BUSINESS IDEA | STARTUP

Hearing Loss Detection App 🦻 

Hear’s the deal

Available Domain: Hearoe.com

1. Problem/Opportunity❓

The Problem/Opportunity: Unless you’ve experienced it personally, hearing loss is not something we think about a lot. Even though we’ve all experienced one particular form of it…

But hearing loss is a growing problem. According to the World Health Organization, by 2050, nearly 2.5 billion people are projected to experience some degree of hearing loss. Why? Well loud concerts, gyms blasting music and constant earphone usage may have something to do with it. People track so many aspects of their health…heart rate, steps, sleep, and even glucose levels. Why not their hearing? It’s time to change that.

Market Size: The global hearing care market is worth $10+ billion today, and is expected to reach $17 billion by 2030

2. Solution ✅

The Idea: A mobile app that lets users easily test and track their hearing health over time while providing lifestyle and product recommendations to protect their hearing

How it Works:

• Users download the app and complete a quick hearing test (via tones or digits-in-noise) using headphones.

• The app tracks hearing health scores over time (monthly recommended check-ins).

• Users get personalized insights and warnings if early deterioration is detected.

• If risk is flagged, the app recommends protective products (like Loop earplugs) or steps a user should take to protect their hearing

Go-to-market: Short-form content which prompts viewers to check their hearing, maybe videos that simulate what hearing loss is like?

Business Model: Earn affiliate revenue through product recommendations and selling leads to hearing aid companies

Startup Costs: Designing the app and testing framework will be the toughest and most expensive part here

3. How You’ll Get Rich 💰

Exit Strategy: Sell to a large hearing aid company like Sonova or GN Group. This would be a great source of customers for them.

Exit Multiple: HealthTech apps with strong engagement and commerce flywheels typically sell for 5–10x revenue.

TOGETHER WITH KIXIE

Connect with 5x more leads, get 10x more Sales

Kixie’s Power Dialer puts your sales team in overdrive, connecting you with more leads, faster.

• Instant Connections – Multi-line dialing eliminates wasted time.

• Auto Follow-Ups – Never miss a deal with automated call & text sequences.

• CRM Integration – Every call, note, and outcome logged automatically.

“The functionality is unsurpassable.” – Klaus W., one of 10,000+ businesses using Kixie 🚀

Book your free demo today

Pssst you get 10% off when you mention "Half Baked", so make sure you do…

DRUNK BUSINESS IDEA

The Sand Safe

• Planning on going to the beach this summer? Planning on hiding your valuable items in a up crumpled towel and hoping they don’t get stolen?

• Welcome to the future of beach security, The SandSafe™, the world’s first semi-visible, over-engineered safe for your beach valuables.

• You simply place your valuables in the safe, lock it and bury it in the sand so no-one can find (except for that random dude with a metal detector every beach has, watch out for him).

• Pro tip: mark where you bury your safe with an X, just keep an eye out for pirates of course…

Vote

• ✅ Shut up and take my money

• ❌ It’s a no from me dawg

JUST THE TIP

Trend 📈: Micro Dramas

• The “micro drama” trend, fueled by TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels, refers to ultra-short, serialized, low-budget but high-engagement scripted content often 30 seconds to 3 minutes long.

• These micro soap operas or slice-of-life dramas rack up millions of views with addictive cliffhangers, punchy plots, and relatable scenarios.

• A startup based in China called Reelshort has leaned into this genre to great effect, boasting 150m+ users doing $200m+ in revenue per year.

• We think you could innovate on this concept and launch to Western audiences with similar success

Business Ideas

• Interactive Micro Drama App: A mobile app where viewers can shape the plot of a micro drama by voting or choosing paths

• Micro Drama Roleplay Game: Create a card-based party game where players improvise mini-dramas based on randomized prompts or archetypes

TOGETHER WITH SNAPCHAT

Still Scaling with the Same Platforms?

Snapchat reaches buyers your current ads never will. 80% of its users are over 18. One in four are 35+.

And unlike most social users, Snapchatters actually pay attention. 85% discover new products through ads. 88% say they love to shop.

If your acquisition strategy feels stuck, this is the next move.

Learn more

THE MONEYSHOT

Turning 33 Bikes into a $180m Payday

Some founders don’t just create products. They start movements.

Take these founders who did exactly that which led to a $180m payday for them.

This is their story.

Let’s rewind the clock back to 2006. A simpler time. A world untouched by financial collapse, cryptocurrencies, or AI looming large over our jobs.

And back then Ruth Zukerman (not pictured, we’ll explain why later) was a seasoned spinning class instructor. Ruth had many clients, but she was convinced two of her clients had to meet since they’d become such good friends. And boy was she right.

So Ruth set up a lunch at Soho House between herself, Elizabeth Cutler (left - a real estate agent from Colorado) and Julie Rice (right - a talent manager from Los Angeles). Unsurprisingly they all hit if off. “It was the best blind date we’d ever been on,” Julie has often said about that fateful lunch. But why was it so important?

Because just 4 months after this lunch, united by their love of spinning, the trio decided to set up their own spinning studio.

Their first studio was a labour of love. They found a former funeral home on Craigslist on Manhattan's Upper West Side and put 33 bikes into it. They couldn't even display external signage due to building restrictions, so they painted a yellow rickshaw with their new company’s logo and parked it outside to attract attention. Talk about scrappy.

This was the first SoulCycle studio.

SoulCycle differentiated itself by offering more than just a workout. It provided a 45-minute, high-intensity, full-body cardio session set in a candlelit room with energetic music and motivational instructors. This immersive experience fostered a sense of community and emotional release, resonating with customers.

The studio's popularity soared, leading to the opening of a second location in the Hamptons in 2007. SoulCycle's appeal started to attract celebrity clientele, including Kelly Ripa and Lady Gaga, becoming a boutique fitness trend.

But by 2009 the business hit its first major problem. The co-founders had differing visions for the company's culture, leading to Ruth leaving the company and setting up a competing indoor cycling brand called Flywheel Sports. Yikes.

But SoulCycle had cemented its place in the zeitgeist. Which is why in 2011, Equinox Group, a chain of boujee gyms, acquired a majority stake in the company. This partnership facilitated the opening of new studios across the U.S, further solidifying the brand’s leading position in the market.

By 2014 SoulCyle was bringing in more than $100m in revenue and in 2016, with their work done, Elizabeth and Julie decided to leave SoulCycle, allowing Equinox to increase its stake in the business to 97%. They each reportedly received a payout of $90 million in the transaction and rode off into the sunset.

Still, SoulCycle’s impact on the fitness industry is undeniable. It didn’t just sell spin classes, it sold a lifestyle, a community, and built a cult-like devotion to their brand.

So don’t start a business. Start a movement. Because if you do, the business stuff will take care of itself.

1 - 1 FOUNDER FEEDBACK

We Need Your Help

We're on a mission to become the world's #1 entrepreneurship newsletter, but to do that we need your help. Got feedback, ideas, or thoughts on what you’d love to see next? This is your chance to help shape Half Baked. Darragh (our Head Baker) is opening up his calendar just for you. Click here to book a 15 minute call.