Dragon Children

In many asian countries, children born in the year of the dragon have better academic performance due to a self-fulfilling prophecy fueled by additional attention to nurture.

“[T]he parents of Dragon children have higher expectations of their children and they invest in their children more intensely. In the end, these higher expectations yield better educational outcomes. Put differently, these expectations create this self-fulfilling prophecy,” wrote the LSU researchers.

source:
https://qz.com/1065374/chinese-children-born-in-the-year-of-the-dragon-are-more-successful-but-not-due-to-supernatural-forces/

Waste disposal and reducing trash that ends up in the ocean

Interesting proposal to tweak the economics of the waste disposal system. Paying drivers up front incentivizes dumping at any location that is convenient for the driver, to optimize their rate of collection. Introducing a middleman that finalizes the transaction upon dumping at an approved location could address this issue.

Similar to taxis vs. apps for ride shares.

source: https://www.natgeochasinggenius.com/video/3364

Blabla Car

Blabla car is a ridesharing service, commonly used in Europe. Their slogan is "Connecting people who need to travel with drivers who have empty seats".

Their plan is to gradually introduce reservation fees. They would like to first establish this method of traveling, and then introduce a fee for monetization.

Demonstrates the importance of obtaining a critical mass of users.

Plentea

Plentea is a tea and toppings store in San Francisco.

They distribute their tea in a mason jar imprinted with their name, which you get to keep. If you bring back your mason jar for a subsequent visit, you get 10% off your purchase.

They take a relatively lower profit margin in exchange for the marketing and word of mouth from the mason jars.