Ideas are cheap
Jia Lin's 2015 Ideas List
January is always the month to start. After the holiday period lull and the flip of the calendar to 01.01, we feel like it is time to start fresh. Even though any month or date is a good one to start something, there is something special about the new year, when we don’t yet feel burdened or jaded by the months preceding.
I naturally felt the same and opened my Notes app to start writing down ideas for what I wanted to start this year. That is when I resurfaced my ideas list that I started in 2015 (and stopped adding to this particular note in around 2020).
Reading through the list made me smile as some ideas were ludicrous and some are being solved by well-funded companies today. Of course, I thought about how if I just started and worked on some of these ideas, I could be a successful entrepreneur today. Wrong; the fact that I didn’t want it enough to start meant that I wouldn’t have been successful anyways. People often wrongly equate having the idea to 90% of success when we know too well that Uber was not the first ride-sharing app and Facebook was not the first social media platform. Perhaps it would have made me a decent investor though? Still no, because so much of success hinges on the founder, so even if I could spot the opportunity, without meeting the right founder working on the idea, it most likely wouldn’t have led to a good outcome.
Anyways, enough of theorising what the list meant for me. I will go through the list and share my thought process at the time, my current reflections, and where possible, highlight startups solving these problems. I had ~50 ideas on the list and have shared 20 of them. I’m sharing the list because (1) it is fun, and (2) it might encourage others to keep an ideas list too. I am excited to see what my 2025 ideas list will contain.
Jia Lin’s 2015 Ideas List
Corporate skirts and dresses for cycling: When I worked in consulting, my cycle to work (15mins) wasn’t long enough to justify getting into lycra every morning/evening and cycling in corporate wear (mostly wore dresses then) was a pain. My parents and I designed a skirt that could transform into trousers with well-placed zips. But, I didn’t love the design that we came up with and the problem mostly went away with corporates adopting more casual dress codes.
Price matching for tourists: This idea came to me when I was buying limoncello in the Amalfi Coast, where every shop would sell the same thing for a different price. I would’ve often forgotten the price at the previous shop by the next shop, so I needed an app where I could scan an item and it would tell me what price I should pay.
Tech-based law firm: Dealt with various law firms during visa applications and legal work just felt so manual (and slow). Now we have harvey.ai, Leya, and Wilson AI.
Full health screenings - that is actually a nice experience: Healthcare is still too reactive rather than proactive but exciting to see this changing with companies such as Neko, Aeon, Ahead Clinic, Emerald, and many more.
Pothole fillers: I am thinking of a foam-like material we can inject into potholes that hardens to the required strength. A solution that does not require costly heavy machinery. On a work trip to Uganda (Jinja specifically), I quickly realised all the desk work I did on how to grow the local economy was futile without fixing the poor quality of roads (too many potholes), which limits speeds to 20kph and as such people and goods couldn’t move around efficiently.
Impact investment for individuals/retail investors: This exists, mostly as a feature of investment apps e.g. Nutmeg, as the reality is that most consumers don’t care enough for there to be a standalone app.
Happy route map: Most maps get us from A to B in the most efficient manner. How do I get from A to B in the ‘happiest’ way? Least noise and sound pollution, most happy memories, etc. Again, another feature idea rather than a standalone product/business.
Deforming buses: Watch Totoro (🐈🚌) for reference. Buses take up a lot of space, how do we change this? Perhaps we should revisit the Transit Elevated Bus concept?
VR projections for running: You can set a pace-keeper on your smart watch today but having to frequently look down at your watch or have it buzz at you everytime you were out of the target pace range is an annoying experience. A hologram/projection of a person/coach running at my target pace such that I can see where I need to be would be nice.
Dialysis kits for home: Heartbreaking to see people’s treatment delayed by capacity of brick and mortar centres. Very cool to see companies like NextKidney, Quanta, Outset Medical make dialysis more portable and deployable across care settings.
Alternative to thermal coke: The iron and steel sectors are the largest consumers of coal (thermal coke). Stegra (fka H2 Green Steel), Boston Metal, and Electra are just some of the companies working on this important problem.
Something for the lost 20+ year olds: Now I am 30, we get over it. But still, we are lonelier than ever. What can we do besides running clubs?
Using AI to recommend fashion rather than just search results: It would have been harder to build this in 2015 but now with Gen AI, this will all become a reality, not just in fashion (e.g. with Daydream) but across most consumer verticals. Or it will become a feature in existing companies, for example, AirBnB can build a trip recommendation service rather than search results for available accommodation.
Unified medical records: This makes so much sense but who is going to pay for it (so far the willingness to pay has been low). I think with the increased interest in longevity and prevention, consumers will soon be willing to pay for it.
Identifying allergies: Felt strange to me that many allergies are discovered when you have an allergic reaction. Now we can find out using at-home tests (though some people still question the accuracy) and even treat them e.g. Curex, Wyndly, and Kitt Medical.
Dinner party platform: Now we have apps like Yhangry but perhaps the recipe and hosting influencers that have been spliced into my daily doom-scroll have been more impactful. It has inspired me to host more and to try new recipes.
Easy to tidy camping gear: Needs no further explanation. But really, I just don’t go camping enough to get good at rolling up my sleeping bag.
Bus schedules to match demand: Dynamic scheduling. I am sure there are many reasons why this is not straightforward but why have so many empty buses running during the day?
Scan cosmetics barcode/remind expiry: I still need this, please can someone make this.
Running a gambling company like an insurance company - odds ratio: ?? What??