BUSINESS IDEA | STARTUP

Unlocking Screen-time App 📵  

Locked out to lock in

Available Domain: Unlocktok.com

1. Problem/Opportunity❓

The Problem/Opportunity: We all have our vices. Alcohol. Drugs. Memes of course. But there’s one vice we all share that looms large over our lives…screen-time. So much so that any reduction in it is a big win.

Recently a plethora of apps have emerged to help us reduce our phone usage, most notably the Touch Grass app which limits your screen time by making you literally touch grass. But while this app began as a sort of joke, there’s a spark of genius to it. Which got us thinking…why not expand on this concept further by linking screen-time to other actions or habits, not just touching grass? Here’s what we have in mind.

Market Size: Revenue in the digital fitness & well-being market is projected to reach $66bn in 2025

2. Solution ✅

The Idea: An app which allows users to unlock screen-time by completing habits and actions

How it Works:

• Users download the app and select all the apps they want to block

• They can then unlock screen-time by completing real-world tasks such as doing exercise, studying, reading etc.

• Once task is completed, screen-time credits are then unlocked which can be used at specified times (e.g., 15 mins of time unlocked).

• Users can also earn streaks, badges, compete with friends, or get leaderboard rankings on the app.

Go-to-market: Pay micro-influencers on TikTok to create videos and drive downloads that way.

Business Model: Free version with basic features and a premium version ($4.99/month) which unlocks custom tasks, advanced reporting, parental controls etc.

Startup Costs: This is not a difficult or expensive app to build if you’re semi-technical or have access to an outsourced dev team which would set you back a few thousand dollars

3. How You’ll Get Rich 💰

Exit Strategy: Get acquired by a digital wellness company like Calm, Headspace or Freedom

Exit Multiple: Consumer apps with strong MAUs and high engagement generally go for 3x–7x ARR

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DRUNK BUSINESS IDEA

Robot Fashion Brand

• From Tesla’s Optimus robot to Figure’s 02 model, progress in the humanoid robotics space has been remarkable. Which means one thing…we’re inching ever closer to an iRobot style world where we all have personal robot helpers (minus the death and destruction from the movie we hope)

• And with humanoid robots coming on the scene while everyone is talking about the tech, no one is talking about what they’ll look like or more important…what they’ll wear

• Which is why we’re introducing RoboThreads™, the designer fashion brand exclusively for robots. Because even robots deserve a glow-up

Vote

• ✅ You guys are literal geniuses

• ❌ Try again chief

JUST THE TIP

Trend 📈: Studio Ghibli

• If you’ve been on the internet today you’ve probably been seeing “Studio Ghibli” style drawings everywhere.

• That’s because of OpenAI’s new “Images in ChatGPT” feature which allows users to convert pictures and videos into a Studio Ghibli animation style…and the internet’s gone crazy with it.

• OpenAI’s new image generation model has some mind-blowing capabilities. See for yourself.

Business Ideas

• AI-Enhanced Travel Memories: Upload real travel photos and generate fantasy-style versions: e.g., “You in a Ghibli world,” “Paris in a Blade Runner vibe.”

• Totoro Trails App: An AR-powered app that turns real-world forest walks into magical Ghibli-like experiences.

TOGETHER WITH RYSE

The Smart Home Company Everyone’s Ignoring…For Now

While investors chase the next Ring or Nest, RYSE is quietly building a smart home empire. $10M+ in revenue, 200% growth, and expanding into Home Depot in 2025.

Big tech missed this $158bn opportunity, will you?

Invest at $1.90/share before the next big move!

THE MONEYSHOT

Making $1bn from a Simple Idea

We’ve all heard the old phrase “ideas are worthless, execution is everything”. Well we call BS on that.

Take this founder who turned a thought he had one cold night into $1bn.

This is his story.

Garrett Camp isn’t a household name. But he should be.

And back in the early 2000s Garrett, then a graduate student at the University of Calgary, had an idea.

Back then the internet was growing rapidly, but web discovery was still clunky, with everyone relying on directories or search engines like Yahoo (Google wasn’t even invented yet) to find anything.

Garrett wondered what would happen if you could click a button on a website which would take you to a cool, interesting website you didn’t even know existed.

So in 2002 Garrett teamed up with three classmates (Geoff Smith, Justin LaFrance, and Eric Boyd) and they started working on the prototype while still in school.

They founded StumbleUpon.

Initially, StumbleUpon was a passion project, but it began gaining traction through word of mouth, especially among curious internet users, students, and developers.

Quickly StumbleUpon grew to millions of users with no marketing budget, just through pure product virality. This was pre-Facebook, pre-Twitter, pre-Reddit. Simpler times.

Recognizing its potential, Garrett Camp moved the company to San Francisco in 2006 and there StumbleUpon raised its first angel funding, taking on $1.5m to support the growth of the business. But not long after in 2007 was acquired by eBay for $75 million.

Garrett had his first big win from his first big idea, but this was nothing compared to his next idea.

One cold, miserable night in Paris Garrett was trying to hail a cab, but with no luck. Which is when he had a thought…“what if you could just tap a button on your phone to get a ride?”

He envisioned a simple app that summoned a black car on demand, combining GPS, mobile payments, and real-time location tracking. Sound familiar?

So Garrett took $220k of his own money and formed a small team to build his app which he called Ubercab. But interestingly Garrett knew he didn’t want to be the CEO of the business, so he recruited a friend of his named Travis Kalanick to run the business for him.

Garrett meanwhile focussed on product in the early days and went on to become the Chairman of Uber from 2009 to 2020, overseeing the company’s meteoric rise from simple idea to the $150bn tech giant it is today.

As for Garrett’s $220k investment? Well when Uber went public his stake was worth $1bn. Turns out that trip to Paris was the best thing he ever did.

All of which goes to prove that, in life, great ideas stack. Once you have one great idea and get your first win under your belt you can then invest in more and more of your ideas going forward.

That’s how you can win again…and again…and again.

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