10 new project and startup ideas
Ideas you can build quickly
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We put together another list of the best startup ideas and side-projects you should consider building. I’m pretty sure if you took these ideas seriously you could make some serious money quickly. Check it out below.
OnlyFeedback
Two-sided marketplace where people pay “coaches” for 1:1 dating profile reviews, feedback on photos, bios, prompt answers, and opening lines, to improve match quality and message rates. Coaches set their own rates; the platform takes a cut. Sort of like intro.co, but specifically for dating. Grow virally on TikTok.
InstantExpert
An AI-powered expert network, like Alpha Sights or Tegus, that eliminates the scheduling middleman. A client submits a question or research brief, the platform auto-identifies and reaches out to qualified experts. If an expert is interested, there’s no back-and-forth with scheduling: they hop on a link immediately to answer. The AI knows what the goals of the call are and keeps asking questions until it’s accomplished. They then send the final report to the client.
AI Talent Tracker
A real-time monitoring service that watches LinkedIn profiles of employees at top AI labs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta AI, DeepMind, Cohere, etc.) and instantly notifies subscribers the moment someone updates their profile to show they’ve left.
[PS - we kinda built this. If you’re hiring or want to see it email us: hi@nextplay.so]
Forward Deployed Engineering Community
Every startup these days is trying to hire forward deployed engineers. You should build a community specifically targeting this audience. You can create content, have a podcast, and eventually build a recruiting business focused on FDEs. Like Lenny but for FDEs. Email us hi@nextplay.so if you’re interested in partnering with Next Play to do this. Think it’d do really well!
AI-powered News Channel
There have been several large acquisitions and/or investments in the media world recently. You could try building a news channel that’s entirely powered by AI. When I say entirely, I also mean the characters on the screen. Imagine a live stream with multiple AI characters who are reacting to today’s news. I would start with the tech vertical. Like a TPBN, but entirely built with AI.
Momma Knows Best
A TikTok channel where you interview the mothers of single people and ask them to pitch their son/daughter to people who want to date them. That’s the idea.
Swim Lane
A mobile app that helps men track and optimize their sperm health: count, motility, morphology, lifestyle factors. Think of it as Flo or Clue, but for guys. Users log daily habits (sleep, alcohol, diet, exercise, heat exposure, supplements) and get personalized insights on how their choices affect fertility. Optional at-home test kit integration gives them actual lab numbers to track over time.
Rollup Infrastructure
We are seeing more and more “AI rollups,” which are funds/holding companies who are going out and buying businesses and then using AI to make them more efficient and increase their valuations. Figure out what workflows these rollups are spinning up themselves and then build infrastructure to support them. That may be in helping them spot companies to acquire or in identifying inefficiencies with existing businesses or in helping with underwriting or talking to experts in their space.
Double Take
A newsletter or Youtube channel that reacts to the latest headlines from the tech world. Build a brand focused on truth-seeking and avoiding sensational headlines that are not really grounded in reality. Become the default place people go to actually understand what is going on.
Favorites
An app where you log your favorite “X” where X is things like clothing, food, best purchase under $100, and more. You can see other people’s answers and upvote the best ones.
I’ve begun building something like Favorites, based more on democratizing and verifying reviews of products for higher intent purchases. Currently bootstrapping, building with Claude Code, and looking for a technical co-founder with React Native experience.
Hey Ben,
Would love to understand why did you highlight a new media outlet in "Double take"? Aren't there enough already? Would love to understand the alpha here if possible