Patent reform struggles on the Senate floor while presidential hopefuls debate NAFTA’s influence not just on business, but innovation. Yet even with innovation under fire, American entrepreneurs step up to a stellar challenge.

Google’s Lunar X Prize non-profit organization recently announced the 10 teams participating in its robotics competition to the moon. Out of 560+ inquiries from 53 nations, 5 out of the 10 teams hail from the US. The organizing committee dealt with an enormous number of qualified entrants. In comparison, the Ansari X Prize only received interest from 2 teams in the same time period.

The mission asks a lot of its potential champions. The first team to land a lunar rover, travel 500 meters and send images/ data back to Earth will win $20 million. The 2nd team to do the same walks away with $5 million. Though the jackpot incentivizes applicants, the overall cost of the endeavor will easily exceed the prize purse. Most note the inspiration to win is the innovation itself.

Take a page from the competitive, blindly-encouraging vision of Google, and give your team an ‘impossible’ task. One small step for your business, one giant leap for mankind.

Katie Sherman is a NY-based freelance writer. After years of multi-tasking at downtown ad agencies, she's recently returned from a European backpacking sabbatical. During the day she works as a Copywriter in Soho. In the off-hours she concentrates on analyzing social/ cultural trends, business innovation and local entertainment. Her work has been published on PSFK.com, CoolBusinessIdeas.com, EatDrinkSleepny.com, and Glamourite.com. Email her at katie_sherman@hotmail.com

Teraoka’s new the Deli Touch pen allows customers to place orders without human contact. Using a menu with barcodes embedded in the photos of the items, the pen’s camera scans the codes and transmits the information via wireless to a server, which is connected to a printer in the kitchen that prints out the order. On both sides an automated voice announces that an order has been placed.

The advantage of the the Deli Touch pen seems more user friendly as compared to a touch screen order system. Besides, the Deli Touch pen is considerably cheaper than an actual waiter.

Via Trend in Japan

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TrendInsights. A blog to inspire, stimulate creativity and trend spotting.

USATODAY: Even those of us who don't gab on cellphones appreciate having one for an emergency. For a blind or visually impaired person, the Nokia N82 promises much more: It's a liberating day-to-day tool that grants access to printed materials not otherwise easily available.

A sightless person can use the phone to snap a picture of a menu, book, printed receipt or business card. Software on the phone processes the words on those items and reads the text aloud in a synthesized voice. The device can even let a blind person know if paper currency is a $5 or a $20 bill.

Cellphone can read to you from pictures it takes [USATODAY]

I've tried a number of battery-operated nose hair trimmers hoping one of them would last, be easy to clean, and remain sharp. Every one of them failed. This stainless steel trimmer is simplicity itself! No whirring motors, wimpy foil blades, batteries or delicate electronics. It costs a little more than some electric models but works elegantly and reliably. I also like the fact it is so compact I can sanitize the entire unit in the occasional alcohol bath. I always thought trimmers had to work at high speed to deliver a comfortable and painless cut. With this device, you simply stick the unit an 1/8-inch up your nose and rotate the shaft back and forth.

Groom Mate Nose & Ear Hair Trimmer [Cool Tools]

TrendCentral: Imported from Turkey and used as a cure for skin ailments such as psoriasis, Garra rufa (aka Dr Fish) are the latest trend in Japanese spa treatments. But be warned, this treatment is not for the squeamish: the fish feed off of the dead and affected areas of skin and leaves healthy skin to grow. Basically, you stick your feet in a small tank where hundreds of fish swarm and nibble and suck at your dead skin. The first few minutes certainly feel freaky and it takes time to get used to the sucking feeling.

Dr Fish [TrendCentral]

Australian IT: Like the promise of the paperless office, wearable electronics - specifically gadgets integrated into clothing for ease of movement - is a concept that has been long hyped but not really delivered until now.

Rod Tanks of Smart Fabrics is looking for a market for wearable electronics. In many ways, that's surprising. At first glance, particularly in an era when mobility is prized and just about everyone seems to be armed with personal music players and mobile phones when they venture out on the streets, it would seem the notion is a sound one.

Every year, the world's major consumer electronics exhibitions showcase apparel with built-in gadgetry and equipment that can be used to adorn various parts of the body, and predictions are made that wearable electronics is a market set to take off.

Recent Consumer Electronics Shows in Las Vegas, for example, have shown off micro LED-infused clothing, T-shirts that light up when they detect wireless hotspots, and luminous bedclothes suitable for reading by.

This year, CES had a range of exploding and vibrating gamer vests, with one even sending a puff of air into your ear when a virtual enemy mortar whistled past your head.

In recent years, fashion houses such as Dolce and Gabbana, Louis Vuitton and Prada have been quick to form alliances with electronics (and particularly phone) manufacturers to cross-market their products. Yet we still seem as far away as ever from the time when our favourite gadgets become commonly integrated with our clothing.

Rod Tanks, the managing director of Smart Fabrics Australia, one of the few local companies dedicated to the concept of wearable electronics, is confident the concept's time will come, but it still faces challenges, he says.

"The market in general will take off," he says. "Cast your mind back to the first mobile phones, which were like carrying bricks around, and there were probably only about half a dozen streets in Sydney where they could work.

Devices to get dressed with [Australian IT]

Painting walls just got easier with Dulux. The pigment-pusher has just unwrapped the PaintPod , a device that pumps paint directly to a roller attachment. Hit a button and the PaintPod , loads its roller with the correct amount of paint.

What's more? It even cleans itself up when you've finished decorating, taking a mere ten minutes to rinse all the paint out of its system. All it requires is its own 5 litre paint packs for the right consistency to work with pumping system.

Via Electricpig and T3

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TrendInsights. A blog to inspire, stimulate creativity and trend spotting.

TAG or Turning Actions into Good, is a web-based non-profit charity which revolves around the kindness of strangers. The concept allows anyone to participate in a charity, regardless of financial status.

Here is how the process works: Member's would print off pre-made TAG-cards. Commit an act of kindness. Give the person a TAG-card which asks the stranger to do another act of kindness and go to the website to report about the deed that was done to them. After submitted, viewers can vote for the most touching act of the month. The leading vote getter would receive a prize and a donation towards the charity of their choice.

Turning Actions into Good

Springwise: Zen Burger aims to revolutionize the fast food world with natural, wholesome vegetarian foods that have the look, feel, texture and taste of meats without the negative effects on health and the environment. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, the restaurant specializes in meatless comfort foods that mimic those sold in traditional fast-food environments, such as the ZenSausage breakfast sandwich, ZenBeef burgers, crispy ZenChicken sandwich, ZenTuna sandwich, ZenHotDog, ZenChicken tenders, ZenShrimp and French fries.

The midtown Manhattan eatery, which just opened a few weeks ago, even recreates the ambience—if you can call it that—of the big fast-food chains, with bright lighting and a 1970s colour scheme heavy on the oranges and greens. Also available at Zen Burger are organic soups and chili, organic salads, non-dairy ice cream, organic teas and coffees, and natural sodas, as well as kids' meals complete with tiny toy. Pricing for a standard meal is about USD 7.

Meatless Fast Food Chain [Springwise]

Normal Room shows you interior design and home furniture from all around the globe. Search the image database and explore the differences and similarities in architecture and home decoration between people in different countries.

As a member you can post your own photos to Normal Room, comment on other photos and even send your favourite picture as an email-card.

http://www.normalroom.com

Every morning, one out of every two Americans starts their day with a bowl of breakfast cereal. Baby boomers love it for nostalgic reasons, but also because it is often healthier than restaurant alternatives. They represent an entire generation raised on cereal, and still love it because it is quick and simple, requiring no cooking.

CerealThing, Inc hopes to tap on this consumer trend. Founder Dave Ascone has invented what is known today as the CerealThing™, a mug-shaped milk and cereal container comprised of individual milk and cereal compartments, separated by a patented valve. CerealThing’s built-in cold pack and insulated milk compartment keeps the milk cold.

There is also a detachable spoon that delivers a complete breakfast experience in a single, easy to carry container. With CerealThing, health (and cost) conscious consumers can enjoy breakfast away from home anywhere and anytime. Dave is planning to offer his idea for sale, licensing or joint-venture.

http://www.cerealthing.com

Previously, we mentioned about carrying your baby with ease through CYBEX i.GO .

Now, The The Babykeeper Basic is a patent pending infant carrier style seat, that hangs from the stall wall in most public restrooms, and can also be used in many public fitting rooms. 2 large metal hooks encased in safety webbing, each lined with non-slip material for added security.

The Babykeeper Basic also provides you with a safer and more reliable means of restraining your child in a shopping cart.

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TrendInsights. A blog to inspire, stimulate creativity and trend spotting.

MediaCart® is revolutionizing shopping with a computerized shopping cart which assists shoppers, delivers targeted communications at the point of purchase and streamlines store operations.

One of the highlights for retailers here is the Use Scan and Bag to Accelerate Checkouts, Reduce Labor Costs. The MediaCart® System allows shoppers to scan and total all of their items, providing valuable displays while they shop and allowing shoppers to bypass traditional checkouts.

MediaCart® system accurately anticipates and responds to shopping needs – letting shoppers locate products, check prices and scan and bag their items seamlessly while shopping.

Via Chipchick

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TrendInsights. A blog to inspire, stimulate creativity and trend spotting.

While the trades rank who’s who in discovering ways around the norm, Boston takes time to pay homage to pranksters disobeying the status-quo completely.

In true copycat behavior, city artists replicated events that had once shut down the city. An act in remembrance of trouble-making comrades, Sean Stevens and Peter Berdovsky. One year ago, the two twenty-somethings riled up city law enforcement by placing LED light boxes in public arenas. What turned out to be an ad campaign for Aqua Teen Hunger Force was, at first, a bomb scare.

This year, supporters scoured the city for eye-catching spots to position throwback LED panels. Instead of the ATHF ‘moonite’ character, this ’08 edition uses George Bush, Osama Bin Laden, Jesus and others to give life to the irreverent art. Bringing back the homeland security controversy between media shock value and uncouth terrorism.

And the controversy isn’t contained to the States. Czech rabble-rouser, Ztohoven’s, is currently pending trial on ‘attempted scaremongering’ charges. 6 members face up to 3 years in jail and/or a fine for streaming video of a fake nuclear blast on the morning weather channel. Surprisingly, residents didn’t seem to react. Nonetheless, the deed re-evoked the question; is media-manipulation art or tampering?

Katie Sherman is a NY-based freelance writer. After years of multi-tasking at downtown ad agencies, she's recently returned from a European backpacking sabbatical. During the day she works as a Copywriter in Soho. In the off-hours she concentrates on analyzing social/ cultural trends, business innovation and local entertainment. Her work has been published on PSFK.com, CoolBusinessIdeas.com, EatDrinkSleepny.com, and Glamourite.com. Email her at katie_sherman@hotmail.com

Springwise: With hooligans grabbing the spotlight more often than not, warm and cozy aren’t terms that are usually associated with fans of European soccer/football. A new Swiss venture called Sleep-In could change that. Set up in advance of the 2008 European Football Championship that will take place in Switzerland and Austria this June, Sleep-In enables area residents from both countries to offer their homes to visiting soccer fans. Visitors can list the type of accommodations they’re looking for, and local hosts choose their temporary housemates based on the write-ups that guests submit.

Besides access to accommodation that is low cost and in some cases free, the site’s overriding benefit, its organizers say, is the chance it affords both parties to meet new people. To make sure everyone is satisfied with the arrangements they negotiate, Sleep In exhorts its users to be truthful in the descriptions they place in their ads.

Soccer fans to share beds at Euro 2008 [Springwise]

Oh my you got to love this! It is simply awesome. Now, you must be wondering how does this works? Here you go: At plain sight it is a standard black mug as they come a dime a dozen and in big white letters it say OFF. Nothing fancy, but once you add the hot beverage of your choice, the mug changes color and is turning white and in big black letters it states: ON

On/off mug by Charles & Marie.

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TrendInsights. A blog to inspire, stimulate creativity and trend spotting.

Lessons Learned From Brett Favre

Recently Brett Favre, the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, broke the all-time NFL touchdown record. As a fan of football and Green Bay (I grew up in Wisconsin) I've had the opportunity to watch Favre over the years, and I also realized how his career provides some valuable business-building lessons.....

Continued in BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 63 >>>

- Self Serve Dog Wash
- Single-use Sachets For HABA Products
- Old School Gaming
- Revolutionized Garage
- Getting Uncomfortable
- Food and Drink In a Cup
- Ordering Take-out

Continue reading these top stories in the BIZNESS! Newsletter >>>

- Feeling Confidence!
- The Uniform Franchise Offering Circular
- Creating a Winning Business Plan
- Marketing offline Can Increase Your Online Business
- Your Brand: Integrity and Reputation
- The Gift Of Time
- BestBizWays Are Your Ways

Continue reading these top stories in the BIZNESS! Newsletter >>>

Can't stand your demanding boss anymore? Start your own business! Before that, be sure to subscribe to our free informative newsletter. BIZNESS! is jointly published by CoolBusinessIdeas.com and GetEntrepreneurial.com What you get in BIZNESS! - the latest new business ideas, small business advice, business tips and info and entrepreneur resources. Everything you need for your brand new business!

Free 20-pages PDF report (worth $38) - "New Business Ideas Report 2007" - included with your subscription. Learn more here.

Adrenalina The Extreme Store. Check out the video! We don't have to say more, it's simply COOL.

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TrendInsights. A blog to inspire, stimulate creativity and trend spotting.

TMC Pet Vending Solutions has been studying the self serve dog wash market since 2005. One of its invention is the K9000 machine. This coin-operated self serve dog wash equipment is simple and easy to use. Dogs easily step up into wash area with a hair free non slip floor. It has a rotary switch/dial – easy to switch between wash cycles and similar to self serve car wash.

The K9000 offers 6 wash cycles, including conditioner and flea & tick options as well as a disinfecting option. TMC Pet Vending Solutions is touting its self serve dog wash products as an additional source of income for business owners.

Iconoculture: According to the National Sleep Foundation, half of Americans have driven drowsy and about 20% have actually fallen asleep at the wheel. In response, Mercedes-Benz is developing an eye-opening monitoring system called Attention Assist.

The system creates a driver's profile based on normal steering patterns and driving behavior. If a driver deviates from that profile, it prompts a warning sound that suggests taking a break.

Attention Assist warns drivers that they're getting sleepy [Iconoculture]

In south Asia, the majority of shampoos, laundry detergents and other HABA/home cleaning products are sold in single-use sachets for a simple reason - many Indian consumers are not yet able to afford the purchase of traditionally sized packages.

In North America, sachets of this type have usually only been used as a giveaway for promoting consumer trial, or sold for use while traveling. However, Shoppers Drug Mart, Canada's leading pharmacy chain, has taken single use sachets and developed an entirely new category of high margin HABA goods.

This "Anti-Aging Micro Dermabrasion Duo" sachet is one of approximately 20 new private label sachet products, and retails for CDN $2.49 (CDN $1 = USD $1). Usage directions on the reverse of the package recommend use '2 to 3 times per week for best results' - clearly a big potential revenue source for Shoppers.

What consumer products do you use every day that could be repackaged or reformatted to sell incremental volume?

Graeme Spicer is a Canadian trendspotter, ethnographer and observer of all things retail. As Director of Retail Strategy at DW+Partners he spends his time consulting with leading retailers; presenting at conferences across North America; lecturing at OCAD, Canada's leading design school; and reading too many blogs. Graeme can be reached at graeme.spicer@gmail.com.

Sony USB memory stick - 5 different storage capacity ranged from 1GB, 2GB, 4Gb, 8GB to 16GB compatiable for both Mac and Windows. It has a cool LED lit and high speed reading transfer rate of 31 MB/s.

Availabilty in Japan around March. Price - 22,800 yen ($210 USD equiv.) for the 16GB model.

Via Slashgear

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TrendInsights. A blog to inspire, stimulate creativity and trend spotting.

The Cool Hunter: Old school gaming is back in sleek stainless steel and is certain to be the perfect accessory to any cool modern home, workspace, studio or bar.

Loaded with PacMan, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Space Invaders and 44 other pre-installed timeless games, the 80's Gaming Table is a modern take on an old classic. The Table’s compact size (800x760x700mm) and durable construction can double as a coffee table, dining table, desk, bar, or even dance stage. It will complement your home, entertain and stimulate your co-workers, impress your friends, appease your kids and even bring out your own inner child on occasion.

Game On - 80's Old School Gaming Is Back [The Cool Hunter]

Emerging technology from South Korean fried chicken chain BBQ Chicken. Popcorn chicken rides up top; cola chills out below.

It's perfect for snacking on the move, having it all in one hand. While there're some concerns in the threats of condensation to your food, we think that the idea's innovative and some fine tunes to it would make wonders. It will be an excellent implementation at the cinemas - having your popcorns and drinks all in one (obviously in a bigger packaging).

Via Serious Eats

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TrendInsights. A blog to inspire, stimulate creativity and trend spotting.

Gizmodiva: Hardcore Mario fans have another reason to rejoice, they can now get their hands on these awesome plush mats that can be laid down on their bedroom (or whichever room) floor. Featuring the icons from the Mario game, there are five options to play around with. If you have the space (and the money), then call for all five else opt for your fav icon. Each squishy floor tile measures 40cm x 40cm (15.74 x 15.74″), and come in Mario, Shroom, Goomba, Question Mark Block and Brick patterns. Apparently the Brick pattern is sold out nevertheless pick the up for $23 a piece.

Super Mario Bros Dot Design Mat spruce up your floor [Gizmodiva]

Cool Hunter: For many of us, taking our cars to the garage can be a daunting experience. Feeling anxious and uncertain over the price and duration over jobs, use of technical jargon and the like. This may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the launch of the major rebranding programme for car care network HiQ, starting with their new concept center opening in Nottingham, UK.

The aim was to revolutionize the way fast fit car care is delivered and to develop a fresh retail concept that would set new standards in this sector. And it looks like they have come up with the goods.

Designed by the London team at Fitch, the brand has been repositioned by using simple language, illustrations, and the center itself has clever features like glass walls that allow customers to see onto the garage floor for themselves.

We have seen this uncomplicated, tell it like it is mentality popping up all over the place, especially as banks try to re-align themselves with their customers. It is now nice and refreshing to see this evolving into other touch points of consumers' lives. I wonder if this approach would make going to the dentist any better?

The Friendly Garage- Brendan McKnight [Cool Hunter]

Expectations for change are high this year. And with so much emphasis being put on brilliance, you’ve got to consider the methods that get us there.

Focus groups tell us what we knew. One-way lectures tell us what you know. Sharing aggregates what we all know.

Enter the Unconferences. Forum One Communications, BlogSavannah, SoCon and more have accepted the idea of informal, participative discussions which have been gaining traction in tech circles since the ‘80s.

Its simple really. The idea that the smartest people at a conference are the often in the audience. The agenda is open-sourced via online wikis, or better, strewn about on whiteboards day-of. Come ready to share, especially if someone inquires on your area of expertise.

The congregation was born from Foo Camp, an annual, invite-only hacker event hosted by publisher ‘O Reilly Media.

Because if Burning Man taught us anything it’s that what some see as anarchism, others see as creative freedom.

Katie Sherman is a NY-based freelance writer. After years of multi-tasking at downtown ad agencies, she's recently returned from a European backpacking sabbatical. During the day she works as a Copywriter in Soho. In the off-hours she concentrates on analyzing social/ cultural trends, business innovation and local entertainment. Her work has been published on PSFK.com, CoolBusinessIdeas.com, EatDrinkSleepny.com, and Glamourite.com. Email her at katie_sherman@hotmail.com

Popgadget: I don't use an umbrella because 1) I live in Southern California and it generally only rains 3 days a year, 2) I might poke someone's eye out, and 3) Where do you store the thing when it's wet?

Hironao Tsuboi, a creative designer, solved the third problem by creating anumbrella that stands on it's own. That wasn't as easy as it sounds; apparently he had to determine the center of gravity by a complex process by casting aluminum into different clay molds. Further series of tests were carried out to determine the optimal spread of the three legs.

Made of ABS synthetic resin (plastic), the umbrella remains steady but also handy when you need it, say if a spontaneous water pistol fight breaks out or in case you're unlucky enough to live somewhere where it rains all the time.

Don't run out to buy it quite yet; it still remains a concept project.

Self Standing Umbrella [Popgadget]

The idea of take-out has taken off. The emergent trend of buying online, picking-up in-store (‘bopi’ for these purposes) was listed as eMarketer’s #7 Key Online Predictions for 2008 and NearbyNow’s #4.

While seemingly inherent that companies would diversify their distribution efforts, many are still 1-pronged. Yet with benefits like bigger shopping carts (27% of bopi customers make additional purchases in-store) and opportunities for web cross-selling (44% of bopi customers buy more merchandise online than average), it’s easy to see why it’s on the ‘08 countdown.

Recently Circuit City, founder of the bopi method, added a 24-minute guarantee for pick-up customers. This comes, not surprisingly after the Forrester report noted the top reasons to buy locally were ‘want it now’, ‘try it first’ and ‘no shipping charges’. Further, mobile bopi is forecasted to spike as well. ‘Order en route’ has quite the ring to it. With giants like Wal-Mart (see Site to Store launch in Q107) and the top 3 pizza distributors jumping on board, their success will determine how quickly others join in.

Because who doesn’t want a generic prescription or a Lexus or a latte, to-go.

Katie Sherman is a NY-based freelance writer. After years of multi-tasking at downtown ad agencies, she's recently returned from a European backpacking sabbatical. During the day she works as a Copywriter in Soho. In the off-hours she concentrates on analyzing social/ cultural trends, business innovation and local entertainment. Her work has been published on PSFK.com, CoolBusinessIdeas.com, EatDrinkSleepny.com, and Glamourite.com. Email her at katie_sherman@hotmail.com

TrendCentral: A geographical filtering site, EveryBlock aggregates relevant news and data to inform users about what’s happening in their neighborhood, block, street or zip code. Currently only available in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, the site focuses on traditional news articles (from both national and local papers and blogs), civic information (crime, building permits, restaurant inspections), and “fun from across the Web” (photos posted to Flickr, reviews on Yelp, missed connections on Craigslist). Expect this hyperlocal site to be a hit, especially as the locasumer trend continues to grow.

EveryBlock

New business ideas excite you. You're constantly on the hunt for brilliant, smart business initiatives the world has never seen before. The pursuit of "Cool" in every part of the world is your cup of tea. You have the biggest current consumer and business trends inside your head everywhere you go.

If the above describes you, listen up! You'll be thrilled by this piece of great news: CoolBusinessIdeas.com has launched a whole new cool business ideas and inspirations hunting network to blog with us on the popular CBI website. Called the Ideas Hunter Network, we've invited forward-looking and cool-hunting people to contribute new worldwide business ideas and concepts to the CoolBusinessIdeas.com blog regularly.

Without further ado, we're now unveiling our line-up of new Idea Hunters in the network. They'll be contributing new business ideas and innovations to the CoolBusinessIdeas.com blog as fervently as we do. Here they are:

Graeme Spicer

Graeme Spicer is a Canadian trendspotter, ethnographer and observer of all things retail. As Director of Retail Strategy at DW+Partners he spends his time consulting with leading retailers; presenting at conferences across North America; lecturing at OCAD, Canada's leading design school; and reading too many blogs. Graeme can be reached at graeme.spicer@gmail.com.

Learn more about Graeme Spicer's profile.

Katie Sherman

Katie Sherman is a NY-based freelance writer. After years of multi-tasking at downtown ad agencies, she's recently returned from a European backpacking sabbatical. During the day she works as a Copywriter in Soho. In the off-hours she concentrates on analyzing social/ cultural trends, business innovation and local entertainment. Her work has been published on PSFK.com, CoolBusinessIdeas.com, EatDrinkSleepny.com, and Glamourite.com. Email her at katie_sherman@hotmail.com

Learn more about Katie Sherman's profile.

TrendInsights

TrendInsights. A blog to inspire, stimulate creativity and trend spotting. We're a team of bloggers fueled by the drive to spot trends, stimulate creativity and inspire those who read our trend-hunting blog.

Learn more about TrendInsight's profile.

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We welcome our new contributors to the CoolBusinessIdeas.com community, and hope that they'll be able to get us excited with their new business ideas hunting!

Join the Network!

Whether you're a seasoned ideas hunter or a newbie merely interested in all things cool, as long as you have the passion to blog with us regularly on cool business ideas and trends, you can also get a chance to come on board as an Ideas Hunter! We welcome you to drop us an email. We'd love to hear from you!

 Yes, I want to be an Idea Hunter!