👋 Hi and welcome to today’s edition of Venture Radar — where we uncover real internet businesses making real money, and break down how they do it.
In today’s write-up, we’re sharing curated articles, posts, videos and business we found interesting on building boring and underrated businesses. Let’s deep dive into it.
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🥷 STEAL THIS BUSINESS IDEA
Steal this business idea: AI tutor matchmaker for parents.
Parents are spending thousands to give their kids an academic edge — but finding the right tutor is a mess. Endless Google searches, agency calls, trial-and-error… all while time is ticking before exams or application deadlines.
The opportunity? Build an AI-powered system that interviews parents and students, understands their goals, strengths, and struggles — and matches them with the perfect tutor.
It’s like a personal education consultant, but cheaper, faster, and always available.
Start by charging a one-time fee ($99–$299) for a personalized tutor list with match scores, bios, and availability. Later, bring tutors onto your own platform and take a commission on bookings.
This works especially well for:
Exam prep (SAT, ACT, GMAT, etc.)
Competitive admissions (top schools, Ivy League)
Skill gaps in subjects like math, writing, or coding
The wedge: money-rich, time-poor parents who care more about results than bargain prices. Once trust is built, you can expand into ongoing learning plans, progress tracking, and even AI-powered tutoring itself.
Education is one of the easiest places to prove value — and one of the most urgent for families under pressure.
Steal this business idea: AI funnel builder for solopreneurs
Most solopreneurs aren’t short on ideas — they’re short on time, energy, and cash. And yet, the tools they need to grow (landing pages, email flows, upsell paths, payment hooks) are often overpriced, bloated, or overwhelming.
The opportunity? A lightweight, AI-first funnel builder that helps solo founders go from idea → funnel → first sales in under an hour.
Think:
Just type what you’re selling
The tool builds a landing page, upsell flow, and checkout
Auto-generates copy, email sequences, CTAs, and even pricing experiments
Integrates with Stripe, email, and Notion (not 12 other tools)
Monetization?
Start with a $15–$20/month subscription. Upsell done-for-you templates or AI audits on funnel performance. Over time, serve growing businesses with more complex flows.
The wedge is clear: solopreneurs trying to hit $10K/month without hiring yet. They want speed, clarity, and something that just works — not another dashboard to figure out.
Get the experience right, and you’ll win their trust before anyone else even gets considered.
Build the tool they wish they had when they were starting out — and they’ll stick with you as they scale.
Photo booth side hustle brings in $16K/month — thanks to TikTok
From a Reddit post and TikTok story where two photo booth businesses shared their growth:
RingoKid78 runs a solo photo booth business, averaging 100 events/year at $600 each — around $60K/year, working just a few days a week
Another couple launched their booth business a year ago, mostly serving weddings — now at 120+ events total
They landed their first gig by offering a free booth via a Facebook group in exchange for social media content
One of their TikToks went viral (1M+ views), resulting in 100–200 inquiries in a single weekend
They booked $16,000 worth of events that month, all from the TikTok traction
A great example of using content-first strategies to grow a local business fast.
Made $3.2K in 4 months helping creators close brand deals
From a Reddit post where MintedFromGrit shared how he earns by working as a Brand Deal Closer:
Reaches out to YouTubers, TikTokers, and IG creators, offering to help them land and negotiate brand deals
Pitch: “You don’t pay me upfront — I just take a cut (10–30%) when you get paid”
Handles outreach, negotiates with brands, and collects commission per closed deal
Made $3,200 in 4 months doing this part-time — with potential to scale much higher
Says it's perfect for anyone with basic sales skills, WiFi, and a bit of hustle
She made $2,300 in 10 weeks from a brand new Facebook page.
From a Reddit-style post where Tweetgirl shared how she earned over $2.3K using only free tools and organic growth:
Created a new Facebook page around a niche — recommends memes or relatable content (e.g. dating/relationships)
Posted 1–2 times a day, but notes that 5–6 daily posts would speed up growth
Focused heavily on Facebook Reels, calling them the “secret sauce” for reach and engagement
Once eligible, activated the Facebook Monetization Program, earning money from ads placed alongside content
Earned $2,300 in 2.5 months, all organically, with zero paid promotions
Getting paid $70 just to hang out with strangers
From a Reddit post where someone shared how they earn money on RentAFriend, a site where people pay for companionship:
Got paid to do things like dance practice, wait in lines, visit museums, attend reunions, go hiking, and even walk pets
Charges $10/hour, with most gigs lasting several hours — typically earns $70+ per outing
Describes it as “basically just hanging out with people all day”
The platform is legit, with $10/hour as the minimum — some users, like Nick Loper, report earning up to $50/hour
Gigs aren’t always consistent, but it’s a creative way to earn extra money doing low-stress activities
🗃️ SIDE HUSTLES & BUSINESSES
This ugliest website makes ~$700M/year.
Craig Newmark never wanted to build a unicorn. He just wanted to help his friends in San Francisco find cool stuff — so he started Craigslist. No scaling roadmap. No brand redesign. No aggressive monetization. Just one of the ugliest websites on the internet… that now brings in $700M/year.
Turned down an $11B offer because “I had enough”
Never upgraded the UI, never sold out
Walked away to quietly focus on philanthropy
His story is a reminder:
You don’t need to move fast and break things.
You don’t need a 10-year plan.
You just need to start — and let the world fall in love with your weird little idea. (More)
He made $500K+ selling simple Notion templates
Jason Chin (aka Easlo) turned his personal productivity system into a digital product empire — earning over $500K by selling Notion templates. It all started when he was a student using Notion to organize his notes. Instead of keeping it private, he packaged it up and shared it with the world.
Went from $0 to $27K in 8 months
Focused entirely on templates for one popular platform: Notion
Solved a problem he personally faced, then scaled the solution
Now known as one of the top indie template creators online
The key insight? Use your own life as a starting point.
If you’ve solved something for yourself using a tool others love, chances are they’ll pay to shortcut the process. And with new platforms always emerging, the next “Notion” opportunity might be around the corner. (More Here)
She earned $2,000 fixing AI-generated copy
Sarah Skidd, a product marketing writer, was paid $2,000 to rewrite website content that a client originally tried to generate using AI. The result? Basic, lifeless copy that failed to persuade — and needed a complete overhaul.
Spent 20 hours rewriting AI copy at $100/hour
The original content was too generic and lacked intrigue
She ended up rewriting everything from scratch, not just tweaking
Sarah isn’t alone — she says many writers are now earning from cleaning up after ChatGPT. Same goes for developers fixing broken AI-coded sites. If AI is “replacing” your skill… consider flipping the script. Market yourself as the AI fixer people call after the shortcuts backfire. (More Here)
$1.6K/month from solving a problem he saw at home
Kourosh Ghaffari built Voicy, an AI speech-to-text Chrome extension, after watching his dad struggle to type efficiently. Inspired by ChatGPT’s voice input accuracy, he created a tool that lets users dictate text into any field on the web — emails, forms, documents — with just one click.
Took 10 weeks to build the first version using AI coding tools
Launched as a Chrome extension (no desktop app required)
Now makes $1,600/month in recurring revenue
Adds a mic icon to every text field so users can speak instead of type
The idea came from simply observing someone use technology and spotting friction.
You don’t need to chase big trends — just find real problems in everyday behavior. Then build something small, useful, and fast to test. (More Here)
18 Specific AI Product Ideas You Could Build.
Pete McPherson ran a live program called Most Productive Month Ever where he called participants 3–5 times per week to ask: “Did you do what you said you would?” That simple human check-in created massive results — a 100% success rate.
Now imagine productizing it:
– AI handles scheduling, tracking, and nudges
– Human coaches (or AI agents with personality) deliver light check-ins
– Works across verticals: fitness, writing, side projects, business, habits
Inspired by real manual success before automation
Can be started as a service, then scaled via tech
Reminiscent of Boss As A Service ($62.5K/month) — proof the model works
It’s a powerful idea: use AI to build a consequence layer into goals. You don’t need another to-do list — you need something (or someone) that checks if you actually did it.
$28K/month passive income from a dirt lot
Some side hustles don’t involve tech — just smart use of land. One investor turned a neglected 4.3-acre dirt lot into a $28,000/month income stream by converting it into truck parking and equipment storage.
Bought the lot (zoned industrial) for $310K from a retired contractor
Installed gravel, fencing, and a basic payment system
Rents 60+ truck spots at $18/day and storage space at $1.50/sq ft
All passive income — no fancy infrastructure needed
Similarly, Sam Hunt in San Francisco rents out 15 private parking spots via Spacer and earns $54K/year ($4.5K/month) as a side hustle.
These stories show that with the right property and setup, you don’t need a startup to build cash flow — sometimes a dirt lot and a gate is all it takes. (More)
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