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Welcome to Half Baked, the newsletter serving up startup ideas as eagerly anticipated as Fable 5.5 dropping (have Anthropic been cooking?). 👀
In today's edition:
💡 An idea to get exactly what you want for your home
⛽️ Dots guide, AI content playbook, newsletter millions + more
🔍 AI adoption, YC advice, Zuckerberg's empire + more
🍻 A business idea that'll put a smile on your face
Let's goooo 🚀
💡 Amazon for Custom Goods
Made to order. Literally.
Name.com Domain: thingsmith.ai
👤 Source: Nikita Bier (2X founder, former Head of Product on X) used AI to design a dog door perfectly suited to his house, then arranged manufacturing. What if buying something made for you was as easy as shopping on Amazon?
❌ Problem:
We all have our guilty pleasures - fast food, candy, late-night snacks (as you can tell, I haven’t eaten in a few hours…) But a guilty pleasure almost all of us share is buying random stuff off Amazon. But despite Amazon’s seemingly endless selection of items, finding the perfect item is still hard. The answer? Getting items custom-made.
But getting something custom-made means finding a manufacturer, explaining your idea, designing it on super complex software and working through quotes. Most people want a product, not a second job managing production. Here’s the idea.
✅ Solution:
Introducing Thingsmith, a platform where you describe a product you want, refine its design with AI, then have it manufactured and delivered. Simply upload sketches, photos or specifications to get started.
Start with one vertical, like furniture. Design a desk around your home office, specify shelving for a sloping ceiling, or share an idea for a coffee table you can’t find anywhere.
Adjust dimensions, materials and finishes through chat. A manufacturing partner checks the design before confirming price and delivery. Thingsmith manages fulfilment and earns a margin on sales.
🧑💻 Prototyping: Demo
💡 The Half Baked Take: Start where customisation solves an obvious problem, like furniture for awkward spaces. Make that buying experience work, then expand and conquer.
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🧢 Founder. Salesperson. Reluctant Note-Taker.
You started a business. Somehow, you also became its entire sales department.
Pipedrive gives you an easy-to-use CRM to keep prospects and deals organised. Its AI-powered Meeting Intelligence briefs you before calls, records the conversation, creates summaries and transcripts, and updates your CRM automatically.
You've still got plenty of hats to wear. Taking notes through every sales call doesn't need to be one of them.
Now included in all plans, at no additional cost. Half Baked readers get 30 days free, plus 20% off.
💡 Ideas to Inspire You
💻 SaaS: Most shops work hard to win the sale, then go quiet. This archive idea asks what happens if you stick around after checkout…
📱 Mobile App: “What do you want for dinner?” shouldn't require couples counselling. There's an app opportunity in getting two people onto the same menu…
🤖 Hardware: This game controller that changes someone's sense of balance is super cool. What are the big opportunities in this space?
💵 Side Hustle: This guy has created and sold over 200 websites in the last year. Great time for this side hustle.
⛽️ Fuel for Taking Action
🎓 Founder Tutorial: Stop giving your AI a longer to-do list. Give it a job. This Dots guide covers responsibilities, useful context and when it should ask for approval.
🛠️ AI Tool: Your household has enough moving parts to qualify as a startup. Google CC helps organise shared logistics, including a morning briefing from emails your group chooses to share.
📘 Playbook: These seven guides cover everything from reference sheets to editing and getting the finished work seen.
🤑 Money Shot: Dan Ni started TLDR as a side project. By 2024, it had reached eight-figure revenue. Read his story.
🛒 Give Your Next Business Order a Smaller Price Tag
Create your free Amazon Business account and get 35% off your first order, up to $125, until Oct 12, 2026.
Business pricing and buying tools for everyday work essentials, with no paid membership required to use Amazon Business. Terms and conditions apply.
🔍 Everything Else from Today
📈 Trends-with-Benefits: Outside of our tech echo chamber, how many households actually pay for AI? a16z's latest report puts the adoption story in perspective…we’re still so early.
📚 Must-Read: Not sure what to build next? Paul Graham's How to Do Great Work makes the case for following the questions you can't leave alone.
📺 Must-Watch: What keeps someone building after they've already built an empire? David Senra's Zuckerberg episode examines the ambition behind Meta.
✖️ Trending Tweet: Garry Tan's career advice from 2021 went super viral in the last day. Clear proof that it’s timeless advice.
⭐ Reader's Pick: Yesterday's most-clicked editorial link was this app idea. Future you might thank you for opening it.
🍺 Drunk Business Idea: Balaclaughva
Looking forward to hitting the slopes this winter? Hoping your attire can hide the pain from the injury you’re probably going to get?
Introducing Balaclaughva™, the balaclava with an enormous grin printed across the front. It keeps your face warm while warming the hearts of everyone you meet (scaring them a little too). Other emotions coming soon…
Balaclaughva™ - It’s snow joke.
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👋 That’s All Folks
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