CB Insights - terrible startup ideas

Hi there, 

There are certain startup ideas that are always fashionable and enticing for entrepreneurs but never seem to work — what we can call BBS ideas (bad but s3xy).  

Here are a few recurring BBS ideas I can think of.

• Personal CRM — A way to keep in touch with everyone in your personal life. A very select group of tech people really like and maybe would use this, but this isn’t a widespread problem. 

• Curated news recommendations — Again, this seems to be a problem for a limited few. Most of the world seems plenty happy with the drivel on the Yahoo homepage, CNN, and HuffPo. 

• Personal trainer marketplaces — Popular but never get that big cuz this actually requires commitment. Plus once you find a good trainer, you go off platform. It’s also much easier and cheaper to say you’re a member of a gym and just never show up. 

• What are my friends up to apps — “OMG, you’re 2 blocks away. I had no idea. Let’s meet up.” Wrong.

• To-do lists — With all the productivity tools we have, we don’t need another to-do list.

• Glassdoor for VCs — A website that rates VCs. Nobody really cares that much. These are infrequent decisions, and for most entrepreneurs, they’ll take money from whomever will give it. And those founders lucky enough to have a choice often already know who is really good. That said, if you have visions of becoming a thousand’aire, this might be a good idea.

Disagree with me? Got any other BBS ideas?

Notes: 

1. My bar here is whether these ideas could become at least a $100M revenue biz.

2. Of course, past performance is no indication of future performance so someone will probably build a decacorn at some point in 1 of these. At that point, please email me to tell me how stupid I am. I’ve heard worse.

Tech demos are here

Important tech decisions are happening outside of IT departments. 

So we created CB Insights Demo Spotlights — exclusive events hyper-focused on the tech decisions that matter most to specific lines of business and functions.

Our first Demo Spotlights offer a deep dive on predictive analytics and underwriting data platforms for P&C and life insurance leaders. 

If you are a senior exec who is making technology purchase decisions on underwriting software, apply for an invitation to our March 29 (P&C insurance) or April 26 (life insurance) Demo Spotlight events. You’ll get:

• Analyst perspectives on the market featuring data you can’t get anywhere else
• Demos from founders & CEOs of hand-picked tech companies 
• Q&A between technology buyers and vendors
• Discussion on business implications with peers and experts

This is just the first of many Demo Spotlights we’re doing, with payments, pharma, and retail operations on deck next. Stay tuned.

Munching away

DoorDash announced it will acquire restaurant ordering startup Bbot — its first acquisition of 2022 and seventh since 2017. 

Retail M&A accelerated significantly in 2021. Get all the numbers in our free State of Retail Tech report.

More than just putting parts together

Over the past two years, the manufacturing sector has faced surging consumer demand, labor shortages, and more. 

Maximizing production has become critical to remaining competitive. 

In this effort, manufacturers are looking toward new technologies to increase productivity. We map out 140+  advanced manufacturing companies here.

Make it rain

Digital lending M&A exits surged to reach 75 in 2021, outpacing 2020's level by 159%. 

Most of the well-funded startups that exited provided buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions (like Greensky and Flexiti). 

Clients can see digital lending exit activity across different regions, unicorn stats, funding trends, and more in this report.

NBC. Bryan Logan (@BWLogan) discusses the road ahead for Peloton and quotes CB Insights Senior Lead Analyst Elina Tunyan. 

Fortune. Jessica Mathews (@jessicakmathews) cites CB Insights data in the Term Sheet newsletter.

PYMNTS. PYMNTS covers JPMorgan’s fintech moves and cites CB Insights data.
 

P.S. Find out the top startups transforming retail tech. Sign up for our webinar on March 15 here.

Client-Exclusive Research

[Financial Services]
Insurtech spotlight. Insurtech funding and deals nearly doubled in 2021.
 

[Healthcare]
Strategy map. Amazon is accelerating its involvement in the US healthcare market through investments, partnerships, and more.

[Retail]
All wrapped up. With consumer and regulatory pressure increasing, corporates are taking action to fund, test, and implement more sustainable packaging options.

[E-commerce]
Shipping innovation. We uncovered the 6 most important strategic priorities highlighted by FedEx’s recent acquisitions, investments, and partnerships.