Startup Model – Phone Support Made Easy

THE MODEL: A startup which offers businesses phone numbers instantly in over 40 countries. No deskphone or hardware is required. Everything is managed through an app.

STARTUP: Aircall (French startup)

WHAT I LIKE

Core Idea – An app making phone support and collaboration easy.

Features – Users can install and setup the app in a few minutes. Local phone numbers from over 40 countries can be selected by users. Collaboration features such as call cascading across available people, shared contacts, transfer call to teammates, support ticket management and analytics are provided.

Integration- The app can be integrated with popular apps such as Slack, Hubspot, Zapier, Zoho etc.

Free Trial – Users can try the service for free for 7 days, before upgrading to paid plans.

CONCERNS

Competition – The startup will need to compete with established players in the phone support market. These may not be app based necessarily, but have a large customer base and have been in existence for long now.

Startup Model – Accessing Digital Content While Messaging

THE MODEL: A startup which lets users access and share their digital content like photos, documents, calendar etc. while messaging, without having to switch apps.

STARTUP: Thingthing (British startup)

WHAT I LIKE

Core Idea – A smart messaging tool where users can access all their digital content.

Features – Users can access their important files while messaging without having to switch apps. Also the app offers smart text auto correction, prediction and editing features which makes the user experience great.

Integration- The app can be integrated with most popular social networks and file sharing websites such as Facebook, Instagram, your Camera Roll, Dropbox, Google Drive, Calendar and so on. This ensures that the user need not switch to any other app to share any of his/her digital content.

CONCERNS

Competition – The startup competes with other messaging apps. Messaging is a space which has some very big players and making an inroad will be difficult. Also these players have a very strong user base and can build these features, if not protected by IP.

Startup Model – Local Events Based on User Preferences

THE MODEL: A startup which offers users a mobile app where they can discover events based on their preferences connect with friends and people with similar interests and make bookings for these events from the app itself.

STARTUP: Fever (American startup)

WHAT I LIKE

Core Idea – An event discovery and booking portal based on user preferences.

Other Features – Users also get VIP admission into events. They do not have to print any tickets and can also check out where their friends and other people with similar interests are going.

CONCERNS

Competition – There is a lot of competition in the event discovery and booking space.

Startup Model – Providing Key Insights from Non-Fiction Books

THE MODEL: A startup which takes non-fiction books and creates blinks, which are basically 15 minute reads highlighting the main concepts.

STARTUP: Blinkist (German startup)

WHAT I LIKE

Core Idea – A platform which provides users with bite sized reads highlighting the main concepts of non-fiction books.

Benefit to Users – Now users can learn from books without having to invest a lot of time in reading them.

Networking Aspect – Users can connect with friends to see what they are reading and highlighting. This further creates user stickiness.

Free Trial – Users can try the service for free for 3 days. This reduces the barrier for users to try out the service and can upgrade if they see value in it.

Non-Fiction Books – Fiction books and storybooks are read more for the love of reading. Non-fiction, on the other hand, are primarily read for the learning we can derive from them. This model, hence, is more suitable for non-fiction books.

Integration - The app is integrated with popular apps which are being used for reading and collaborating. Users can send their reads to Kindle and read them there. Also users can save any interesting snippets and sync them to Evernote.

Startup Model – Doing More With Your Contacts

THE MODEL: A mobile app that lets users create, organize and communicate with their contacts in ways which were not possible before. The app empowers users to do more in less time with its various features.

STARTUP: Interact (American startup)

WHAT I LIKE

Core Idea – A platform for users to do more with their contacts in less time and with less effort.

Product Features – Users can create and manage groups with features like group management, one tap contact creation etc. They can create new contacts easily using natural language parsing. Users can contact individuals or groups with a single tap and can also share files, images and text via email and messages.

Multi Platform – The app works across the iPhone & the iPad. Also the app enables users to use their contacts with a growing list of third party apps.

CONCERNS

Product Limitations – Currently the product has certain limitations such as not working well with older iOS devices or with very large number of contacts. Also there are certain issues with Micrsoft Exchange based accounts and Gmail contacts. The app is working to improve on these.

Market Size – Since the app is basically meant for power users, regular users may not want to pay $4.99 for it. Most regular users are satisfied with the inbuilt contacts app and may not feel the need to pay for an upgrade.

Startup Model – Calling App Offering Low Roaming Charges

THE MODEL: An app which allows users to take regular calls to their numbers without paying roaming charges. In order to make a call, the user has to connect to a wi-fi or buy a local sim card with internet connection.

STARTUP: Avo (German startup)

WHAT I LIKE

Core Idea – Staying in touch around the world with low roaming charges.

Benefits to Users – Users can save money when traveling. Incoming calls are free. Also users can call other Avo users for free.

Pricing Plans – The app has price plans based on the usage of the customer. Call charges are fixed for a particular destination, no matter where you are calling from.

CONCERNS

Competition – Calling apps have been there for ages now. With no real differentiator, the startup faces an uphill journey.

Startup Model – Sharing Personalized Content

THE MODEL: An app which makes it possible to put information, offers and media in front of users based on the location and interests of the user. Users receive information from establishments close to them. Also users can follow places to get updates from them.

STARTUP: Bubbal (Scottish startup)

WHAT I LIKE

Core Idea – A personal discovery and publishing app for users.

Strong Use Cases – Users can receive the latest offers and information from close by joints. Also users can follow places to keep receiving updates from them.

Better Conversion Rates for Joints – Since a user receives a message of a joint closeby or one which is followed by the user, conversions tend to be higher.

CONCERNS

Competition – Apps based on local discovery of deals and information would be potential competitors.

Startup Model – Mobile App Discovery Platform Connecting Creators with Publishers

THE MODEL: A platform which connect content creators and agencies with publishers. The former want to share and market their content. The latter are looking to earn money by helping the former.

STARTUP: GeenApp (Spanish startup)

WHAT I LIKE

Core Idea – A DIY platform for connecting advertisers and publishers is great as this is currently done through digital agencies mostly.

Good Service for Advertisers – Since the platform is DIY, all information is transparent. You can view and select campaigns which may be most suitable for you. Also the app provides you with analytics and support to review and improve your performance.

CONCERNS

Competition – A lot of digital ad agencies offer affiliate marketing as service. Having established relationships with clients, they will act as strong competition for the app.

Startup Model – Mobile Payment App

THE MODEL: A platform for users to make payments to others in their contact list. A user needs to download the app, create an account and link his/her credit card. To make a payment, the user has to enter the amount and phone number to which the money has to be transferred. The money is then transferred to the receiver’s app. If the receiver does not have the app, then a web link is sent to the receiver where he/she can fill up the IBAN to which the money needs to be transferred.

STARTUP: Lydia (French startup)

WHAT I LIKE

Core Idea – Making payments easy is great and will be adopted extensively.

Ease of Use – The app is very easy to use. Users can pay others with a single tap. Also the app uses QR codes and hence can be used on any smartphone.

Security – Card details are stored in Payline, the French leader in online card payments. Also every payment will require a user to enter a personal security code. If you lose your phone, you can temporarily suspend your account as well. All data and transactions are secure and confidential.

Banking Partners – Money in a Lydia account is stored in a BNP Paribas escrow account, which is guaranteed by Société Financière du Porte Monnaie Électronique Interbancaire.

CONCERNS

Competition – A lot of apps are entering this space. Having local partners and an understanding of the local market can prove to be advantageous though.