BUSINESS IDEA | STARTUP

Glassdoor for VCs 💰️  

The VC-cret’s out

Available Domain: VCtea.io

1. Problem/Opportunity❓

The Problem/Opportunity: VCs are the kingmakers of Silicon Valley. If you get backed by a tier 1 VC you’re usually in a great position to succeed. Which is why they can be so tough to impress…

But getting VC backing doesn’t always work out well. Take Bench, the accounting platform which shut down abruptly last December after investors replaced the CEO a few years ago and the business ultimately failed. Getting the wrong investors on your cap table is an existential risk to a founder’s business. So let’s build a platform to stop that happening.

Market Size: There are around 100,000 startups seeking funding annually and 4,000 firms active VC firms in the USA

2. Solution ✅

The Idea: A platform where founders can anonymously review and rate venture capital firms and individual partners they’ve worked with

How it Works:

• Founders who have worked with particular investors or firms can go to the site and leave feedback on these VCs

• The feedback is collected anonymously, however founders must provide proof to the platform that they have worked with the investor in the past

• Feedback is only published on specific investors or firms once a number of pieces are received to further preserve anonymity

• The information is then published to the site and can be browsed by founders looking to raise money to see who they should or shouldn’t work with

Go-to-market: Start by outbounding founders who have had bad experiences with investors, build up your database and go from there

Business Model: Freemium model for individual users. Charge startup accelerators for access too.

Startup Costs: You could start this incredibly cheaply, the hardest part will be getting the early feedback on certain investors

3. How You’ll Get Rich 💰

Exit Strategy: Strategic acquisition by a data provider like PitchBook or CB Insights

Exit Multiple: You could probably sell this for 5x - 8x revenue in a few years

TOGETHER WITH OMNISEND

Boring Marketing that Delivers Big Results

The thrill of not knowing how something will turn out? That’s what gets your heart racing, right?

But you know where excitement has no place? Marketing.

With marketing, you want predictability. So predictable, it’s almost boring.

That’s why Omnisend is a marketer’s dream. In 2023, for every $1 spent on Omnisend’s email & SMS marketing, merchants made $73 back.

Yes, $73 for every $1.

It’s not flashy. It’s not a gamble. It just works. Every. Single. Time.

At Half Baked, we only recommend tools that actually deliver. That’s why we partnered with Omnisend—because they’re the real deal.

From popups to newsletters to abandoned cart recovery, 100,000+ e-commerce brands use Omnisend to grow their revenue while keeping costs low.

Use code HALFBAKED10 & get 10% off your first 3 months.

DRUNK BUSINESS IDEA

The PhonePen

Ever find yourself in need of a pen but just can’t find one? Well that’s because it’s 2025 and no-one carries pens with them these days. But we do always carry our phone with us…

Which is why we’re introducing the PhonePen. With this incredible product you can always have a pen to hand, since it’s attached directly to your phone’s charging port. Sure it’ll stab you in the leg and make holes in your pockets, but that’s a small price to pay to always have a pen on hand…right?

Expect Apple to come out with their own, 5x more expensive version any day now…

JUST THE TIP

Trend 📈: Stablecoins

With all of the innovation in AI these days crypto became something of an afterthought for a few months. But as Bitcoin rocketed above $100k it feels like there’s been renewed interest in the field. And one area of the crypto sphere that’s received a ton of attention of late is the area of stablecoins. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to another asset, typically the US dollar. Stablecoins are particularly promising in the payments space, which explains why Stripe acquired Bridge, a stablecoin platform, for $1.1bn last year. But what other businesses can be built in this space?

Business Ideas

• Stablecoin Payment Processing Platform: Create a platform that helps businesses accept stablecoin payments

• DeFi Treasury Optimization: Develop a platform that helps businesses to optimize their stablecoin treasury holdings through automated yield farming across different protocols

TOGETHER WITH BELAY

Accomplish More. Juggle Less.

When you love what you do, it can be easy to take on more — more tasks, more deadlines, more hours – but before you know it, you don’t have time to do what you loved in the beginning. Don’t just do more – do more of what you do best.

BELAY’s flexible staffing solutions leverage industry experience with AI systems to increase productivity without sacrificing quality. You can accomplish more and juggle less with our exceptional U.S.-based Virtual Assistants, Accounting Professionals, and Marketing Assistants. Learn how with our free ebook, Delegate to Elevate, and leave the more to BELAY.

Download now

THE MONEYSHOT

Turning 30,000 Photos into a +$1bn Business

Success in life often lies at the intersection of your interests.

Take this founder who combined his passion for photography and software and went on to build a +$1bn business.

This is his story.

Jon Oringer is a man of many talents.

Born in 1974 and raised in Scarsdale, New York, he began learning programming in elementary school, using his Apple IIe to code simple games. As he grew older he also developed his own photos as a hobby.

Jon earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in computer science from Stony Brook University and Columbia University and during his college years Jon launched ten small startups, including one of the first pop-up blockers on the web, cookie blockers, trademark managers an accounting tool. But it turns out that his big break didn’t come from building innovative tech. It came from taking photos.

While building his own software products, particularly marketing products, Jon consistently found he had the same issue. He always struggled to find affordable, high quality images to use on his websites. So he decided to do something about it.

So Jon went out with his camera and started taking pictures. Lots of pictures. In fact over the course of 6 months he took 100,000 photos and in 2003 he posted a curated collection of 30,000 of his images to a website. He then allowed users to download as many images as they wanted for just $49 per month. It was one of the original subscription services.

He had launched Shutterstock.

The site started gaining traction so Jon decided to go all-in on the idea. He funded the company entirely with his savings and rented a 600-square-foot office in New York for the company. Initially he handled all roles himself, from finance to photography and even customer service. Rather than paying models Jon would simply hire his friends to appear in his photos. He did everything he could to keep costs down.

He started playing with paid marketing and the users really started rolling in. Eventually thousands then hundreds of thousands of users were paying for access to Jon’s library of photos.

By 2012 Shutterstock had grown into a $200m/year revenue business and went public at a valuation of $558 million. After going public, Jon continued to own about 55 percent of Shutterstock. The benefits of being a solo founder am I right?

Jon spent the next few years running the business but in February 2020 Jon stepped down as CEO and transitioned to Executive Chairman. His work was complete. And this didn’t slow the business down.

Shutterstock is expected to close out 2024 with revenues of $940m (we’ll know when they announce full year earnings in a few weeks) and is worth $1bn currently. But today Shutterstock is facing an existential crisis that could kill the business. AI.

AI is good at a lot of things, but one thing it’s amazing at is generating images. Any image, scene or product you imagine an AI system like Midjourney or Dall E can generate in seconds. This means the stock photo industry is in trouble. Deep trouble.

Recognising this danger in January 2025, Shutterstock announced a merger with Getty Images valued at approximately $3.7 billion. By combining forces maybe they can ride the AI wave instead of drowning in it. Only time will tell.

But no matter what happens Jon’s built an incredible business and life for himself. He found a way to combine two of his passions and that passion led him to success.

Which begs the question. What are you passionate about, and what business can you start in that space?

That could be the single question that kickstarts your entrepreneurial journey.

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