New Ideas

From a weekly email I receive from Springwise.com:

It's time for your weekly fix of entrepreneurial ideas! Our latest issue is now online. Here's
a quick run-down of the promising new businesses Springwise featured this week:

Matching would-be gardeners with arable land
Food & beverage / Eco & sustainability

A new campaign in the UK aims to match unused plots of land with
keen would-be gardeners, with the goal of using more arable land to
grow fresh fruit and veggies.

Music and coaching for runners
Lifestyle & leisure / Entertainment

Online services are popping up to offer music mixed with coaching,
for runners who need a bit of extra inspiration. For music-loving
entrepreneurs, it's a nice little niche with low start-up costs.

Service exchanges unwanted gift cards for cash
Financial services / Life hacks / Retail

GiftCardRescue buys and exchanges unwanted gift cards, allowing
consumers to trade them in for cash or gift cards from their favourite
stores.

Free Obama-themed coffee love for UK consumers
Food & beverage / Marketing & advertising

As the inauguration of Barack Obama draws near, global fascination
with the US president-elect is reaching a fever pitch. Across the Atlantic,
Krispy Kreme UK is joining in by giving out free Americano coffees.

A simpler way to make a doctor's appointment
Lifestyle & leisure / Marketing & advertising

ZocDoc offers New Yorkers a simple, fuss-free way to make dentist and
doctor appointments online, as well as the opportunity to rate and review
medical practitioners.

More mixers for babysitters & moms
Life hacks

Sitter-seeking parents and fully screened babysitters have the opportunity
to meet and mingle at Sitter Soirees networking events, which enable both
families and sitters to find a good match.

Reusable lunch box napkins
Eco & sustainability / Food & beverage

Founded by a mompreneur, Happikins are reusable napkins designed
to cut down on the waste associated with kids' school lunches. One to
launch locally?

A public incentive to stick to one's goals
Lifestyle & leisure / Non-profit, social cause

Pledgehammer gives resolution-makers a way to make a public
commitment to their goals. Users pledge to donate money to charity
should they fail to keep their promise.

Apple rolls out star-studded music tutorials
Education / Entertainment

Apple has added Artist Lessons to its popular GarageBand application,
with tutorials by performers such as Sting, Norah Jones and Sarah
McLachlan.

League lets amateurs join a rock band for 10 weeks
Entertainment / Lifestyle & leisure

League of Rock, a new music-based community, lets hobbyist rock
musicians join a band for 10-week sessions, without having to give up
their day jobs.

Preheatable dining stones keep dinner warm
Food & beverage

Preheated in the microwave and placed under a diner's plate, Dining
Stones' precision-cut granite stone discs keep meals steamy until the
last bite.

Online community offers DIY fashion for tweens
Fashion & beauty

A new community and design studio gives tweens an online canvas
along with a set of tools to create, share and buy their own T-shirt
designs.

Green-minded font uses less ink
Travel & tourism / Marketing & advertising

Eco-conscious consumers can now download a free font that uses up
to 20 percent less ink than traditional fonts, thus reducing consumption
of ink cartridges and toner.

Swiss bomb shelter becomes 'zero star' hotel
Food & beverage

A new Swiss hotel offers budget barracks-style accommodation in a
shared underground room. There are no windows or heating, but guests
will have a great story to tell ;-)

Appealing to gravanity of smokers who plan to quit
Life hacks

Pfizer is giving would-be quitters the chance to have their photo posted on the
Reuters or NASDAQ billboards in the heart of New York City's Times
Square, to share their no-smoking resolution with the world.

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