About 5 years back I had an idea for a free wireless system. I'd go and offer places like Starbucks and Chapters free wireless for their customers. The hardware at their end would be a simple DSL/Cable modem hooked up through a small form factor unix box with a wireless card in it and a fairly anal set of firewall rules to prevent deep abuse.
The business model was to be setting up in line ad replacement on websites with a focus on local businesses. You're sitting in the coffee shop and an ad comes up for 10% off your next purchase at the book store across the corner, or a two for one this day only at the diner down the street.
I was working at Telus (big canadian telecom) at the time and they had just started cracking down on employees running side businesses that crossed over their product and service lines. I would've been fired and sued if I would've started it up, too broke to do it alone, and didn't have a clue where to go for investors or the like. I'm still tempted to do this, but free wireless has spread so much it would be hard to penetrate the market and convince people my way was the best way.
I regret not having the balls to say that three months living expenses was good enough, lets make a prototype and get a test going and pray I can find some business minded investors in time.
"... I'd go and offer places like Starbucks and Chapters free wireless for their customers. ..."
I wouldn't regret the decision that much if your idea revolved around Starbucks or even other large aggregators of customers. Joseph Park of Kozmo fame (see e-Dreams DVD) had a similiar idea back in Web 1. The deal went down requiring Kozmo paying Starbucks for the big bucks for the rights to serve their customers with a drop-off facility in what was meant to be a partnership. That's right they had to pay for the right to access customers. (You can see more on e-Dreams here ~ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0262021/ )
So it might be a good idea but those with the customers aren't too interested in others servicing their customers. I don't know how you get around this.
Besides, any time you have to ask permission you are in trouble.
The business model was to be setting up in line ad replacement on websites with a focus on local businesses. You're sitting in the coffee shop and an ad comes up for 10% off your next purchase at the book store across the corner, or a two for one this day only at the diner down the street.
I was working at Telus (big canadian telecom) at the time and they had just started cracking down on employees running side businesses that crossed over their product and service lines. I would've been fired and sued if I would've started it up, too broke to do it alone, and didn't have a clue where to go for investors or the like. I'm still tempted to do this, but free wireless has spread so much it would be hard to penetrate the market and convince people my way was the best way.
I regret not having the balls to say that three months living expenses was good enough, lets make a prototype and get a test going and pray I can find some business minded investors in time.