BUSINESS IDEA | STARTUP

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1. Problem/Opportunity❓

The Problem/Opportunity: MrBeast is famous for lots of things. Giving away millions of dollars. Helping those in need. His crazy video ideas, which arguably go over the top sometimes…

But something that flies under the radar is how business savvy Jimmy is. Take all of his foreign language channels which post dubbed versions of his videos, bringing him millions of extra views with pretty limited extra work. Which got us thinking. Could you do something similar for newsletters? We think so…

Market Size: The global newsletters market was valued at $12.5bn in 2023

2. Solution ✅

The Idea: A service which translates newsletters into other languages to increase a newsletters potential reach

How it Works:

• The platform integrates with popular newsletter platforms (Substack, Ghost, Beehiiv) and automatically translates newsletter content using AI + human review into different languages

• Readers of a newsletter can then opt in to what language they want to receive a newsletter in when they sign up. When they do they receive translated versions of the newsletter

• Over time the platform will expand to help source international brand deals and to monetize this new audience too

Go-to-market: Start this as an agency where you work with newsletter creators and create a Spanish or French version of the newsletter and share stats on how it is performing. Then productize this service

Business Model: Charge per translated newsletter

Startup Costs: If you approach this as an agency first you could keep the costs pretty low here

3. How You’ll Get Rich 💰

Exit Strategy: Get acquired by a newsletter platform like Substack, Ghost or Beehiiv

Exit Multiple: Expected multiple range would be 5-8x ARR

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💡 Idea 1: A technology platform which allows marketers to embed AI agents in their SMS marketing channels

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💡 Idea 2: An AI platform which acts as a talent manager for creators for a fraction of the cost of a traditional talent manager

Perfect Domain: Talismanager.ai

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Ideal Domain: Mortgauge.ai

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DRUNK BUSINESS IDEA

Dating Stats

Are you looking to find the love of your life? Trying to juggle at least 3 different dating apps but still not finding success?

Well the Dating Stats app has you covered. It connects up to all of your dating profiles and gives you the cold hard data on how you’re doing…how many times you’ve been ghosted, how many opening lines you’ve trialled, your overall success rate. The list goes on.

It’s like Strava but for your love life.

JUST THE TIP

Trend 📈: Shower Head Filters

Hot showers (or scalding showers for some people) are a simple, modern convenience that we all enjoy. But something that a lot of people are waking up to is how the water quality in your shower affects your hair, skin and general health. Which is why shower head filters are becoming more and more popular. They are beneficial for your skin, hair and overall health since they remove chlorine, heavy metals and other contaminants from something that you pour over your entire body. So what businesses can we build in this space?

Business Ideas

• Custom Filter Subscription Service: A monthly/quarterly delivery of shower head filters based on local water quality and usage. Include water quality testing kits with first purchase

• Tap Filter Business: Sell tap filters, similar to shower head filters, for bathrooms which filter the water people use to brush their teeth and for their skincare routine

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THE MONEYSHOT

How a Part-time Job Turned into an $8bn Exit

If I ask you to name a billionaire your mind will almost certainly go to a tech founder…Musk, Bezos, Gates, Zuck. But billionaires come from all walks of life.

Take this founder who turned a part-time job in a sandwich shop into a tasty $8bn exit.

This is his story.

Back in 1971 Peter Cancro of Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey was looking for his first job. But at age 14 his options were pretty limited, but he managed to land a job at a local sandwich shop called Mike's Submarines. Turns out that “subs“ are named as such because they look like submarines. Who knew?

Mike’s Subs was founded in 1956 and was named after its original owner Michael Ingravallo. I say original because by 1971 it was on its third owner. The store was characterized by its commitment to quality and personalized service, with Mike getting to know his customers by name. It was a great concept, but no-one was able to turn it into a lasting business.

Peter loved working there. He spent three years working there until 1975 when Mike’s Subs went up for sale again. Peter wondered about buying it and his Mom was his biggest supporter. She knew he could do it, he just needed some money. So Peter reached out to his high school football coach, who was also a banker, and pulled together $125,000 in three days to buy the shop. Peter was just 17 at the time.

Under Peter’s ownership the store flourished. The shop became famous for using fresh ingredients and in 1980 Peter opened a second sub shop in Belmar, New Jersey. He wanted to open new stores but realised that opening stores individually would be too costly and time consuming. So Peter decided to franchise out the business.

So in 1987 he worked with his lawyers and turned the business into a franchise. He also took the opportunity to rebrand the business to something we’ve all heard of today.

He rebranded the business to Jersey Mike’s.

By 1990, the chain had grown to 32 units in across the US. He developed a program where he turned store managers into franchisees, since they were the best people for the job. By 1998 Jersey Mike’s opened their 100th location.

But Peter wanted to grow even faster so in 1999, Jersey Mike's secured $10 million in funding from the Franchise Mortgage Acceptance Corp. to accelerate their expansion.

Over the next decade Jersey Mike’s kept opening more and more shops and by 2019, Jersey Mike's hit the $1 billion in revenue. That’s a hell of a lot of sandwiches.

By 2023, it boasted around 3,000 locations across the United States and generated over $3 billion in annual revenue, making it the second-largest sub-style sandwich chain after Subway.

Growth in the chain has been…well…off the chain, so much so that the biggest asset manager in the world came knocking at Jersey Mike’s door.

That’s right earlier this week Blackstone, who manage over $1 trillion dollars, agreed to buy a majority stake in Jersey Mike's Subs in a deal that valued the company at around $8 billion including debt. The deal also includes an earnout agreement where the full price would only be paid after Jersey Mike's expands to 4,000 stores.

Despite this sale, Peter retains a significant equity stake in the business and continues to lead the company onwards and upwards.

All of which goes to show that, when building an incredible business, there’s a element of what we call “idea-founder fit“. It’s not about finding the best or most lucrative idea, it’s about finding the right idea for you.

If Peter started a software business would he have succeeded? Maybe not. Which is why, whatever business you decided to start, make sure it’s the right one for you, whether it’s a clothes brand, an AI business or a humble sandwich shop.

There are a million ways to make a million dollars, you have to find the right one for you.

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