Promising Markets for a Startup Company

Konstantinos asks: "So far, I have worked as an IT manager in various projects, but I am fed up with someone else getting all the money out of my work. So, I want to do something on my own. Obviously, I don't want to take on the big guys as I will not have the resources or the time to be antagonistic, and I have to go after something totally different. I have made a small market research, but I don't want to risk my hard-earned money on something that is destined to flop. I had some ideas about niche markets that IT hasn't really touched, like agriculture. In your opinion, which are the most promising markets, for a one/two person startup company to try and tackle? I know that there is a risk in everything, and I understand that the IT business is under a global crisis, but I also know that there are some markets (esp. niche markets) that haven't had a significant hit in revenue due to the crisis. I would like to try and hit those markets. I am not afraid of work and I know that I can do the job and do it well, if only I find what it is! Thanks for any help."

Comments

Digital Picture Frames

[dmorin]

I looked everywhere for these things for christmas, but of the few that exist, most are over $400. I think this is the most popular thing I've seen on slashdot for geeks to make from scratch (not counting beowulf clusters yadda yadda). All you really need is a cheap source for a flat panel display. Here, I'll give you the whole plan, since my boss and I just discussed this an hour ago:

• Must have a memory card as primary source. Networking optional. Given the potential audience for the thing, it's must more likely that they will have access to a digital camera (such as an uncle who comes by on christmas to take pictures) than a network source (who wants a picture frame that ties up the phone line?)
• Simple battery source w/AC backup. Normally the thing should plug into the wall, like when it is standing up on the mantle. But you should be able eto take it down and sit it in your lap when people come over and you want to walk through it like an album.
• No syncing or USB. Why? Make it a straight player. Put the card in, play the pictures. Done. Change the card, change the pictures.
• The whole thing can be operated with three buttons, BACK, PAUSE/PLAY, and NEXT. Normally it runs in random slide show mode, unless you hit PAUSE to freeze the picture you like. You can then hit BACK/NEXT to move around like pages of an album. Press PAUSE/PLAY again to return to slide show mode.
• That's IT for options. Sure, you could add stuff like deleting pictures from the card, or adding captions, or doing random swipe transitions between pictures. But if it pushes the price point too high, no one will care. You could do all those things with a computer and THEN give the flash card to gramma to put on the mantle.

Get the price point down under $150 and you'd sell a million of em. Grammie won't necessarily buy one but Uncle Bill with the digital camera will get her one for Christmas, and he'll also get his wife one so that she can see the pictures in the living room instead of on the computer, and they'll send one to their boy Tommy off at college (who will load his up with porn and take it to classes when he is bored)...

If you actually do it, send me a couple of free ones for Grammie and Uncle Bill.