BUSINESS IDEA | VENTURE STARTUP

1Password for Families 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦  

Heir-tight security

Available Domain: Kinvault.io

1. Problem/Opportunity❓

The Problem/Opportunity: Every family's digital footprint is expanding exponentially. From streaming services to medical portals, banking apps to social media accounts, the average family now manages over 40 different digital accounts. Which really means that YOU manage 40 different digital accounts.

In businesses this is a solved problem. Password managers like 1Password exist to solve this very problem, but they don’t extend well to families which have very different dynamics and requirements. So why not create a product which solves this problem for families? Here’s what we have in mind.

Market Size: The global password management market size was valued at $2.4 billion in 2023

2. Solution ✅

The Idea: A family-focused digital vault that simplifies password management for families

How it Works:

• A user signs up to the platform (website + app) and invites family members to join

• Each person on the app has an individual vault where they can generate and store their private passwords. There’s a shared vault with passwords everyone has access to (I’m looking at you Netflix), similar to traditional password managers

• There are built in parental controls where access to certain passwords is restricted based on the time (e.g., no Netflix passwords during homework hours). Similarly age milestones trigger access to certain passwords (e.g., auto-grant access to financial accounts at 18)

• There are also protocols in place for automatic password transfer in case a family member passes away

Go-to-market: You could make some great viral content around this since it’s such a relatable problem

Business Model: Monthly tiered pricing structure based on the size of the family

Startup Costs: This would be a complex build, you’ll need to raise some money here to build out v1 and to start acquiring some customers

Competitors: Companies like 1Password have “family” offerings, but these are just business features repackaged for families rather than built ground-up for family use cases

3. How You’ll Get Rich 💰

Exit Strategy: Exit to a company like 1Password or LastPass

Exit Multiple: Expected exit multiple range is 8x - 12x revenue here. Given it’s a recurring revenue business in the cybersecurity space you can command a decent multiple here

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DRUNK BUSINESS IDEA

The PhoneWiper

• Is your phone useless in the rain? Sick of the water droplets turning "I love you" into "I lvoe yoyu"? Well we have the solution to your problem…

• Meet the PhoneWiper™, the world's first phone attachment that treats your screen like a miniature car windshield, wiping away those annoying water droplets that make using your phone in the rain impossible. It’s sleek, effective and if you don’t move your fingers fast enough extremely dangerous. We know you’ll love it.

• Note: any damage to your screen and/or loss of fingers is on you. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

JUST THE TIP

Trend 📈: AI for App Development

• There are an estimated 28 million software developers around the world today. But in the coming months and years there’s gonna be a hell of a lot more…

• In recent months a number of Prompt-Based Software Development platforms have emerged. These are platforms which allow anyone to build an app simply by using prompts. Think ChatGPT for building apps.

• Replit, Bolt, a0, v0 & Lovable are a few of the big players in this newly emerging market. The beauty of these new products is that now anyone can build their business idea. No need to pester your friend who can code to build it for you.

Business Ideas

• Stack Overflow for Prompts: Create Stack Overflow for these new prompt-based software development platforms for users to share prompting issues they have so they can find solutions

• Prompt-Based Software Development Bootcamp: Run software development bootcamps which teach users how to build apps using these new tools

THE MONEYSHOT

The 8 Co-founders who Built a $600m Business

In Silicon Valley there's an unwritten rulebook everyone seems to follow. Two or three founders get together, build a minimum viable product, raise some money, scale and get acquired.

But this company forged their own path where 8 co-founders came together, raised millions of dollars before they had a single user or product, and went on to build a $600m business.

This is their story.

Christian Reber (bottom right) is something of a prodigy. Not our words…his own.

Because in 2010 Christian, a German native, started the “6Wunderkinder” (or 6 Prodigies) project with five of his friends, Charlette Prevot, Jan Martin, Daniel Marschner, Robert Koch, and Sebastian Scheerer.

And what was their dream? It was to build an all-in-one productivity app called Wunderkit. But there was a problem.

During Wunderkit's development, Christian realized it would take a long time to complete the full app. So in order to maintain customer interest, they decided to release a smaller part of the project…just the to-do list component which they named Wunderlist.

It launched on November 9, 2010 and became an overnight success, reaching one million users in just nine months. The user base kept growing, hitting 5 million users by September 2013 and 10 million users by December 2014.

Wunderlist was a rocketship, and Microsoft wanted in on the action. So in June 2015 Microsoft acquired Wunderlist for between $100m and $200m. A dream outcome for the aptly named prodigies no? Well despite the acquisition the victory felt somehow hollow…

Despite its passionate user base Wunderlist was never profitable. The team hadn’t built a lasting business, and deep down they knew it (which was proved right in 2019 when Microsoft shut down Wunderlist completely).

So in late 2017, about two years after the Microsoft acquisition, the former Wunderlist team had a pivotal reunion. Christian invited his former cofounders to his house in Pankow, Berlin and they started discussing some half baked ideas (nice) Christian had been considering that could turn into lasting businesses.

After discussing many different ideas the one that resonated the most with everyone was the concept of creating a next-generation presentation product that would take on Microsoft PowerPoint. Competing against your acquirer? Ballsy move.

Christian, Charlette and Jan (3 of the original 6Wunderkinder) were joined by former Wunderlist employees Adam Renklint, Eric Labod, Misha Karpenko, Vanessa Stock and Marvin Labod and in 2018 the 8 co-founders set about starting their business.

They founded Pitch.

The team spent the next two years building a polished product, focusing on collaboration, speed, and beautiful design.

In October 2018 they raised $19m to fund the team and a further $30m when they launched their closed beta in October 2019. The closed beta was a huge success, with the company onboarding 25,000 users during the trial, and in October 2020 Pitch officially launched to the public.

After launching Pitch quickly gained traction, positioning itself as the “Figma for presentations” and in May 2021, Pitch announced an $85 million Series B funding round led by Tiger Global and Lakestar, valuing the business at $600m.

But despite all the early success, Pitch started to run into major challenges. Competing with Microsoft and Google was incredibly challenging and they struggled to convert free users into paying customers. They needed to change strategy.

So in January 2024 Pitch laid off around 80 employees (~70% of staff) and Christian stepped down as CEO, replaced by CTO Adam Renklint. The company pivoted to a leaner, bootstrapped approach, reducing its reliance on venture funding. In fact the team returned money to investors, keeping enough funds in the business to give them runway to get to profitability.

So will Pitch become a lasting business like the team hopes? Only time will tell, but it goes to show that entrepreneurship isn’t just about securing the bag. It’s about building a lasting business, something that can stand the test of time.

And if you manage to achieve that, you can be guaranteed that the money will follow.

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