What is the startup idea?
This 1001 startup idea is to establish a mobile based gaming application which will have a plethora of games for brain training. This startup will create fun and focused online games designed to stimulate the brain.The startup will have various types of games for achieving goals like improving creative thinking or analytical thinking.
The core philosophy behind this startup idea is that the brain remains plastic and can change in response to experiences throughout our life. The objective is to develop a game that gives the human brain the right "experience" to improve thought processes, working memory or attention span.
Market Definition
According to Sharpbrains, the Digital Brain Health Market 2012-2020: Web-based, mobile and biometrics-based technology to assess, monitor and enhance cognition and brain functioning report came out with following predictions:
- More than one million adults in North America alone will take a self-administered annual brain health check-up via their iPad or Android tablet.
- Biometrics-aided meditation will become the next big thing in corporate and consumer wellness.
- Patients with Multiple Sclerosis in at least ten countries will be offered online cognitive training together with drug-based therapy to help address their condition.
- At least one major insurer will launch an educational campaign to help adults proactively take charge of their own "brain fitness" navigating emerging research and digital brain health tools.
- According to a study by Sharpbrains, the brain training market is expected to grow to USD 6 billion by 2020.
There are various applications which have rolled out brain training applications, and as it appears the users are also interested in this kind of applications. Lumosity is one of the major players and claims to have 50 million users. There are various other applications as well like Posit, BrainHQ, and Peak. The market is still in nascent stage, and many players are looking to jump into the arena.
Pain Point & Target Audience
Mental stimulation is considered one of the main pillars of brain health, along with exercise, proper nutrition, stress management and social connection. These brain games will be scientifically developed by experts to strengthen the five major cognitive brain functions, attention, language, memory, visual-spatial, and executive function. As on date, the users have very limited options to improve these functions without spending money with expensive experts.
The target audience for this website would be "Individuals looking for brain training through handheld devices."
Value Proposition
Games will be specifically designed to improve different sets of skills. By spending few hours a week at their convenience, users will be able to maintain or enhance their mental fitness levels. Games are considered by people as a means of refreshing their brains. It has also been found in studies that people who play action oriented games have improved their decision-making time and ability to shift between parallel tasks.
Business Model
The business model for this startup will be a subscription based model where every user will pay a monthly fee. There would be separate plans which would let the user play a limited number of games for unlimited times.
Way to market
The first step would be to create a set of games for each kind of objectives that will be listed on the application. The startup will have to work closely with various neuroscientists for this. It should identify the neuroscientists who are doing their research in different areas and bring them together. The marketing for this application would be tricky, and the startup will have to identify a strong team which can make sure that people identify with the application and sees benefits in using it.
It may be a good idea to approach medical insurance companies to bundle this as part of the elderly care plan especially in countries that have a higher percentage of aging population.
Milestones
The startup should target to include at least 3 to 4 games for brain training for different objective so that users can find engagement. Then it should target a minimum of 200K million downloads in the first two years. This will ensure that it has a steady stream of revenue line.
Investment Needed For Prototype
For testing & building the prototype, pitch for raising 200K USD from angel investors or incubators. This is a very niche idea and will need support from incubators at MIT or the likes of Y Combinator which can add value to this business. There should be no office rentals or salary payout; the entire budget should be apportioned for customer acquisition and technology.
Team Capability
You would need to have a neuroscientist and a tech expert to create the right kind of product. It will also need a team of game developers to continuously develop and refine products.
Investors / Expert Take
Earlier, the investors would invest if there were users in business, but now the investors look for a model which has a strong, promising revenue model. This kind of business needs to ensure that it can show a steady use of the application by its users and a continuous increase in download numbers. Having said that, this kind of business has already caught the eye of investors, Lumosity recently raised USD 70 million, and Peak has also raised USD 7 million. In case you are looking at scaling or launching this venture, you can apply for our virtual acceleration program Excelrate on our website, Yostartups.com .Yostartups' Excelrate program will help you in streamlining and structuring your startup idea. We have limited scholarships and discount packs for deserving startups, depending on the strength of your application, you may qualify for a discount.
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