Need a business idea? Run With It shares unused business ideas from successful entrepreneurs, including the exact steps they would take to launch them. If you're looking for a ready-made business idea, proven founders are sharing them every week on Run With It.
Adding Transparency to U.S. Political Fundraising with Nicole Loftus
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets: Successful businesses are incredibly focused. This often manifests as simplicity. When you’ve got high volume you can negotiate credit card fees down to 1% Action Steps: Contact political candidates and pitch them on the benefits of a more transparent fundraising and spending platform Be simple with your strategy. Create a simple platform to collect donations and a simple ledger of categories politicians must report on. Take 5-10% of the money raised through your platform Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be Links: SkinX Funding Platform Nicole Guerrieri Loftus - Founder & CEO - SkinX GiveWell | Charity Reviews and Research Blueprint: your home for strategic political giving WinRed Pricing Political advertising on Google HR1 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): For the People Act of 2021 Nicole Loftus is a seasoned entrepreneur who has previously made it to #8 on Inc 500’s fastest growing companies. She’s now built SkinX, a tech-enabled ecosystem that is ready to launch and get every American in the game investing in entrepreneurs, innovators and job creators.Love a part of the show? Did we get something completely wrong? Let us know at update@runwithit.fm.
Build a Shopify App (It's that Easy) with Chase Clymer
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets: There’s no need to partner with a developer if you haven’t already built a relationship. Agencies encounter great app ideas all the time but don’t have the bandwidth to pursue them. Hire the most expensive resource you can afford. Shopify is rapidly expanding their API access; now is a great time to build an app there. Action Steps: Search Reddit, Quora, Facebook groups, etc… for pain points from Shopify store owners Speak to Shopify agency owners to collect more pain points Wireframe a solution Follow Shopify’s free app development to learn to build your solution (If you’re non-technical,) find a cofounder that “you would marry” and pay as much as you can afford Links: Electric Eye Honest Ecommerce GuruHotel CartHook Charge Me Later Chase Clymer is the Co-founder at Electric Eye where he and his team create Shopify-powered sales machines from strategic design, development, and marketing decisions. He is also the host of Honest Ecommerce, a weekly podcast where we provide online store owners with honest, actionable advice to increase their sales and grow their business.Love a part of the show? Did we get something completely wrong? Let us know at update@runwithit.fm.
Vaxication Trip Planning with Nikhil Aitharaju
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets:If an idea is doomed to fail, it’s best to find that out as soon as possible. You don’t want to get stuck in the uncertain middle groundAction Steps: Research what happened to defunct trip planning apps (WorldMate, Google Trips, Kayak Trip Huddle) Talk with unsatisfied users of TripIt Create programmatic landing pages for “Napa trip itinerary” etc... Links: Topic: The Best SEO Content Optimization Tool Air Travel Forecast: When Will Airlines Recover from Covid-19? US Travel Answer Sheet WorldMate's Retreat Leaves Itinerary-Organizing Rivals in Dogfight How I Started A $450K/Month Travel Agency That Curates Surprise Guruhotel: official hotel websites optimized for ecommerce Guruhotel on Indie Hackers Nikhil Aitharaju is co-founder of Topic, a software which helps writers research and create search optimized content. Their AI analyzes the top results in Google, extracts key topics to cover, and provides an interactive editor to allow writers to grade their work. Topic is great for those writers looking to get actionable suggestions to drive higher traffic and get real results.Love a part of the show? Did we get something completely wrong? Let us know at update@runwithit.fm.
Creating a LinkedIn Killer with Jeremy Chatelaine
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets:The competitor software you create for early adopters may appeal by solving a specific complaint they have about the dominant solution. Later other’s will join just to join the crowd.Action Steps: Investigate why people log in to LinkedIn; prioritize those functions in the new platform Conversely, research what are the biggest complaints people have about LinkedIn Research economics of Steemit Choose a niche hungry for connection Experiment with the incentive structure and pivot as necessary Links: clarity.fm QuickMail Steemit Jeremy Chatelaine a software developer that quit his job in 2014 and started his own successful SaaS business from scratch. That platform is QuickMail.io, a 7 figure business and a leading platform for cold email automation today.Love a part of the show? Did we get something completely wrong? Let us know at update@runwithit.fm.
Look up in the sky! It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a Fun Travel App with Jeremy Parker
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets: You can license an expensive domain name, if you need it for SEO or marketing but don’t have the capital in your business yet. If a client takes advantage of you or your idea gets stolen consider the odds of it happening again before wasting time on reparation or retaliation. Action Steps: Brainstorm incentive structures with a behavioral economist Wireframe the app and shop it to JetBlue, Delta, etc… Research economics around credit card companies’ partnership with airlines Search for existing flight tracking apps. Offer to buy one for cheap. Add this idea to it. Links: Swag.com Air Travel Forecast: When Will Airlines Recover from Covid-19? thoughtbot Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots Podcast Chad Pytel on Run With It Sani Abdul-Jabbar on Run With It [Inside the Business] AwardWallet with Alexi Vereschaga Track frequent flyer reward programs and plan your travel The Man Who Turned Credit-Card Points Into an Empire Jeremy Parker is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and a serial Entrepreneur. He is CEO and co-founder of swag.com. He has also successfully exited a startup called Tipped media.Love a part of the show? Did we get something completely wrong? Let us know at update@runwithit.fm.
Podcast in a Box for High-End Clients with Sani Abdul-Jabbar
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets:Being new to an industry can be an advantage. It allows you to follow a template without getting distracted.Action Steps: Target mid- to top-tier writers and offer to create a high-end podcast for them Court former clients of Book in a Box as your clients and create a success story from one of them. Contact business organizations like YPO and present lectures on “How to Start a Podcast” and/or become their preferred referral partner Create a basic DIY version down the line Links: VezTek - Hire Freelance Developers from the Top 5% Podcast in a Box by Podcast Press Scribe Media | The Leader in Professional Publishing How Much Does It Cost To Make A Hit Song? Sani Abdul-Jabbar is co-founder at VezTek USA an innovation consulting firm that partners with smart entrepreneurs to get great ideas off the ground.Love a part of the show? Did we get something completely wrong? Let us know at update@runwithit.fm.
Cornering Rural Tourism for City Folks with Dominic Monkhouse
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets: The USDA offers grants and special loans for first-time farmers You can often succeed in an old industry (e.g. restaurants, hotels) by simply following modern best practices Don’t underestimate the value of employing amazing people in the hospitality industry Action Steps: Research best practices for starting a hotel Search for employees in the hospitality industry See if you can get a beginner farmer grant or loan Locate existing farms and offer to install cabins on their property Locate existing Farmhouse rentals on AirBNB and offer to optimize their business model Links: Dominic Monkhouse: Business Coaching The Melting Pot with Dominic Monkhouse F**k Plan B: How to scale your technology business faster and achieve Plan A Cabana - Mobile Hotels Avrame The Road to Less Stupid Kiss the Ground Featherdown Farms AirDNA The Ruby Slipper Cafe USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Loans Dominic Monkhouse is a business coach, scale up expert, host of the Melting Pod podcast and author of F**k Plan B: How to scale your technology business faster and achieve plan A.Love a part of the show? Did we get something completely wrong? Let us know at update@runwithit.fm.
Crowdsource Reviews and Get Paid by Amazon with Chris Dickey
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets:“Never, ever, think about something else when you should be thinking about the power of incentives.” -Charlie MungerAction Steps: Determine what niche you are going to sell in first Optimal co-founders might be content and SEO experts Build an in-house SEO team Fundraise Get people on the site through advertising the site itself and the products Develop the audience, then pitch vendors to partner with you Expand beyond your initial niche Links: Purple Orange PR Visably - Improve your brand's visibility in search Chris Dickey on LinkedIn uberzon rebatekey outdoorgearlab US ecommerce grows 44.0% in 2020 Chris Dickey is the founder of Purple Orange PR and Visably, a new software to manage your brand’s visibility in search.
Own Your Social Media Distribution with Josh Howarth
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets:Content creators aren’t satisfied with social media platforms owning their distribution channelsAction Steps: Partner with a Twitter influencer looking to monetize their brand through email marketing (search for users recommending Mailbrew). Presell the product to validate it. Integrate between Twitter and Mailchimp. Look to a service like Mailbrew for inspiration on how to deliver content via email. Augment your product with add-ons that offer templates and assistance with email marketing. You might even partner with third party brands and mimic the “dynamic ad insertion” model of podcasts within email. Links: Exploding Topics Mailbrew MailerLite Stackla Social Board Josh Howarth is the co-founder of Exploding Topics, an analytics service that surfaces rapidly growing topics before they take off.Love a part of the show? Did we get something completely wrong? Let us know at update@runwithit.fm.
Addressing Climate Change using the Blockchain with Tristan Pollock
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets: Almost half (40-60%) of the overhead is creating and selling carbon offsets is legal compliance, accounting, auditing “The world’s first trillionaire will be made in climate change.” - Chamath Palihapitiya Climate tech investing is growing 5X faster than overall VC from 2013-2019 ($60 billion of early-stage capital) Action Steps: Investigate how Nori works and learn from their mistakes Research the current costs and details involved in carbon credits Decide on one niche of carbon offsets (e.g. planting trees) and pair that with one industry with easy to measure emissions (e.g. airlines) Determine the economics around trading climate on the blockchain - what would make people want to do it? Learn the ropes by contacting businesses potentially interested in offsetting carbon and helping to facilitate as a consultant Raise an ICO Get involved in addressing climate change any way you can - it’s a giant problem that will take many smart people to solve Links: Nori tristanpollock.com Eco Coin Podcast: Reversing Climate Change Podcast: Carbon Removal Newsroom Air Mining SRECs: Understanding Solar Renewable Energy Credits Carbon Fee and Dividend Policy and FAQs Tristan Pollock is an entrepreneur, founder, and startup investor, among many things and is currently building cto.ai. He has invested 30 million dollars into over 200 startups.
Flying Cars, But For Real with Daniel Gallancy
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets: You need some protectable “secret sauce” if selling components in a big industry (like flying cars). Otherwise, manufacturers will continually drive down your pricing by forcing you to compete with copycats for their business Creating networking events can launch you from novice to industry expert rapidly and provide a foundation for a powerful business. Action Steps: Begin with a profitable strategy that sells shovels to the miners. E.g. start by hosting and organizing flying car conventions so you can meet key players, understand the industry, build your future team and build your future strategy. Aim high for your first clients. Court wealthy individuals who want to make aspirational purchases. Links: Atakama | Multi-Factor File Encryption Software Larry Page’s flying cars Ford Flivver When Will Airplanes Be Electric? World eVTOL Aircraft Directory The Interchange Podcast: Electric Aviation Is Coming Daniel H. Gallancy is the CEO of Atakama, a NYC based software company and uses his deep experience with blockchain tech to help companies manage security.Love a part of the show? Did we get something completely wrong? Let us know at update@runwithit.fm.
Helping the 92% Who Don’t Achieve Goals with Barnaby Lashbrooke
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets:We’re again reminded that you don’t need to solve the problem for everyone. Different people will have different goal setting tools & tactics that resonate with them. Helping a small percentage of those struggling with goal setting could still be massively valuable. Action Steps: Research habit and goal experts and offer to partner with them on development of a goal achievement app Pursue the enterprise market: contact sales teams and offer to help them meet their sales quotas for free. Get a case study and charge for the next team. Start by shadowing one sales team that has sales objectives of $50K+ per month. Ask for a token $50 per month to validate the app value. After a month or two of noting how objectives get set and achieved and what leads to failure and success, document the systems that seem to help and start to implement them. Raise a couple hundred thousand in investment to fund development of your basic app, test and iterate with your existing group and add 4 more. Raise 1M more and launch to a wider audience within a year or two. Links: Virtual Assistants for entrepreneurs and professionals The Hard Work Myth - the new book that explains why working harder is a waste of time | How to achieve more, without working harder | Timeetc Spar Stickk Coach.me | Instant Coaching for Any Goal. Noom: Stop dieting. Get life-long results. Blogger Maneesh Sethi hires woman to slap him when he procrastinates Barnaby Lashbrooke founded Time etc in 2007 with the idea of giving entrepreneurs the help they need to be successful without the cost and hassle of employing a full-time assistant. He is also the author of The Hard Work Myth which uncovers how the world's top entrepreneurs achieve so much, despite working less than the average business owner.Love a part of the show? Did we get something completely wrong? Let us know at update@runwithit.fm.
A sweaty startup you can copy in your town
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets: Great businesses often start with an urgent demand that people are asking to pay for. You just have to notice it and double down on the niche. As baby boomers retire, there is a big opportunity in modernizing “sweaty startups” Action Steps: Contact the owner of the Urban Lumber Co and see if he is interested in franchising his model Become a member of the Urban Wood Network for $50 to learn how to build an urban wood business Network with the local wood economy and become an intermediary between lumber collectors, furniture makers and firewood users in homes and restaurants. Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership.Links: The Sketch Effect @williamcwarren William Warren’s personal website Ironwood Mills Phoenix | Ironwood Mills @michaeltoret iDry Kilns Woodpreneur Podcast Joe’s Premium Firewood on Youtube Urban Wood Network The Expensive Water Bottle with Jeff Proctor William Warren is an entrepreneur, illustrator, and writer who has spent his career using visuals to help communicate ideas in an effective and enjoyable way. He is the Founder and CEO of The Sketch Effect, a Visual Communication agency that helps make ideas understandable and actionable through animation, live event sketching and graphic design. The Sketch Effect’s client list includes top-tier brands such as Marriott, Walmart, Microsoft, Chick-fil-A, P&G, and Delta in addition to premier consultancies including Boston Consulting Group, Bain, Ernst & Young and Accenture. The Sketch Effect has sketched for thought leaders such as Steve Wozniak, Brene Brown, Malala Yousafzai, Sheryl Sandberg, Peyton Manning, and more. William lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife Monica and young kids, Liam and Gracie.Michael Toret has been a professional carpenter and woodworker for over 10 years. Most recently, he’s built unique furniture and household items out of large live edge slabs of wood at Ironwood Mills, an urban sawmill in Phoenix, AZ.
Getting Ahead of a Post-COVID Boom with Matt Wilson
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets: Out of work travel and tourism specialists in vacation spots can be hired cheaply to build a business You can build a 300K / yr business starting with a spreadsheet and a private slack group If you think that buying property in other countries would be a headache, you’re right. Action Steps: Contact Pieter Levels of Nomad List and pitch him a collaboration on this higher-end service. Smaller travel services are hurting. Pitch someone like “Scott’s Cheap Flights” a JV to help bolster his income. Get to one customer and do things that don’t scale to iterate on the product itself. Word of mouth marketing would be super effective. Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership.Links: Under30Experiences: Group Travel for Young Adults The Millennial Travel Guidebook Nomad List Selena’s Hostels Run With It Episode 23 with Jules Schroeder Live Different Podcast with Matt Wilson
Can You Make Millions on Meeting Notes? with Tyler King
If you like the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!Nuggets: Simple tip to increase your meeting effectiveness: stop 5 minutes early and ask “who will do what by when?” Generally easier to sell to a profit center than a cost center (listen to Aline Lerner episode for more on this) The hard part of this idea is building something users will stick with. Focus more on reducing friction and making the app a joy to use and worry less about back-end bells and whistles. Look for teachable moments within an industry as the foundation of content marketing for your business or even for the foundation of your app’s functionality. Note-taking is a necessary step in many industries (e.g. financial service, corporate governance) and non-compliance with note taking can come with serious penalties. Action Steps: Decide on the niche you want to serve. Will you go broad and seek a large user base for a low LTV per user or aim for less users in a more profitable niche (e.g. lawyers, financial services) Start with a simple integration that triggers emails to the user 10-15 minutes before the meetings in their calendar. The user can reply with their notes. Store them in an organized database for review. As your user base grows you can add premium features, like integrating with CRM or other note tracking app. If you have niched down you can customize your app to serve your chosen niche. For example create custom notifications and note templates that facilitate note taking for corporate compliance. A healthy long term vision might aim for 50,000 users at about $5 per month, grossing around $3 million a year in revenue. Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at update@runwithit.fm. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership.Links: Less Annoying CRM | Simple Contact Management for Small Businesses Scheduling Platform for Business | Cronofy the scheduling experts Measuring the ROI of Hiring Funnels with Aline Lerner Nathan Latka on Buying and Monetize Chrome extensions Notion Market size of the growing note-taking industry Tyler King is the Co-founder and CEO of Less Annoying CRM. He's a proud bootstrapper and is passionate about starting and growing sustainable businesses for the long term.