator would take into consideration. The idea of this calculator is to quickly automate the math/thinking process for people, who are inherently lazy, and help them save time and money. I want to market this to people who value time over money. My only concern with this idea is if there is a need for something like this and how one would go about finding out. Thanks!

 

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[Xavier X]

@humthesongg It could be a useful tool. I'm just curious what differentiating elements you have in mind to highlight or quantify the value of time vs cost. Mainly as many flight booking sites already have a sort order of "best" flights. This sort accounts for the total flight time vs cost, or number of stops.

I guess you could build out something that uses AI to articulate the value difference, or why a more costly flight is actually better value. I travel often, so I spend quite a bit of time on booking sites.

 

[Bounce Back]

I like this better as a corporate tool used for booking flights for their employees - I find the value proposition will make more sense to them than at an individual level.

With that being said corporate flight booking software is a big industry with a lot of integration-type choices being made (read coding complexity) is my understanding.

 

[humthesongg]

@humthesongg It could be a useful tool. I'm just curious what differentiating elements you have in mind to highlight or quantify the value of time vs cost. Mainly as many flight booking sites already have a sort order of "best" flights. This sort accounts for the total flight time vs cost, or number of stops.

I guess you could build out something that uses AI to articulate the value difference, or why a more costly flight is actually better value. I travel often, so I spend quite a bit of time on booking sites.

While most flight booking sites already have a sort order of "best" flights, they don't take into account how much an hour of a persons time is worth. This value differs from person to person so different flights will be more beneficial for others based on the calculations.
Btw I checked out Mapees and it seems like an awesome concept id definitely use if I visit a new city!

 

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[humthesongg]

I like this better as a corporate tool used for booking flights for their employees - I find the value proposition will make more sense to them than at an individual level.

With that being said corporate flight booking software is a big industry with a lot of integration-type choices being made (read coding complexity) is my understanding.

I never thought of it as a corporate tool but that is a route I will definitely be looking into since it would make more sense for them to value something like this. The company I currently work for uses SAP concur so ill look into how something like this can be used by them. Thanks!