Welcome to Half Baked, the newsletter serving up startup ideas as often as SoftBank writes checks into OpenAI (they're at it again) 💸
In today’s edition:
💡 The hiring hack that turns competitions into recruitment pipelines
🛠 Building a mobile app with Claude Code (day 3 of 5)
🔋 From broke musician to $2.6B IPO + more
🔍 Anthropic funding, Twin launches AI agents + more
🍻 A wearable that lets you control your screen like a tech sorcerer
Let’s goooo 🚀
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💼 Hiring Contests Platform
A job well won.
Available domain: Hirecomps.com
The Problem: I was scrolling through TechCrunch this morning (as you do) when I came across something epic. Anduril, the defense company, has decided to launch an “AI Grand Prix”, an autonomous drone racing competition where participants all get the same hardware and have to create the fastest drone through software But what interested me as much as the competition itself was the purpose of it. The winner will win a cool $500,000 but also get a job at Anduril. No resumes. No cover letters. No awkward interviews. Which got me thinking…why isn't every company hiring like this? Traditional recruiting is broken - companies spend $4,700 per hire, wade through hundreds of resumes, and still end up with people who can't do the job. Why not let any company host a competition like this to hire? Here's what we're thinking.
The Solution:
💡 The Idea: A platform that helps companies run skills-based hiring competitions where candidates compete on real challenges for job offers.
🛠️ Product:
Companies create a contest by defining the challenge (code a trading algorithm, design a landing page, build a prototype), setting the prize pool, and specifying the job roles up for grabs.
Candidates submit their work, get ranked on a public leaderboard, and top performers unlock direct interview tracks or instant job offers.
Built-in anti-cheating measures, blind judging options, and integrations with GitHub, Figma, and other tools so submissions are verified and portfolios auto-populate.
🧑💻 Prototyping: Try the demo | Get the demo prompt
💼 Business Model: Charge companies $2,500-$10,000 per contest depending on role seniority and candidate pool size. Premium tier includes promoted listings, extended reach to niche talent communities, and white-glove judging support.
⭐ End Goal: Acquisition by LinkedIn, Indeed, or a major HCM player like Workday at 8-12x revenue as skills-based hiring becomes the norm.
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💻 Building a Mobile App with Claude Code (5-Day Mini Course)
The Context: On Day 1 you installed Claude Code. On Day 2 you built a landing page. Today we're going even bigger - we're building a mobile app. Not a mockup, not a prototype, an actual app you can run on your phone. Claude Code can scaffold a complete React Native project, build out screens, and handle navigation. Let's get into it.
Step-by-step:
Create a new project folder with
mkdir my-mobile-app && cd my-mobile-app, then start Claude Code by typingclaude.Ask Claude to set up your project by typing "Initialize a new React Native Expo project for a simple task manager app with a home screen and an add task screen."
Let Claude generate the project structure, install dependencies, and create your initial screens - approve each step with
ywhen prompted.Run your app by typing "Start the Expo development server" and scan the QR code with the Expo Go app on your phone to see it running live.
P.S. In tomorrow's newsletter, you'll learn how to create videos programmatically using Claude Code and Remotion.
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🔋 Founder Fuel
🤑 The Money Shot: This musician-turned-founder IPO'd at $2.6B after convincing 50 employees to work without pay for two years. Here's how.
📈 Trends with Benefits: Solo founders' share of VC dollars has grown 40% since 2019. The lone wolf era is here.
💬 Prompt Drop: Here are 5 prompts to build websites 5x faster.
🆓 Founder Resource: Here's YC's guide on how to find the right co-founder (the most important decision in business).
💵 Founder Deal: Get $20 off a design competition on 99Designs until the 31st of January. Learn more.
🔍 Founder Finds
🤑 Anthropic just doubled its funding target to $20B at a $350B valuation. Claude Code going crazy.
🚀 Twin just launched AI agents that automate repetitive tasks by taking over your browser. Zapier is sweating.
💡 Sam Altman shared how to get your first 100 users - still relevant, still gold.
🎙️ Alex Lieberman is hosting a free webinar on AI trends with HubSpot for founders this Thursday at 4pm EST. Check it out.
🧠 Elon Musk revealed the fastest way to become irreplaceable in the AI era.
🍺 Drunk Business Idea: Mouse Ring
Tired of your hand cramping from using a mouse all day? Wish you could control your computer while lying on the couch like royalty?
Introducing MouseRing™, the world's first all-in-one ring mouse controller. Slide it on your finger and suddenly you're pointing, clicking, scrolling, and swiping through life like a tech sorcerer. Finally, a ring that proposes to your productivity.
MouseRing™ - Put a ring on IT.
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👋 That’s All Folks!
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