IDEA #1 | STARTUP

Tax Residency Tracking 🌎

Death, taxes and banger business ideas

1. Problem/Opportunity❓

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

Benjamin Franklin famously wrote these words in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy in 1789.

If he were alive today I think Ben would amend this to three certainties - death, taxes and Taco Bell ruining your stomach.

Taxes, as well as being certain, are universally hated. They’re a bitch to do, particularly in the US who have a brilliant system for taxes.

Taxes have always been complicated to do but in recent years, with more and more business travel and with people working remotely from different countries around the world, it’s harder than ever for people and businesses to keep track of someone’s tax status.

Let’s make it easier for them.

2. Solution ✅

Here’s the idea…create a platform which automatically tracks a person’s tax residency based on their travel patterns.

The app uses location data to automatically track what country a person is in for tax residency purposes which a user can easily see and monitor. This could be used by business owners for their own tax status or by large businesses to track the status of their employees in accordance with local tax laws or a company’s own internal global mobility program.

The platform would also make intelligent suggestions based on a user’s circumstances to help them minimise their tax burden, such as remaining in a country for a few extra days to reduce their tax burden at the end of the year.

3. Business Model 🏦

Go-to-market: sell to businesses with strong remote working and global mobility policies as early adopters

Monetisation: charge a small fee per user per month

Startup Costs: This would be relatively simple on the software side but you’ll need to engage tax consultants to help build out the logic of the platform, and they ain’t cheap.

4. How You’ll Get Rich 💰

Exit to a large tax software platform such as Intuit to complement their TurboTax product.

IDEA #2 | STARTUP

Government Contracts Platform 💲

Getting a slice of Uncle Sam’s pie

1. Problem/Opportunity❓

When thinking about business models most founders either go the B2B or the B2C route. But they forget there’s another class of business…B2G businesses.

Businesses who sell services to the government are incredible. Why?

Because the Government is the best customer you can possibly have. Sure they’re not the most efficient bunch.

But they have deep pockets. Very deep pockets.

In 2022 the US Government surpassed $650 billion in government contract spending for the first time. I wonder where they got all that money from?

But despite the huge opportunity Government contracts present there’s a problem…bidding on government contracts is hard, so hard that most businesses don’t even bother doing it.

It’s time to fix that.

2. Solution ✅

Here’s the idea…create a platform which makes it easy for small and medium-sized businesses to apply for and win Government contracts.

Businesses sign up for the platform and give details about their business and what contracts they would be able to fulfil. The platform lists all current live Government contracts and gives tailored recommendations on what contracts a particular business should pursue.

The platform would then streamline all aspects of the contract application process, such as dealing with queries from contract officers or providing reminders if a user’s application is missing a mandatory certification.

Once a contract is won the software would also help the business to remain compliant throughout the course of the contract by ensuring they complete all compliance activities, such as maintaining insurance coverage minimums, following cybersecurity protocols and so on.

3. Business Model 🏦

Go-to-market: start by analysing a specific subset of Government contracts and work with businesses to help them secure these contracts

Monetisation: Charge businesses a success fee on every contract they win, no fee if they don’t win any to align the incentives of the users with the platform

Startup Costs: there’s a lot of complexity to navigate here so you’ll need a strong software team to build this, which probably means a small raise is needed to get this going

4. How You’ll Get Rich 💰

There are a number of software providers who work exclusively with the Government and a product like this would be a great addition to their product suite, such as Advanced.

NO BRAINER IDEA

GrammarLIE

No Brainer Business Idea: Grammarly, but it tells you what a person really means when they email or message you.

Great for when someone sends you a passive aggressive email at work.

Easily a billion dollar business.

BIG DECK ENERGY

Supliful’s $1.1m Pre-Seed Deck

Year: 2022

Stage: Pre-Seed

Amount: $1.1m

Supliful enables the likes of physical trainers, fitness influencers, nutritionists, & dieticians to start vitamin and supplement dropshipping business in minutes. See the deck they used to raise $1.1m right here.

JUST THE TIP

Segway: Fad to Failure

The segway, Paul Blart’s favoured mode of transportation, has been around for more than 2 decades now.

The two wheeled transportation device came on the market with incredible fanfare in 2002. It was heralded as a game changer in mobility.

The founders predicted sales would explode to 10,000 units per week, and the company would reach $1bn in sales faster than ever in history.

They were a bit off.

Instead the company sold less than 10,000 units in its first 2 years,  and less than 24,000 units in its first 4 years.  What was initially a "really, really cool product" turned into a dud.

Why?

Because nobody inherently needed a Segway.

It didn’t solve a pressing problem customers faced, which is what great products do.