Welcome! This is The 4D Pocket! Your very own portal to the dimension of extra-ordinary (as well as exceptionally ordinary) startup ideas that could be your ticket to the world of unicorns!
So, the second edition. Lots to cover. But first, something I missed last time. What can you expect from this?
Right now, we have five sections.
The UniqOn: This is where you get the main startup idea.
The A+inator: A section that is an intersection of good ideas for college projects as well as a potential concept for your startup.
TrendSurfing: Serving you information about the latest and highly beneficial trends!
The Big Light: A story of people just like you, who had the courage and did something spectacular!
From the Toolkit: A really cool tool, app or service that we find which could be very useful to you!
What we got this time? Bills, Marks, Photos, in short, something for everyone!
Here. We. Go!
The UniqON
MANAGING FAMILY BILLS
I hope I’m not the only one who has a house full of important papers lying around in random drawers. Diwali is almost here and so is the time to clean the house. Do you sometimes wonder? So many documents, so many physical bills, just eating dust in your house, and never being able to find them when the time is right.
Shouldn’t there be a better way to store this important stuff? Welcome to the digital world!
The Product:
The solution is a smart digital file cabinet to keep hold of all of your documents. This platform turns your pile of stressful paperwork into a calm and organized system, reminding you what needs attention and when.
Execution:
One-Tap Organization
Scan any bill or document with your phone
AI automatically categorizes it and extracts key details like amounts and due dates.
Smart Reminders & Tracking
Get alerts for upcoming bill payments
Track warranty expirations and renewals automatically
Find Anything Instantly
Search by vendor, date, or document type
Your entire filing cabinet is accessible in seconds from anywhere
Share with Family
Share a document with your family.
Transfer docs directly instead of using WhatsApp!
Business Model:
Well, with something like this you may wonder, can I even monetise this? Surprisingly, you can!
Free tier for basic scanning and storage (up to a certain number of documents) are good enough! You can store a decent number of documents and files. Throw in the sharing feature for free too. Here, you could earn from ads or transfer limits. Charge for premium features such as cloud storage, limitless transfers and AI features!
There is also a massive opportunity to integrate mails and other services directly into your system for easier usage!
The A+inator
COLLEGE STUDENTS VS CGPA
CGPA is probably the biggest thorn in every college student’s life. In my own experience, I can say that about 80 percent of students do not understand their grade scale at all even after graduation! Knowing the grade scale is extremely important as it can actually help you plan out your entire semester (along with your attendance, and how much do you really need to study).
So why not help your peers out with a focus on this?
Central Idea:
Create a full GPA calculator with multiple university-specific parameters.
Novelty:
Calculator apps are so common it is an obvious question, what will my app do to stand out?
This is the thing: A student doesn’t want to know their GPA, they want to know how much of it they need. That is what the focus should be on! Add measurements for how much they need to score, how many days to attend to get the minimum criteria for a desired GPA, what tests to focus on, all of that stuff!
Execution:
Students input their desired target GPA or grade for the semester
Then they enter their completed course grades, current scores, and attendance percentages
The algorithm calculates exactly what scores are needed on upcoming assignments, exams, and required attendance to hit the target
The system generates a clear, step-by-step study and attendance plan, highlighting the most critical priorities
Receive reminders for key study milestones and update the plan as new grades are entered throughout the semester
Future Scope:
College life is a cyclic process. Every 4 years a new era of batches secure their tenure for the next 4 years. Safe to say, this problem is a constant with every generation. So, you can be certain this will be a hit!
TrendSurfing
FAMILY PHOTOS THAT NEVER HAPPENED
The Trend:
Over the past year (especially in the last two months), AI-generated family portraits have exploded across social media and photography markets. Platforms like Gemini, Imagine AI, and countless others are seeing massive growth, with some reporting 300% user increase in the past quarter alone. So as you know, these aren’t filters, they’re a complete imagination of real people in any scenario of choice!
Why This Matters:
Focusing more on the family aspect of this, people who unfortunately had a loved one pass away are now getting a chance to pose with them in pictures that were never clicked and it is currently an exploding fad on social media too.
Opportunities:
Themed Family Experiences: Festival and event-themed portrait packages (Christmas, Diwali, Birthdays, other festivals) that families can regenerate annually
Multi-Generational Restoration: Services that restore old family photos and generate new portraits including departed relatives using historical images
Global Family Portraits: Platforms specifically designed for geographically dispersed families to create united portraits across distances
Personalised Storytelling: Children's books and family stories featuring AI-generated images of actual family members as characters
Accessible Professional Photography: High-quality family portraits that have a professional look are also very marketable with the help of genAI.
The Big Light
MAKING $2M FROM FLOWERS
The Idea:
While visiting the ghats of Ganga, founder Ankit Agarwal was hit by a heartbreaking realization. Literally tonnes of offered flowers to the temples were being dumped into the river polluting our already suffering river. But he saw a golden opportunity which changed the problem. The problem wasn't the waste itself, but a complete lack of imagination for what it could become. The flowers were discarded, but their organic value and fragrance remained. He thought of a simple thing. He decided to recycle this waste, turning it into handcrafted, charcoal-free incense sticks. This was the beginning of Phool.co.
The Timeline:
2018: Founder Ankit Agarwal received the prestigious United Nations Young Leaders Award for his work, bringing global attention to their sustainable and impactful model.
2020: Began deep R&D into creating Fleather, a commercially viable, leather-like material derived entirely from their flower waste, marking their ambition to enter the sustainable materials market.
2022: Raised a $8M Series A round to scale operations and expand R&D. Their innovation, "Fleather," won PETA India’s award for the Best Innovation in the Vegan World.
2024: Grew into India's largest incense brand, processing over 11 tonnes of floral waste daily, while expanding their product line into a range of wellness and home fragrance items.
From the Toolkit
APPOINTMENTS MADE AUTO!
End the painful back-and-forth of scheduling with this week's tool, Calendly. Simply set your availability and share a link. People pick a time that works for them, and the event magically appears on both your calendars. It's truly that simple.
Why you'll love it:
It Saves You Hours: Automates all your scheduling so you can focus on what actually matters to you.
Effortlessly Professional: Replaces messy email chains with a sleek and simple booking page.
No More Time Zone Maths: It automatically handles time zone differences for you and your guests.
Reduces No-Shows: Sends automated reminders to ensure everyone shows up on time.
And that's all for the second edition of The 4D Pocket!
Thank you so much for reading. If you liked this edition please feel free to enter our mail list so that each edition is delivered to your email!
How did you like this week’s ideas? Suggest us what you want to see more here!
If you want us to feature your startup or anything cool you’re building, shoot us an email at [email protected]
See you next week with the 3rd edition! ;D
Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
Hope to see you again!
-The 4D Pocket Team