Welcome to Half Baked, the newsletter serving up startup ideas as shocking as Elon Musk’s net worth shooting above $600 billion 😱
In today’s edition:
💡 Bringing order to the chaos that is our screenshot folders
🛠 How to craft a pitch deck like Shaan Puri
🔋 Shark Ninja, storytelling, Google’s CC launch + more
🔍 OpenAI launch, Notion’s valuation, request for startups + more
🍻 A product to save parents’ knees out there
Let’s goooo 🚀
💸 Totally forgot yesterday to announce that the winner of last week’s Lindy giveaway was Brittany White. Brittany, check your inbox, we’ll send the funds your way!
📲 Screenshot Search App
Worth a (screen) shot
Available Domain: Screenseek.com
The Problem: If you’re anything like me, your screenshots folder on your phone (or desktop) is a complete mess. Mine is full of recipes, addresses, flight details, conversation snippets and more memes than I know what to do with. The average smartphone user has hundreds or even thousands of screenshots buried in their camera roll with zero organization. When they need to find something specific, they're left endlessly scrolling, squinting at thumbnails, or giving up entirely. The screenshot has become our default "save for later" button, yet there's no good way to retrieve what we've saved. It’s time to change that. Here’s how.
The Solution:
💡 The Idea: An AI-powered app that automatically categorizes your screenshots and lets you unlock the data inside them through natural language chat.
🛠️ Product:
A user downloads the app and grants camera roll access so the app has access to their screenshots.
The AI begins scanning and categorizing their existing screenshots using OCR and image recognition, tagging them by content type (receipts, addresses, conversations, products, recipes, etc.) and extracting all readable text.
A user can then interact with their screenshots through a chat interface. Example: When a user asks, "Where is that flight to Chicago?", the app doesn't just show the ticket image. It offers a Smart Button: "Add to Calendar: Nov 14, 2:00 PM?" or "Copy Flight Number UA455."
🧑💻 Prototyping: Try the demo | Get the demo prompt
💼 Business Model: Free, unlimited search and viewing. Then $6.99/mo for access to "Action" features.
⭐ End Goal: Sell to Notion, Evernote or another productivity app as a specialized "Input/Capture" feature. Exit Multiple will be around 8x - 12x Revenue
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💻 Find out why 100K+ engineers read The Code twice a week
Staying behind on tech trends can be a career killer.
But let’s face it, no one has hours to spare every week trying to stay updated.
That’s why over 100,000 engineers at companies like Google, Meta, and Apple read The Code twice a week.
Here’s why it works:
No fluff, just signal – Learn the most important tech news delivered in just two short emails.
Supercharge your skills – Get access to top research papers and resources that give you an edge in the industry.
See the future first – Discover what’s next before it hits the mainstream, so you can lead, not follow.
📊 How to Craft a Pitch Deck Like Shaan Puri
The Context: Shaan Puri is a legend of the business world. Over the past 15 years he’s started like a dozen businesses, raised more than $20M+ from VCs and has invested in over 100 startups. That means he’s looked at thousands and thousands of pitch decks and knows exactly what a great pitch deck looks like. Here’s the exact structure he uses to create his decks.
Step-by-step:
Go to the deck template here and take a copy of it
Follow the template, designing the deck using your own brand but following the tips in the slides for the content. Note: the deck isn’t designed, it just tells you how the deck should flow.
Once your deck is finished ask Gemini to check it over for any errors.
🧠 Start Your Day Smarter
Be the smartest person in the room by reading 1440, where 4.5 million Americans find their daily, fact-based news fix.
They navigate through 100+ sources to deliver a comprehensive roundup from every corner of the internet: politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a quick, 5-minute newsletter.
It's completely free and devoid of bias or political influence, ensuring you get the facts straight.
🔋 Founder Fuel
🤑 The Money Shot: You’ve heard of Sharks. You’ve heard of Ninjas. But how did SharkNinja become a $16B empire? Here’s your answer.
📈 Trends with Benefits: The hottest new job tech companies are hiring for is lead storyteller.” Take Vanta, who are offering $274k a year for a “Head of Storytelling” role. Wild times.
🧰 Tool Drop: Google just dropped CC, an experimental AI productivity agent in Gmail. Google is shipping like their lives depend on it right now.
🆓 Free Resource: Harmonic just released the hot 25 startup list for Q1-26. Shockingly, we’re not on the list. Massive oversight…
💵 Deal of the Day: Get 20% off Google Workspace’s Standard Plan here. T&Cs apply.
🔍 Founder Finds
🆕 OpenAI just launched a new image generation model, Images 1.5. Looks impressive!
📈 Notion is a great case study on how a company can grow into a massive valuation.
🎓 Harvard University has a great lecture on building a product that can scale. Here are the notes from it if you don’t have the time to watch.
💳 QW just released a “request for fintech startups” they’re looking to fund. Very cool.
👮 The FBI is investigating a startup founder accused of using VC money to pay for her house and a Caribbean wedding. We’re so back.
🍺 Drunk Business Idea: Kneel Pads
Ever wonder why your knees sound like a bowl of Rice Krispies every time you stand up? Tired of negotiating with your kids while your kneecaps slowly turn to dust on hardwood floors?
Introducing Kneel Pads™ - premium knee pads designed specifically for parents who spend more time on all fours than a yoga instructor. These bad boys feature memory foam that remembers the pain so you don't have to.
Kneel Pads™ - knee-d we say more?
Vote
👋 That’s All Folks!
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