Minimum Viable - Oct. 9, 2025

🐶 🐾 Dog Rentals

IDEA: According to the Shelter Animals Count Database, there are 2.9 million dogs currently in shelters and rescues in America. No, we are not partnered with Sarah McLachlan on this article, but I feel like she would agree; that is way too many. Dogs make everything better. Whether you are going for a hike, a car ride (my dogs ears just perked up), or just lazing around on the couch, man’s best friend is the perfect companion.

So what’s the problem here? Well, owning a dog and being responsible for its well-being can be intimidating… and expensive. And some dogs, especially Goldendoodles who live in my house, can be a little high maintenance. So what if you could provide the companionship of a dog without the commitment and benefit a shelter dog by getting it out for a day?

PRODUCT: Partner with a local shelter or Humane Society to offer dog rentals for a few hours at a time. Create an app that includes available dogs, their preferences (long walks, fetch, etc.), and a basic identity/background check for users. Allow users to create a profile with personality questions and match them with the best dog for their lifestyle.

Would this even work? Yes. In fact, when Pokemon Go was at its peak popularity, a shelter in Muncie, Indiana, offered a similar service and found that many users ended up falling in love and adopting the pooch.

MVP: iPhone app with a basic dog directory and scheduling/calendar feature for reservations.

REVENUE MODEL: Freemium, free for users unless they adopt a dog, then take a small cut of adoption fee.

EXIT STRATEGY: Get acquired by a pet-centric company like Wag or Rover for 6x revenue.

Publication: Wired

Link: Your Delivery Robot Is Here

Summary: DoorDash’s new autonomous robot “Dot” is here. Dot stands nearly five feet tall, carries multiple sensors, and is intended to navigate sidewalks, bike lanes, and streets. Challenges so far have been integrating robots into mixed traffic environments like erratic pedestrian areas and uneven sidewalks. While the vision emphasizes a hybrid future of human and robotic delivery, many technical, logistical, and social barriers remain. They stress that robotics might reorganize labor rather than eliminate it. Some delivery tasks will shift to humans supporting robot systems.

Spin: It was only a matter of time. I want to draw your attention to point the article makes about robots reorganizing labor instead of taking over. While we may not know what the future will look like with robots and AI, humans will still have a place. When the ATM was invented, people feared it would take all the bank teller jobs. In reality, the opposite happened and there are more tellers now doing more complex tasks. I expect the same outcome with this.

Publication: Fortune

Link: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he is ‘envious’ of Gen Z college dropouts who have the ‘mental space’ and time to build new startups

Summary: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently expressed envy for today’s Gen Z college dropouts, saying they have the “mental space” and freedom to build new ventures in the AI era. Speaking at DevDay, Altman, himself a Stanford dropout, remarked on how much easier it is now to launch a startup, thanks to rapidly advancing tools and platforms. He admitted he hasn’t had the bandwidth recently to explore side projects, though he believes many cool things could be built.

Spin: I couldn’t tell from the article if this was said tongue in cheek or if Altman was whining. Sam Altman being a dropout himself and popularizing the top startup accelerator in the world, Y Combinator, he helped make dropping out of school and starting a business cool. He does have a point about the new companies that can be built today compared to when he left Stanford. Founders can launch startups with less resources and smaller teams much more quickly. Ironically, that is also thanks to Altman and OpenAI.

Publication: Bloomingbit

Link: Pantera invests $15 million in identity verification startup Transcripts

Summary: Blockchain identity verification startup Transcripts has raised a $15 million seed round led by Pantera Capital. The funding will support the startup in developing its decentralized identity infrastructure and scaling operations. Their goal is to allow users to verify their identities across digital services without compromising privacy. Its technology is part of a broader trend toward privacy-preserving, blockchain-based identity solutions that can help address fraud, fake accounts, and trust issues in online ecosystems.

Spin: We have talked about the blockchain in previous editions, but basically, the blockchain is an immutable digital ledger. Data cannot be edited without a detailed audit trail. Many companies such as Clear perform ID verification, but does not allow users to share the verified data they have uploaded. This can be huge for returning trust to processes like hiring.

Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of 37Signals and BaseCamp, are two of the most influential voices in the workplace revolution. They do things differently and make a damn good case for why its better. Some of their ideas are paid vacations (not just PTO, they actually pay for your trip), month long sabbaticals every 3 years, reviewing pay scale every year to make sure their employees are in the top 10% of earners in their position, and my personal favorite, meetings as a last resort. Its a great book for entrepreneurs because it gives a framework for building culture and trust with employees.

I read it in an afternoon. Give it a try.

IDEA: Basically, its Venmo, but the only functionality is users requesting money from others and if the requested user declines, they must provide a reason as to why they will not be giving the money. Easy way to for college students to squeeze and extra $20 out of their parents.

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