BUSINESS IDEA #1 | STARTUP

AI OnlyFans Manager 🔞

AI x OF

1. Problem/Opportunity❓

Back in 2011 Marc Andreessen wrote these now famous words: “software is eating the world.”

Well in 2024 it feels like AI is eating the software that’s eaten the world.

Everyone is trying to identify the next vertical to apply AI to, for markets where the technology can generate outsized returns. And, as history has shown with both web 1.0 and 2.0, early use cases often involve NSFW content (or not safe for advertisers content as we like to call it, we love you advertisers).

Putting the ethics around this type of content aside, in a previous edition of Half Baked we outlined how ridiculously profitable OnlyFans is as a business, with 170 million users and around 2 million content creators on the platform.

So let’s take AI and apply it to this market.

2. Solution ✅

Here’s the idea…create an AI platform which acts as a Manager for creators on OnlyFans.

Here’s how it works. Creators sign up for the platform and receive a link which they can include in their bios. Brands can then interact with the creator through the platform. They can submit potential brand deals through the platform which are summarised and presented to the creator.

The platform can also be trained to reply to fans using the creator’s texting data as input into the model, something which most creators currently outsource to third parties. Also the platform can be used to schedule content and perform other admin tasks that a OnlyFans manager completes.

Finally, the platform can also provide analytics for the creator too based on other creators using the platform.

3. Business Model 🏦

Go-to-market: Work with a small number of creators to test out the platform, then go to agencies to get leads for your product

Monetisation: charge creators a subscription fee to use the platform + take a small % of brand deals

Startup Costs: startup costs should be pretty minimal once you have some engineering talent on board

4. How You’ll Get Rich 💰

You could likely sell this business to a large agency which would supercharge their workflows and help them to automate a large portion of the work they do.

BUSINESS IDEA #2 | VENTURE STARTUP

Y Combinator for Side Hustles

Turning side hustles into main hustles

1. Problem/Opportunity❓

We constantly hear stories about brave founders who quit their jobs, followed their dream and set up a wildly successful business.

But survivorship bias is very real, and for every founder who left their job to start a successful business there’s many more who left their jobs only to fail.

The best way to derisk the entrepreneurship process is to earn your way out of your job or school, but it’s difficult to gain enough momentum with your startup while working or studying full time.

Often these founders just need a tiny bit of capital to reach “salary escape velocity”, a term we literally just invented for earning enough money to go full-time on your business.

So let’s provide these founders with that capital.

2. Solution ✅

Here’s the idea…create a fund which invests in full time employees or students who are building their businesses on the side to help them to go full-time on the business.

Here’s how it works. Founders apply for cohorts which are run 2 - 4 times per year. Founders who apply can be at the idea stage or may have already shipped their product. If selected for the program founders receive a small cheque, think $10k - $20k in exchange for 5% - 10% of their business, which they can use to either build their product, for ad spend to acquire customers or for anything else they want to with one singular goal…to get their business to generate enough revenue to earn them out of their job so they can work full time on their business.

As part of the program founders also have access to a library of materials and resources to help them build their company. There are also weekly check-ins as well as milestones which founders must reach in order to keep them motivated to build their business.

3. Business Model 🏦

Go-to-market: start by working with a handful of promising founders to prove out the concept

Monetisation: Management fee + own a % of the upside in the businesses

Startup Costs: if you’re going to start a fund, then you’re going to need some cash to do it. You’ll need some backers here to make it work.

4. How You’ll Get Rich 💰

This kind of business could easily fold into a startup accelerator like Techstars

DRUNK BUSINESS IDEA

Road Rage App

Have you ever been wronged by another motorist on the road? Ever wanted to scream at them for break checking you or cutting you off?

Well with CarTalk now you can.

The app listens to what you’re saying while you’re driving and identifies if you’ve been wronged by a driver. It then identifies what car annoyed you allows you to ring them to express your…feelings.

Coming soon to an app store near you.

BIG DECK ENERGY

Intercom’s $600k Seed Deck

Year: 2012

Stage: Seed

Amount: $600k

Intercom is a software company that specializes in business messaging, providing businesses with a way to chat with their customers.

The company does around $250m revenue per year and is one of the 6 unicorns to come out of Ireland (amazing country, would highly recommend visiting).

But back in 2012 Eoghan McCabe, Des Traynor, Ciaran Lee, and David Barrett went out to raise $600k to get Intercom off the ground. Here’s the deck they used to do it.

THE MONEYSHOT

Making Millions Selling Dog Sunglasses

One evening back in 1997 Roni Di Lullo brought her dog, Midknight, to play frisbee in the park. But Midknight kept missing the frisbee on one particular evening. Why? Because Midknight was being blinded by the sun. So she took it upon herself to solve this problem.

She tried to adapt sunglasses and ski goggles into sunglasses for Midknight, but it didn’t work. So she decided to take $25k of her own money and she designed a custom pair of sunglasses for her dog.

Her business was born.

In its first year the business did over $100,000 in sales. Today, the company does over $3m in sales per year. Most sales are to consumers but Doggles have commercial applications too…in the army.

Doggles are distributed to army dogs in active warzones to protect them. For example they were used by dogs in the Iraq war to protect them against sunlight and sandstorms.

A badass story from a badass founder!