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- Startup Ideas #394: Buoyancy Belt, Robot Fighting...
Startup Ideas #394: Buoyancy Belt, Robot Fighting...
Plus From $0 to a +$2B business in 4 years
Welcome to Half Baked, the newsletter serving up startup ideas as fast as Threads is growing (apparently) 📈
If you want to read any previous editions of Half Baked, you can check them out on our website.
Let’s goooo 🚀
In today’s edition:
💡 An idea that could save lives
📈 Breaking the first rule of a new kind of fight club
🛠️ Taking ad inspiration from Reddit’s top ads
🤑 From $0 to a +$2B business in 4 years
🍻 The best way to protect your face from the sun this summer
🛟 Buoyancy Belt
No time waisted
Available domain: Beltbuoy.com
The Problem: The recent, devastating floods in Texas serve as a timely reminder of how powerful water truly is. And this summer, many of us have (and will) spend time swimming in the sea or lakes, chasing sun-soaked memories. But that’s exactly where accidents can happen. That’s because drowning remains one of the top three causes of “unintentional injury death” worldwide, taking 236,000 lives each year according to the WHO. For regular swimmers, such as triathletes and surfers, the risk is very real. Yet common water safety devices are bulky and uncomfortable, so they get left behind. It’s time to create a new kind of protection. Here’s what we’re thinking.
The Solution:
In a line: A discreet, auto-inflating belt that detects distress and keeps swimmers afloat if they get into danger
Product:
🏁 Strap in and sync: Users strap on the belt and pair it with a mobile app that logs location and sends alerts if the wearer is in trouble
📈 Smart drowning detection: Built-in sensors monitor movement, orientation, and time submerged to detect signs of distress.
🎈 CO₂ or foam inflation: When triggered (automatically or manually), a hidden bladder inflates instantly around the waist to lift the wearer to the surface of the water.
🛰️ GPS distress signal: Sends SOS location via Bluetooth, cellular, or satellite to lifeguards, contacts, or rescue drones in times of trouble
Business Model: Sell directly to consumers
End Goal: License the tech to a major player in outdoor/safety tech (like Garmin) or get acquired for a 5–10x exit based on recurring revenue and IP.
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🤖 AI’s taking my job…FINALLY
Omnisend is on a mission to cut down your busywork and let AI handle the boring stuff.
Here’s what you can expect:
Write emails faster
Personalize effortlessly
Segment smart, not hard
Turns out, letting AI steal the boring tasks feels great.
🥊 Humanoid Robot Fighting
The Trend: I’m about to break the first rule of Robot Fight Club…you don’t talk about Robot Fight Club. But screw it, let’s talk. Because back in May, China hosted the world’s first humanoid robot fighting competition. Since then, things have gone full sci-fi with underground robot brawls now popping up in San Francisco (where else of course). It’s only a matter of time before Dana White launches the “Ultimate Robot Fighting Championship". Hey, I’d watch it.
Opportunities:
Humanoid Fight Club Content Studio: A production company that creates fight highlights, behind-the-scenes content, and character storylines for bot fighters.
Training Data Marketplace for Robot Combat AI: Sell labeled video/data sets to help train humanoid robots in blocking, striking, dodging, etc.
🔍 How to Search Reddit’s Ad Library
The Tool: Great marketing is about funding underpriced attention. And a lot of brands are finding underpriced attention on Reddit right now through Reddit ads. Here’s how you can search for what companies are advertising on Reddit (and what ads they’re running).
Step-by-step:
Head to ads.reddit.com/library. You don’t need a Reddit account to access it FYI.
Use the search bar to enter a brand (e.g. “Nike”), a product or a website.
Click into the ad and get a breakdown of
🖥️ Every Founder Needs a Personal Website
Why? Because your ideas, story, and vision shouldn’t live in scattered tweets and old pitch decks. A personal site is your digital HQ, whether you're raising money, hiring, or just sharing your thinking. Squarespace makes it effortless.
Build it once. Own it forever.
Get 10% off with code HALFBAKED (along with your 14 day free trial).
🧠 From $0 to a +$2B Business in 4 Years
The Idea: Back in 2015, Andrew Adams moved to New York, but pretty soon he had a problem. He couldn’t find any affordable therapist who accepted his insurance. Over time he realized this struggle wasn’t unique, since up to 70% of therapists didn’t take insurance due to the paperwork burden. Motivated by his experience as "patient number one," Andrew decided to set out to build a startup that simplified the entire insurance‑therapy pipeline. This was the beginning of Headway.
The Execution:
2019: The platform launched in New York. They signed up initial therapists, helped them credential with insurance, and created a searchable patient platform.
2020: Raised $26M Series A (led by Thrive) after growth accelerated, driven by COVID‑era demand.
2021: Series B of $70M led by Andreessen Horowitz; expanded to >10 states, 3,000+ providers, and around 300K therapy appointments facilitated.
July 2024: Series D: $100M led by Spark Capital, boosting valuation to $2.3 B, scaled platform tools for billing, scheduling, and clinical training
November 2024: Reached 1 millionth patient across all 50 states, an emotional milestone showing how far Andrew had come
In the end Andrew’s business worked because he had a personal problem that he needed to solve. He was patient one for his business. So what’s the biggest problem you’re facing right now?
🔍️ Founder Finds
🛠️ AI Tool: Shortcut, the first superhuman Excel agent, has been making waves
🎁 Free Resource: Google is offering a range of free courses including Introduction to Large Language Models and Introduction to Generative AI
🗞️ Headline: 36 Unicorns have been minted so far in 2025. We broke down what each of them are doing.
📚 Must-Read: Sam Altman’s blog post on Idea Generation is as relevant today as it ever was
💬 Founder Quote: “The biggest secret I've learned about creating billion-dollar companies is that the best ideas look like bad ideas at first. If everyone agrees with you, you’re too late.”
🔦 Reader Spotlight
🎯 DigitalPilot - Jeffrey Labrecque is helping businesses reach their ideal customers with smart, personalized ads.
📞 Hamming - Tanush Yadav is building a tool that tests and monitors voice agents, ensuring reliable performance during live calls.
📝 Ment - Aramis Kouzine is creating an AI-powered editor that helps users write better and faster with smart suggestions.
🤝 Grinfi - Vladyslav Poberezhnii is automating LinkedIn outreach for B2B companies with easy, no-code lead gen tools.
💼 JobCamp - Saheed Oyefeso is building a platform to track job applications and craft standout, story-driven resumes.
P.S: If you want your startup or project featured, click here!
🍺 Drunk Business Idea: The Facekini
Get burnt this July 4th? Wish you could hit the beach without UV exposure or risking eye contact?
Say hello to the Facekini™, the fashion-forward swimsuit for your face. Engineered for maximum anonymity and minimum tan lines, it’s like witness protection, but fashionable.
Facekini™ – for when SPF stands for “Stay Pale Forever.”
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👋 That’s All Folks!
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