Idea
Build the USPS change-of-address subscription as a $7-10/mo service
Air Garage's CEO pitches a single-partner business: handle change-of-address and mail forwarding for USPS as a paid subscription. At 5M subscribers paying ~$7-10/month, it would be meaningful new revenue for the struggling postal service.
“somebody should build a business that just does this for USPS. They can make an additional, like, he just did the math on like how many customers they already have and if they just marketed it within their, within their own service, like if they could get 5 million subscribers of this thing at $10 million, $10 a month or $8 a month or $7 a month, like that would be actually pretty significant revenue for USPS.”
Steal thisPick one giant incumbent with a captive audience (USPS) and become the branded subscription service for one painful task (address changes).
Number
USPS makes ~$1B/year from PO boxes that are sold out
After researching the USPS, Barkl found PO boxes generate about $1 billion in annual revenue and are one of its only growing categories, yet they're chronically sold out for months in cities like San Francisco.
$1000M
USPS annual PO box revenue · USD/year
“The USPS brings in about $1 billion in revenue every year from, from PO boxes. And PO boxes, they're all sold out. Like if you try to get a PO box at the local post office in San Francisco, you can't do it.”
Number
USPS makes ~$1B/year from PO boxes that are sold out
After researching the USPS, Barkl found PO boxes generate about $1 billion in annual revenue and are one of its only growing categories, yet they're chronically sold out for months in cities like San Francisco.
$1000M
USPS annual PO box revenue · USD/year
“The USPS brings in about $1 billion in revenue every year from, from PO boxes. And PO boxes, they're all sold out. Like if you try to get a PO box at the local post office in San Francisco, you can't do it.”
Framework
Hunt for underutilized resources sitting around as byproducts
Barkl's core ideation theme: spot resources that nobody sees as valuable because they're just a byproduct of what someone is already doing (empty driveways, window space, USPS carriers' routes), then find a way to monetize them.
“It's like just seeing underutilized resources sitting around, like really just gets my, I guess, brain flowing and gears turning. It just is exciting to think about like, oh, there's this thing that nobody else sees as valuable. It's just a byproduct of what they're doing. And, you know, it could be monetized in some way, shape, or form.”
Steal thisList the unused byproducts of existing activity around you (empty space, idle routes, waste) and ask what each could be monetized as.