BUSINESS IDEA | STARTUP

AI Cognitive Training Platform 🧠  

Brain & gain

Available Domain: Cortexflex.io

1. Problem/Opportunity❓

The Problem/Opportunity: In his seminal book Deep Work, Cal Newport famously wrote that “focus is the new IQ.” He’s not wrong, particularly given how little IQ some people out there have…

But how can someone improve their focus or other areas of their cognition? Well plenty of apps exist which offer so-called “brain training exercises.” Like remember Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training game for the Nintendo DS back in the day? What a product. But most of these apps are just games masquerading as brain training exercises. What people really need is a personal trainer for their brains. So let’s create exactly that.

Market Size: The global brain health supplements market size was valued at $8.5 billion in 2023, showing there’s plenty of demand in this space for new products

2. Solution ✅

The Idea: A service which provides personalized cognitive training to users through AI feedback

How it Works:

• A users joins the platform and completes a quiz which assesses what area they want to train, such as improving their memory, focus, problem-solving skills etc

• They are then tested to get a baseline on their ability in that particular area

• Users are then given specific, evidence-based exercises to improve the skill they want to work on and goals around how often they need to train etc. These plans are created by the AI and can involve interactions with a chatbot on the platform

• Users are tested again every few weeks to monitor their progress so that over time they hit their goals

Go-to-market: Start by working directly with users yourself to develop the programs and protocols, then productize once you’re seeing strong results

Business Model: Users pay a fee to complete a program, ideally upfront. Upfront payments are great for cashflow so optimize for them

Startup Costs: If you start this by working with users yourself you could start it quite cheaply, but it will be time intensive

3. How You’ll Get Rich 💰

Exit Strategy: Exit to a company like Calm/Headspace, this would be a natural extension of their meditation and mental wellness apps

Exit Multiple: You could likely exit here for 5x - 7x revenue

TOGETHER WITH NAME.COM

Find your .io Domain Name Today

You’re a Half Baked subscriber, which means a few things. You’re smart. You’re attractive. And of course you’re drowning in business ideas.

And if you’re anything like us you like to collect domain names the same way Thanos collects infinity stones. But how do you set yourself apart from competitors who own .com domains? It’s simple.

You buy a .io domain from name.com.

.io is a trendy and fast-growing domain in the startup world. Tech companies, startups and even personal websites are using this extension more and more frequently.

Here are some .io domains you can buy today:

♣️ Cardcademy.io - for a mobile app which accelerates and gamifies the process of learning poker

💻 Citenation.io - for a platform for academic papers that combines discovery, discussion, and tracking functionality specifically designed for academic papers

🧠 Arguearena.io - for a platform which matches together users who can debate a topic with AI analytics to determine who won

DRUNK BUSINESS IDEA

Tin Foil Hat

Mark Twain once wrote that “reality is stranger than fiction”. And in the last few months reality has been particularly strange. Unidentified drones flying over military bases. Government hearings on UAPs (nice rebrand for UFOs). Zuck being considered cool now. And with all of this strangeness conspiracy theorists have been having a field day, so why not get in on the action?

Well now you can with this Tin Foil Hat. This amazing fashion accessory means you can share your crazy conspiracy theories with as many people as you like, while protecting your head from mind control signals of course.

Who knows, maybe even a few of your theories will come true.

JUST THE TIP

Trend 📈: Skyr

Skyr (pronounced skeer), a traditional Icelandic dairy product, is getting more and more popular around the world these days. It’s made from skimmed milk and is similar to yogurt but is known for its thick, creamy texture and high protein content. Think of it as a milder, less tangy alternative to Greek yogurt. Clearly Europe is the place to be for all your yogurt needs. And we think you could build some great CPG products in this space by embracing the skyr.

Business Ideas

• Skyr Ice Cream Brand: Create a healthy, high protein ice cream brand using skyr as the base

• Skyr Squeeze Pouches for Kids: Create kid-friendly skyr snacks with fun packaging and flavors for kids to enjoy

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THE MONEYSHOT

From $0 to $25m in 15 Months

By riding the right trends founders can build incredible businesses. Hence we share a trend in every Half Baked newsletter.

Take this founder for example who scaled his business from $0 to $25m in just 15 months by riding multiple trends.

This is his story.

Aaron Nosbisch has the ultimate entrepreneur’s CV.

At age 13 he founded his first business, a clothing brand called Vision Again which he ran for 2 years. A few years later he went to college, but like any good founder he dropped out not once…but twice.

Aaron attended Palm Beach University for 2 years to study marketing but dropped out in 2015. He then went to Harvard to study computer science, but dropped out after a semester to pursue his career goals. So of course he was going to be successful.

He spent the next few years bouncing around different startups and starting different companies. But his first big breakthrough came in 2019 when he founded Lucyd Media.

Aaron noticed that businesses selling CBD products were becoming more and more popular. But these companies had a problem. They couldn’t advertise on big tech platforms due to restrictions on advertising these kinds of products. So Aaron founded Lucyd Media, a social advertising platform, to serve these customers. He founded the business back in 2019 when CBD products were going mainstream. So he rode the CBD wave, and made serious bank doing so. Which is when Aaron started to notice another trend.

Alcohol consumption, particularly among the younger generation, was falling massively. So Aaron decided to build an alternative drink to alcohol. He spent months formulating a drink which contained THC, CBD, and Lion's Mane and in 2023 he was ready to sgo live with his business.

He founded Brez.

The company started by selling the product online and Aaron used his background in CBD product advertising to promote the product. He also implemented lots of strategies in order to maximize their sales once a customer was on the website.

For example they started to implement upsell strategies to get consumers to buy more products and they also introduced free shipping once a customer ordered over $100 of products, which increased the average order value of a customer dramatically.

The result of all of this? Huge sales. In its first 15 months, Brez went from $0 in sales to $25 million. They also started to expand beyond just direct-to-consumer sales and started selling in retail stores too, an area where the brand will look to grow in the coming months and years.

And just how big could this business get? Well I’d be surprised if the business didn’t hit $100m in annual sales in the next year or two. That’s the path they’re on.

All of which goes to show that, like everything in life, timing is everything. If you start the right business at the right time it can propel you to success. You’re riding a wave instead of swimming against the tide.

So keep an eye out for what’s trending around you because remember…the trend is your friend.

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