New Business Ideas

Santa calls friends and family for gift ideas
Telecom & mobile / Life hacks

For those who are still racking their brains for gift ideas, I Am Saint Nick's
in-house Santa places discreet, anonymous calls on behalf of gift-givers,
asking friends and family what they'd like for Christmas.

Cargo bikes embark on international expansion
Transportation

Last spring we covered cargo bike company La Petite Reine. The
French company is now expanding internationally, including a
London collaboration with Office Depot.

Peer-to-peer camping: renting out the back yard
Travel & tourism

A new Swedish startup connects camping holidaymakers with
anyone willing to rent out their back yard, garden or driveway for
a few nights. (Think couch surfing for tent-lovers.)

Furniture shopping with the crowds
Homes & housing / Retail / Style & design

Myfab posts a weekly catalogue of available items for buyers to vote on.
Those that win the most votes are put into production and become
available for purchase through the site.

From 1950s pommel horse to 2008 gym bag
Style & design / Eco & sustainability

Zirkeltraining's bags, laptop cases and wallets are fabricated from
German gym equipment used in the 1950s, creating eco-friendly
products with a unique (and slightly sweaty) heritage.

Hotel offers each guest a favourite book, on Kindle
Travel & tourism / Media & publishing

New York City’s Algonquin Hotel is now offering guests a free loan of
Amazon’s Kindle for the duration of their stay, pre-loaded with the book
of their choice.

Seattle airport offers free electricity for plug-in cars
Automotive / Eco & sustainability

Yet another reason to go green: electric cars can now take advantage
of free charging in select parking spots at Seattle-Tacoma International
Airport.

From online baby blogs to printed baby books
Media & publishing

Two online baby book services now offer fast and easy options for
turning a baby blog into a permanent real-world record of those first
months and years.

A personalized landing page for every customer
Marketing & advertising

New technology from MindFireInc combines direct marketing with a
personalized URL and landing page for everyone a company wants
to target.

Online farmers’ market for small wine producers
Retail / Food & beverage

A UK-based startup aims to be an online farmers' market that allows
winemakers to spend their time “making great wine, rather than selling
it.”

Office tower for women entrepreneurs
Lifestyle & leisure

After we covered New York work spaces for women entrepreneurs,
one of our spotters alerted us to Eve's Tower in Dubai -- an entire
building aimed at businesswomen.

More personalized travel guides
Media & publishing / Travel & tourism

Personalized travel guides are popping up everywhere. The latest
offering: Dorling Kindersley’s Traveldk.com, which allows consumers
to select their own content, right down to the cover photo and title.

Sympvertising and secrets for business travellers
Travel & tourism / Marketing & advertising

Airport Havens is a new site for frequent flyers, featuring a searchable
database of community-generated tips on the best workspaces that
US airports have to offer.

Posh popcorn with a green twist
Food & beverage

Yet another traditional foodstuff gets a makeover: 479 Popcorn is
made-to-order organic fair-trade popcorn in gourmet flavours such
as Black Truffle & White Cheddar.

An online address for the offline world
Life hacks

Presto offers online family members a way to keep their offline relatives
in the loop by transforming regular emails into full-colour letters that
are printed on a dedicated machine.