Hey 👋 - Nik here, founder of Launchkit.
Happy Monday to 316 builders!
Last week, over $4.6B has been invested in over 690 new startups and projects around the world (Angel, Seed & Series A).
Here are 9 of last week’s most interesting new start-up ideas & deals that might get you inspired for your next project:
📸 Build an on-the-spot photography marketplace
💰 Make rental deposits a thing of the past
🚴♀️ Start a used e-bike marketplace
⚱️ Make arranging and paying for funerals less painful
…and much more. You can discover more wonderful business ideas and over 850 fully functional and customizable No-Code Launchkits to get started with your next build on 🔗 Launchkit.
Enjoy, until next week.
Nik
Need help building your next project? Reach out 📧 nik@withlaunchkit.com
🚴♀️ Start a used e-bike marketplace like Upway
Series A $25M (6 days ago) | Sequoia Capital et al. | France
Affordable prices with guaranteed quality
Upway offers an online marketplace that allows users to buy and sell used electric bikes. The startup provides a seamless experience for buyers who want to buy an electric bike but don’t want to pay the full price of a new electric bike. Behind the scenes, Upway buys electric bikes from both consumers and companies. The team brings those bikes to its warehouse, checks them, repairs them in some cases and lists them on their website. Of course, Upway tries to generate a small margin on every sale. Upway will soon launch its marketplace in Germany, the Netherlands and the U.S. By the end of 2022, the company will have three different warehouses. Companies like Swapfiets and Dance are also important when it comes to democratizing electric bikes. These startups let you rent a bike for a flat monthly subscription fee.
Source | Website
📸 Build an on-the-spot photography marketplace like Smiler
Seed $8M (6 days ago) | Mosaic Ventures et al. | Netherlands
A different kind of gig economy for event and venue photographers
Smiler offers a marketplace for on-the-spot photography that brings photographers and consumers together at tourist hotspots and other leisure locations. Freelance photographers can simply use the platform to roam around events, selling event photography formally attached to the venue and allowing customers to buy photos there or later online. In more detail, photographers show the (potential) customer a QR code to connect them to the photos. Customers are then matched with their photoshoot, which they can review and purchase. It means any photographer can then trade at a large number of public locations around the world, or at one of Smiler’s partner venues. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in Amsterdam Netherlands.
More Info | Website
💰 Make rental deposits a thing of the past, with a service like Garentii
Seed $2.03M (6 days ago) | Elkstone Partners et al. | Germany
Pay €3.00 per month instead of a deposit of three months’ rent
Garentii offers insurance as a substitute for rental deposits starting from €3.00 per month. Founded last year, the startup aims to revolutionize security deposit payments. Normally, tenants have to pay a deposit of three months' rent for their apartment. In most cases, this is a one-time payment, which then sits as collateral in the landlord's account and cannot be used for other purposes. This is where Garentii comes in: the start-up has developed a digital deposit insurance and management tool. The tool replaces cash deposits free of charge, simplifies cash deposit management and insures potential damages for landlords. Tenants pay only three euros a month instead of three months' rent as a one-time payment.
Website
⚱️ Make arranging and paying for funerals less painful, with an internet-based funeral home like After.com
Convertible Note $2.55M (3 days ago) | undisclosed investors | US
After.com saves families over $2500
Losing a loved one is hard enough. So is planning (and paying!) for their final expenses. After.com is revolutionizing the funeral industry as an internet-based funeral home. The startup helps individuals pre-plan their final arrangements with prepaid cremation plans and ensure grieving families have affordable direct cremation services to provide dignified care for their loved ones, without the hidden costs and exorbitant markups often synonymous with the traditional funeral home experience. On average, After.com saves families $2500 over the same services offered by a traditional funeral home. Their digital-first platform and tech-enabled processes allow families to schedule entirely online or through a quick phone call, making arranging and caring for your loved one less stressful and demanding than a traditional funeral home.
Website
🔬 Put science into practice with a research funding marketplace like Astound
Seed $1M (5 days ago) | Mark Two Ventures | UK
Making it easier for industry and academia to collaborate with one another
Astound is a first-of-its-kind marketplace to allow research institutions and universities to easily find corporate sponsors for important scientific research. It serves clients across a broad spectrum of disciplines, from life sciences and engineering to computer science and agriculture. Astound CEO Dr. Berry explains that these sorts of corporate-university collaborations are mutually beneficial. "Corporate sponsorships provide critical funding for scientific research. In exchange, those corporate partners have the opportunity to commercialize the resulting patents and other valuable intellectual property." Astound was founded in 2022 and is based in Birmingham, Alabama.
Info | Website
🎓 Start a university application platform like UniApp in your country
Seed $1.07M (3 days ago) | Undisclosed Investors | Germany
University applications and transfers made easy
UniApp operates an online platform where students can apply for college or transfer to finish their degree. The platform allows universities, students, and agents to manage the whole college application process. Founded in 2021, UniApp aims to support the international education stakeholders by simplifying the admissions process, scaling up and diversifying campuses worldwide. The online platform allows students to manage the full application process in a one-stop platform, whether it is their first time applying or they are transferring to a different institution to finish their degree. Users can upload their academic and personal documents once and then apply for multiple programs, choosing from thousands of study courses across the world with the AI-based search engine also enabling users to receive suitable course suggestions.
More Info | Website
🏠 Launch a flexible rent payment startup like Zenbase
Seed $3.24M (6 days ago) | Garage Capital et al. | Canada
Personalized rent payment schedules to avoid late fees
Zenbase is a company that specializes in flexible rent payments. Its solutions improve the financial wellness of renters, as well as operational efficiency for property managers. More specifically, Zenbase pays residents' rent in full with a rent loan and allows them to pay it back with a personalized rent payment schedule throughout the month for a membership fee. It partners with property managers to increase on-time rent collections and eliminate the operational overhead, improving resident satisfaction. Since Zenbase launched in 2021, it has saved more than $700 at an annualized rate per resident by having them avoid overdraft and late fees. In addition to the rent product, more than 40% of Zenbase members have also used its fee-free cash advance service to cover utilities, groceries and gas.
More Info | Website
🤝 Start a niche B2B marketplace like Felux for steel
Series A $19M (5 days ago) | 8VC et al. | US
A modern marketplace for steel, aluminum, and more
Felux is a fast growing online B2B marketplace and supply chain platform for steel and other metals. The marketplace digitizes every element of the supply chain, allowing steel and metal buyers and sellers to source, procure, ship and finance products with ease, in one end-to-end digital experience. The platform provides much needed visibility across the entire industrial supply chain, through products and services that allow customers to share inventory through digital channels, and get access to freight and lane pricing in real time.
More Info | Website
💬 Simplify communication in logistics with WhatsApp and a service like Heylog
$3.22M (4 days ago) | Nine Point Five et al. | Austria
Boosting communication in transport dispatching
Heylog integrates existing messenger services in an intuitive platform to keep dispatchers and drivers connected. More specifically, the company enables privacy-compliant communication with drivers and subcontractors via popular messaging services such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Viber. The communication service automatically translates messages into the driver’s language and helps to centrally manage orders and the exchange of documents on the go. With no installation and integration required, the startup founded in 2022 can save costs.
More Info | Website