BUSINESS IDEA | STARTUP

Automated Airline Compensation 🛫 

Airfair

Available Domain: Flyefair.com

1. Problem/Opportunity❓

The Problem/Opportunity: Air travel is one of the wonders of the modern age. Today almost anyone can fly anywhere in the world in a few hours. But air travel isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

We’ve all been on the receiving end of delayed flights, cancelled flights and so on. And when you do eventually get to your destination the last thing you want to do is fight an airline over a few dollars. So let’s build software to do that automatically.

Market Size: The aviation software market size was valued at $10bn in 2023

2. Solution ✅

The Idea: An app that automates and simplifies the process of claiming compensation from airlines for flight delays, cancellations or other issues

How it Works:

• Users download the app, enter their details and connect up their email to the platform

• The app grabs any upcoming flight data from your email and monitors it for delays or cancellations. If a delay or cancellation is detected using publicly available flight information the platform performs an instant, automatic assessment of compensation eligibility based on relevant laws

• The app pre-fills claim forms using passenger and flight data which is imported from your and submits the form to the airlines on behalf of users

• Finally the app provides real-time updates on your claim status

Go-to-market: Start by testing it out with people who travel a lot

Business Model: Transaction fee (a % of the refund passengers receive)

Startup Costs: This is a pretty complex software build. You’ll need a team of some skilled engineers (or one 10x engineer) to get this off the ground

Competitors: There are plenty of claims apps out there but none of them have nailed the end-to-end automation of this process. Nail that and the market is yours.

3. How You’ll Get Rich 💰

Exit Strategy: You could sell this to a large software business in the airline sector, like Skyscanner

TOGETHER WITH OMNISEND

Spend $1 ➡️ Earn $72

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We (Half Baked) want to work with brands that deliver for our readers (you). That’s why we asked Omnisend to work with us. They agreed.

Omnisend offers affordable, scalable pricing that grows with your business. From popups to newsletters & abandoned carts, 100,000 e-commerce brands are selling more stuff while paying less.

Use code: HALFBAKED10

(you won't get a discount for Omnisend anywhere else)

DRUNK BUSINESS IDEA

Broccoli Cereal

We all need more vegetables in our diet.

So why not start your day off the right way with “Broccoli Buddies”? They’re delicious, nutritious and so packed full of sugar you can barely even taste the broccoli.

Coming soon to a supermarket near you.

JUST THE TIP

Trend 📈: Quishing

According to the 2024 Phishing Threat Trends Report by Egress, QR code phishing attacks have increased dramatically in recent years. In 2021, QR codes were used in only 0.8% of phishing attacks. This figure jumped to 12.4% in 2023 and has stabilized at 10.8% in early 2024. This massive increase in QR code phishing presents a problem that needs to be solved.

Business Ideas

• AI-powered QR Code Scanning App: Develop a mobile app that uses AI to analyze QR codes in real-time, detecting potential phishing attempts or malicious links.

• Physical QR Code Security Products: Design tamper-evident stickers or materials for printing QR codes that show visible signs of manipulation if someone tries to replace a legitimate code with a malicious one.

• Blockchain-based QR Code Verification: Implement a blockchain solution to create tamper-proof QR codes, allowing users to verify the authenticity of a code's origin.

THE MONEYSHOT

Accidentally Starting a $40m/yr Business

Pizza toppings are sacred. Pepperoni. Bacon. Pineapple if you’re a psychopath.

But this founder managed to bring a new pizza topping to the market that’s taken the world by storm.

This is his story.

Back in 2003 Mike Kurtz was a college student studying abroad in Brazil.

During his time there, he wandered into a traditional local pizzeria to try it out.

And one of the pizza he tried was topped with a drizzle of chili-infused honey. This combination of sweet and spicy flavors blew him away, leaving a lasting impression on him.

When he returned to the States Mike began experimenting with his own version of hot honey using high-quality wildflower honey, vinegar and chili peppers just for fun. He spent 6 years doing this. He would make versions of the sauce and share it with his friends and family to try.

He had accidentally founded Mike’s Hot Honey.

But the turning point for Mike came in 2010 when he became a “pizza apprentice” in Paulie’s pizzeria, which is one of the best job titles ever.

Mike introduced his hot honey to Paulie, who agreed to try it as a topping on one of the pizzas and customers adored it.

They began asking if they could purchase bottles of the honey to take home. Seeing the demand, Mike decided to bottle and sell his hot honey on a small scale.

Over time the brand spread through word-of-mouth and by 2014 Mike needed help with the business, since it was growing so fast. By chance an old college friend, Matt Beaton, reached out to offer help with running the business around this time and Mike took him up on this offer, bringing Matt on as CEO.

To keep up with demand the in 2017 the pair decided to raise investment and after hearing tonnes of no’s from investors they eventually went on to raise $12m.

And since then the brand has kept on growing. They have a team now and the product is available in around 30,000 retail stores around the USA as well as on online platforms and in countless restaurants.

In 2023 the business did $40m in revenue and they plan to expand to more retailers in the future.

The lesson here is that travelling can be a great source of business ideas. So get out there and see the world.

It could lead to a life-changing idea.

INFLUENCER IDEAS

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