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- Startup Ideas #401: Linktree for X, Grok Companions...
Startup Ideas #401: Linktree for X, Grok Companions...
Plus Turning Tweets into a $20M/yr Business
Welcome to Half Baked, the newsletter serving up startup ideas as Zuck is poaching talent from OpenAI (yep, he’s done it again) 🤷
If you want to read any previous editions of Half Baked (which are incredible of course), you can on our website.
Let’s goooo 🚀
In today’s edition:
💡 Building a vertical specific link-in-bio tool
📈 Why everyone’s talking about Grok 4 (again)
🛠️ How to use AI to create legal documents
🤑 Turning tweets into a $20M/yr business
🍻 Solving the couch potato’s #1 problem
🔗 Linktree for Founders
Branching out
Available domain: Foundrlink.com
The Problem: Add to cart. Like and subscribe. View our menu (a personal favorite of mine). The internet is full of three word phrases. And a phrase that takes its place amongst these is “link in bio”. That’s because so many creators use a link-in-bio tool, possibly the simplest software ever designed. Linktree has become the undisputed leader in this particular space, with over 50 million users, more than 5 million subscribers and a $1.3 billion valuation. But their generic tooling doesn’t work for a very specific audience that we know a bit about…founders. It’s time to build a link-in-bio tool for founders. Here’s what we’re thinking.
The Solution:
In a line: A founder-focused link-in-bio platform that consolidates pitch assets, investor tools, and startup highlights into one branded micro-site.
Product:
📲 Sign up with your startup email and connect your domain or subdomain for a fully white-labeled page.
🎨 Choose from founder-centric templates with drag-and-drop modules such as embedding pitch decks, product demos, fundraising progress bars and more
🔗 Integrate with Calendly, DocSend, and social profiles, plus one-click “Request a Call” button
🛠️ We built a simple demo of the platform using this prompt.
Business Model: Freemium with pro tier at $29/month (custom domain, advanced analytics, private access controls etc.)
End Goal: Get acquired by a major startup ecosystem player (e.g. Carta) or a link-in-bio business at a 5-8× revenue multiple.
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🤖 Get The Ultimate A.l. & Bot Checklist
A.I. has leveled the playing field like never before, empowering small and medium sized businesses to achieve what once cost millions, at a fraction of the price.
But how do you know what tools, strategies, and tactics you should focus on? That's where BotBuilders comes in.
This is what you'll find in The Ultimate A.I. & Bot Checklist:
Generative A.I. checklist
Chatbot checklist
Chatbot platforms
The end result? This checklist will help you expand your business and allow you to do more; improve the quantity and quality of your outputs; and save you precious time for higher value activities.
🤖 Grok Companions
The Trend: Grok 4 (xAI’s most powerful LLM) took the internet by storm earlier this week with its eye-watering benchmarks against other models. And now, it’s in the news again, since the launch of their “Companion” avatars. That’s right, SuperGrok users can now experience AI chatbots with accompanying avatars, including Ani, an anime avatar, and Rudy, a cartoony red panda. This further reinforces the fact that AI companions, and even AI boyfriends and girlfriends, will be a big part of the future. I think we all need to get out more…
Opportunities:
Educational Language-Learning Companion: A Grok avatar that immerses users in conversational practice, cultural tips, and vocabulary drills in a target language.
Fitness & Wellness Avatar: A workout buddy avatar that leads exercise routines, offers nutritional advice, and tracks progress through conversational check-ins.
👩⚖️ How to Use AI to Create Legal Documents
The Tool: As a founder, you’ll find yourself having to draft up legal documents from time to time. Here’s how you can turn AI into your own personal $400/hr lawyer and do it for you.
Step-by-step:
Note: For critical legal docs you should obviously get them reviewed by a lawyer or a legal professional. Legal mistakes can be business killers…
😵 Bad Passwords Kill Startups
As a founder, you're used to taking risks. But some risks just aren’t worth it - like leaving your company exposed to weak or reused passwords.
That's because just one leaked password can nuke your business. It’s not worth the risk.
That's why smart teams (and even dumb teams like ours) use 1Password, the industry leader in password management. It keeps your credentials safe, your team in sync, and your business protected.
Take big swings with your product, not with your security.
🗓️ Turning Tweets into a $20M/yr Business
The Idea: Back in 2010 Joel Gascoigne, while working on another project in Birmingham in the UK, noticed that he was constantly missing the best time to post tweets. Frustrated by this problem, he decided to build a tool that would allow him to schedule tweets and release them at scheduled intervals. This was the beginning of Buffer.
The Execution:
Mid-2010: Before writing any code, Joel created a one-page “landing page” describing the concept and invited sign-ups. Only after reaching a certain number of sign-ups did started building.
November 2010: After 7 weeks of building, Joel launched Buffer’s MVP, a Twitter-only scheduling app, from his bedroom in Birmingham.
December 2010: Buffer’s first paying customer signed up just days after launch, word-of-mouth started to spread.
Early 2011: Leo Widrich, having blogged about Buffer, joined as co-founder to tackle marketing and community.
Mid 2011: Buffer joined AngelPad in San Francisco and raised a $400K seed round from 18 angels.
June 2012: The company closed a $3M Series A led by Foundation Capital to fuel product expansion (Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest support).
2013–2014: They leaned heavily into content marketing (blog posts, infographics and guest contributions) to drive organic growth and SEO.
Today: Buffer is still independent. ARR is $22,430,520, they have 67,572 customers and 72 employees. How do we know this? Because they publish their exact financials monthly. Super interesting.
The lesson? Validate before you build. Only when you’ve proven demand can you start building.
🔍️ Founder Finds
🛠️ AI Tool: Anthropic just released a directory of connectors that work with Claude, super cool!
🎁 Free Resource: HubSpot is giving away 3 months of Perplexity Pro for free to our readers . Get it while you can!
📹 Must-Watch: Garry Tan’s video “Don’t be thirsty” is great for any founder (or even non-founder) to watch.
📚 Must-Read: This deep dive on hypercapitalism and the AI talent wars is very timely, worth a read.
💬 Founder Quote: “Too many people are overanalyzing. Sometimes you just have to go for it.” Michelle Zatly (Co-founder, CloudFlare)
🔦 Reader Spotlight
🤖 Marblism: Ulric Musset is offering AI employees to handle content, social media, and more for businesses.
📈 WiserNotify: Krunal Vaghasiya is boosting sales with real-time social proof - live sales, reviews, and sign-ups.
🚀 Boringlaunch: Shivam Vyas is growing visibility by submitting your product to 100+ platforms for SEO and reach.
📱 Second Login: Deepak PK is simplifying multi-account management with profiles and desktop view in one app.
📈 JournalPlus: This reader is helping traders reduce losses with fast journaling and AI-driven insights.
P.S: If you want your startup or project featured, click here!
🍺 Drunk Business Idea: TV Remote Leash
Tired of embarking on epic treasure hunts every time you want to change the channel?
Wish your TV remote had a little less wanderlust and a lot more loyalty?
Introducing the RemoteRope™, the ultimate tether for your runaway clicker! Secure your remote to your table, couch arm, or even your body, and never again endure the agony of the “lost remote shuffle.”
RemoteRope™, keeping your remote close and your laziness closer.
Vote
👋 That’s All Folks!
Before you go just a few public service announcements:
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