Startup Ideas: Web3 for Creators, Travel Apps & Low-Code Tools

Market Trends & Startup Opportunties

Zoe Chew
6 min readAug 31, 2021

Note: This Venturescale Trends report is part of the Startup Ideas & Trends Library, which covers topics such as 🤖AI SaaS, ✍️Creator Economy, 🔵Web3 Startups, and the 🚀Unbundling of the Internet.

In this venture report, I break down 3 market opportunities:

  • Web3 for creators monetization (Blockchain tech)
  • Curate local travel experiences (Travel tech)
  • Low-code tools for team productivity (Collaboration tool)

Trend #1: Decentralizing content creation & publishing

Sapien, the social community platform for creators — built on Ethereum

In the past, writers relied on publishers to get their books published. Musicians relied on radio to get their music promoted. Web 2.0 gave rise to blogs and social media. Creators can create, promote, build audiences, and self-publish books, music, films without relying on institutions.

For a while, content creation was decentralized. However, Web 2.0, as it evolves, is becoming re-centralized. That means ownership is in the hands of Big Tech instead of the creators.

Facebook can censor your comments, accounts, or posts. Big Tech sells your data to advertisers, causing privacy issues. If you leave Instagram today, you will lose all your data or re-create on other platforms since there is no digital inheritance. Content monetization platforms take a cut from your earnings.

The solution? Web 3.0 — a decentralized system that lives on the blockchain. When data is “on-chain”, they are recorded on a distributed ledger. Identities are verifiable. Discovery is censorship-resistance. You can secure/track your own data without giving it to corporations. Creators can tokenize their work into digital assets.

Web3 creators platform:

  • Mirror.xyz — a crypto-based writers network that is distributed, user-owned, and monetize through the sale of non-fungible tokens.
  • Sapien — an Ethereum-based social network for podcasters, video creators, and writers to build an audience and monetize their work.
  • Stoner Cats — helps animators/creators to tokenize their films in collectible NFTs, fans can buy the tokens to access the content, own the NFTs, and participate in the content production process.
  • Vezt and Royal — music fans can buy ownership in songs directly from their favorite artists and earn royalties with them.

🚀 Takeaway

Decentralize the creator economy. Help content creators and consumers to interact, transact and monetize directly without intermediary platform fees. See Startup Opportunity #1:

Startup Opportunity #1: YouTube for short films on blockchain

The future of video content sharing is decentralized and community-funded. Like YouTube but for short film content, on the blockchain.

Problem

  • Gatekeeping in the movie industry. Independent filmmakers have limited access to international distribution because they have to go through movie distributors that usually exert control over this type of access (i.e. genres, languages, commissions, licensing policies)
  • (📥 Full version) 2 more problem definition examples and evidence of industry problems

Solution

  • Tokenization of video content. Filmmakers can convert short films into collectible items (like NFTs). Content viewers can buy the token to access the content, own the film as NFTs, trade, and exchange.
  • Fair revenue distribution. Eliminate commission fees to broadcasters and distributors. Film creators receive 100% of sales through smart contracts directly from the viewers.
  • (📥 Full version) 3 more solutions and feature examples in detail.

Revenue Model

  • (📥 Full version) 2 revenue stream examples to monetize as a business

Venture Scale

(1) Industries: Video Sharing, Entertainment, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency

(2) Market potential:

  • Indie film is a $4.8 billion market. Video editing technology and apps will continue to give rise to short films creation.
  • (📥 Full version) 3 more research evidence to prove the validity of the market

(3) Execution strategy:

  • Blockchain tech is geared towards tech-centric audiences. Content marketing can focus on educating industry enthusiasts on technical content, helping them understand the technical development and innovation of the platform.
  • (📥 Full version) 3 more strategies to gain traction and acquire users

🔥 Unlock Full Post : : :

Trend #2: Reinventing the travel industry

Getaway — cabin vacation rental

The hospitality and tourism industry is set to bounce back as vaccine doses have been administered worldwide.

Venture funding in travel tech during COVID-19 has signaled investors’ attention in the travel space:

  • Getaway — offers “tiny cabins” vacation rentals in nature within a two-hour drive of major cities in the United States. The company has raised $41.7 million Series C funding in 2021.
  • Numastay — offers room and apartment rentals in the world’s greatest neighborhoods. This Germany-based travel company (formerly known as COSI) has closed $24.1 million funding in 2021.

Consumer travel habits have shifted. New opportunities for entrepreneurs:

  • International → Local. International travel restrictions and border closures force people to look into local tourism without leaving their countries.
  • Group → Solo. Solo-traveling is on the rise due to remote work. Because now everyone can work from anywhere, not just from home.
  • Lengthy trip → staycation. Increasing needs for shorter trips or “weekcation”.
  • (📥 Full version) 5 more existing providers that are well-positioned to this travel trend

New companies that cater to the shift in travel habits will be able to meet customer needs and become profitable businesses.

🚀 Takeaway

Make money as a business by curating and delivering memorable local travel experiences and unforgettable weekends trips. See Startup Opportunity #2

🔒 Startup Opportunity #2: in travel tech

In this startup idea, we break down building a solution that caters to Gen Z and millennial travel habits — and how to monetize as a business through different revenue streams.

🔒 Trend #3: Low-code/no-code for team productivity

Retool: build internal tools without code

🔒 In this no-code/low-code trend, we uncover customer needs and how to build the future of automation to increase team productivity:

🔥 Unlock Full Post : : :

🔒 Startup Opportunity #3: in automation tech

In this startup idea, we will solve the problems of customer feedback collection — how to help product teams discover the right problems to solve, build the right products/features, and iterate faster — and how to monetize this SaaS business.

Get the full version of this single report:

  • 🧰 Breakdown of Trend #3 Low-code tools
  • 🍿 Breakdown of Startup Opportunity #1 (Web3 for creators monetization / Blockchain tech)
  • 🚙 Breakdown of Startup Opportunity #2 (Curate local travel experiences / Travel tech)
  • 💻 Breakdown of Startup Opportunity #3 (Low-code tools for team productivity / Collaboration tool)

You will unlock:

  • 🔺 3 market trends in 1 report
  • 📝 3 startup opportunities breakdown in 1 report
  • 🧐 8 problem definition examples to reveal industry-specific needs
  • 🖍 13 solutions and feature examples in detail
  • 🤑 5 revenue streams you can create to monetize your business ideas
  • 🔍 10 in-depth evaluations on each startup idea — how to prove market potential and user adoption
  • 🚀 10 ways to execute these startup opportunities

🔥 Unlock Full Post : : :

More Startup Ideas & Market Trends:

Preview 37+ Free Reports at venturescale.to

Preview 37+ Free Reports at venturescale.to

[1] Find me on Personal Site / Twitter / LinkedIn 🔥

[2] Get new ideas and insights — Click here to join my newsletter 💌

--

--

Zoe Chew

Founder Venturescale.to. Making sense of product building, market validation & customer problems at Rapidmvps.com Alum @ On Deck ODF10