Good morning,
Companies need to hit ESG targets but don't know where to start. Offboarding employees is a compliance nightmare nobody thinks about. Contractors hate Salesforce but need a CRM.
Today: Three ideas everyone's sleeping on.
💡 IDEA #1: Sustainability Reporting Dashboard for SMBs
TLDR: ESG compliance is coming for small businesses. Build the dashboard that helps them track, report, and prove sustainability efforts for £99-299/month.
The Problem
Large corporations have ESG reporting requirements. Soon, small businesses will too (EU regulations already expanding, US following).
SMBs know they need to track:
Carbon emissions
Energy usage
Waste reduction
Supply chain sustainability
Diversity metrics
But they don't have:
Sustainability officers (£100k+ salary)
Complex reporting software (£10k+/year)
Time to manually compile data
They're going to get hit with compliance requirements and have no idea how to comply.
The Numbers
33 million small businesses in US
ESG software market: £1.5B, growing to £15B by 2030
Current solutions target enterprise (SAP, Workiva = £50k+/year)
SMBs will pay £100-500/month for simple compliance
How It Works
Dashboard that:
Connects to utility bills (auto-pull energy data)
Tracks waste/recycling (manual input + photo upload)
Calculates carbon footprint (formulas already exist)
Generates compliance reports (PDF export)
Benchmarks against industry standards
Suggests improvements (switch to LED = X tons CO2 saved)
Setup: 20 minutes. Connect accounts, input baseline data, reports generate automatically.
Business Model
Starter: £99/mo (basic tracking, simple reports)
Pro: £199/mo (advanced analytics, audit-ready reports)
Enterprise: £499/mo (multi-location, custom frameworks)
At 1,000 customers averaging £200/mo = £200k MRR
Why This Wins
Regulations are coming. SMBs aren't ready. Enterprise tools are too expensive and complex. You're the TurboTax of ESG compliance - simple, affordable, gets the job done.
Go-to-Market
Target industries facing early regulation (food service, manufacturing, retail). Partner with sustainability consultants who can recommend you. Content marketing: "2026 ESG requirements for small businesses." Offer free audit to show gaps.
💡 IDEA #2: Employee Offboarding Automation
TLDR: Nobody thinks about offboarding until it's a legal nightmare. Automate the checklist, reduce liability, charge £49-149/employee.
The Problem
When employees leave, companies need to:
Revoke system access (Slack, Google, AWS, etc.)
Collect company property (laptop, badge, keys)
Process final paycheck
Handle benefits termination
Conduct exit interview
Ensure non-compete/NDA compliance
Transfer knowledge/projects
What actually happens:
IT forgets to revoke access (security risk)
Equipment never gets returned (£2k laptop lost)
Exit interview doesn't happen (miss feedback)
Legal docs not signed (compliance violation)
Cost of bad offboarding:
Security breaches from active accounts: £50k-500k
Lost equipment: £2k-5k per employee
Legal issues from improper termination: £10k-100k
Nobody thinks about this until it blows up.
The Numbers
50 million employees quit jobs annually in US
Average company: 10-20% annual turnover
100-person company = 10-20 offboardings/year
Current solution: manual checklists that get forgotten
How It Works
Automated workflow:
Manager triggers offboarding (employee name, last day)
Platform generates checklist based on role
Auto-sends tasks to IT, HR, Finance, Manager
Tracks completion (green/red status)
Revokes system access automatically (integrations with Okta, Google Workspace)
Sends exit interview survey
Generates compliance report (proof everything was done)
Integrations needed:
HR systems (BambooHR, Gusto, Rippling)
IT systems (Okta, Google, AWS, Slack)
Payroll (ADP, Gusto)
Equipment tracking
Business Model
Per-employee pricing:
£49/employee offboarded (basic automation)
£99/employee (includes system integrations)
£149/employee (white-glove service + legal compliance review)
For 100-person company with 15% turnover: 15 offboardings/year × 399 = £1,485/year
At scale: 500 companies averaging 20 offboardings/year = £990k annual revenue
Alternative model: £299-999/mo subscription (unlimited offboardings)
Why This Wins
Onboarding gets attention. Offboarding is neglected until something goes wrong. You prevent the expensive disasters. HR and legal teams will pay to avoid liability.
Go-to-Market
Target HR leaders at mid-market companies (100-500 employees). Cold email: "How many former employees still have access to your systems?" Partner with HR software companies. Content: "The offboarding mistakes that cost £100k." Offer free audit of current offboarding process.
💡 IDEA #3: CRM for Construction/Contractor Businesses
TLDR: Contractors hate Salesforce. Build them a simple CRM designed for their workflow. Charge $99-299/month.
The Problem
Construction and contractor businesses need CRMs but:
Salesforce is too complex (built for enterprise sales teams)
Too expensive (£7-150/user/month)
Doesn't match their workflow (job sites, not office meetings)
Requires training nobody has time for
What contractors actually need:
Lead tracking (homeowner called about kitchen remodel)
Estimate management (sent quote, waiting on response)
Project pipeline (jobs in progress, upcoming, completed)
Customer communication (texts, not emails)
Photo documentation (before/after, job progress)
Invoice/payment tracking
Generic CRMs can technically do this, but contractors don't use them because the UI is wrong.
The Numbers
750,000 contractors in US
90% don't use any CRM (spreadsheets or memory)
Average project value: £5k-100k
Lost revenue from poor follow-up: 20-30% of potential jobs
How It Works
Mobile-first CRM built for field work:
Lead capture: Homeowner calls → add to CRM via voice/text
Estimate builder: Quick templates (kitchen remodel, bathroom, deck)
Photo uploads: Document everything from phone
Text/call tracking: All communication logged automatically
Pipeline view: Kanban board (Lead → Estimate → Scheduled → In Progress → Completed)
Payment tracking: Mark deposits, progress payments, final payment
Follow-up reminders: Auto-text 3 months after job (ready for next project?)
Key difference from Salesforce:
Designed for people on job sites, not in offices
Mobile-first (contractors live on phones)
Industry-specific templates (no customization needed)
Simple enough to learn in 10 minutes
Business Model
Solo: £99/mo (1 user, basic features)
Team: £199/mo (up to 5 users, shared pipeline)
Business: £299/mo (unlimited users, advanced analytics)
At 1,000 contractors averaging £150/mo = £150k MRR
Why This Wins
Contractors lose 20-30% of jobs because:
Forget to follow up on estimates
Can't find old customer info
Don't track referrals
Miss seasonal opportunities
You fix this with a tool they'll actually use. ROI is obvious: if you help them win 2-3 more jobs per year, you've paid for yourself 50x over.
Competitive Landscape
Salesforce: Too complex, too expensive, wrong workflow
BuilderTrend/CoConstruct: Project management, not CRM
Jobber/Housecall Pro: Scheduling first, CRM second
You: CRM-first, built specifically for contractor workflow
Go-to-Market
Start with one trade (plumbers or electricians). Cold call with pitch: "You're losing £50k/year in follow-up." Offer free 30-day trial. Partner with contractor supply stores (Home Depot Pro, etc.). SEO for "CRM for plumbers" "contractor CRM simple."
Your weekly haul of tools, links, and discoveries worth stealing.
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(Software Ideas)
📈 Quick Trend: Vertical CRMs Are the New SaaS Goldmine
Salesforce dominated by being CRM for everyone. Now vertical CRMs are eating their lunch.
Examples:
Procore: CRM for construction (£10B+ valuation)
Veeva: CRM for pharma (£30B+ valuation)
Toast: CRM for restaurants (£13B+ valuation)
The pattern: Take Salesforce's core functionality, customize for one industry, charge the same or more.
Why it works:
Better fit for industry workflow
Industry-specific terminology
Pre-built templates (no customization needed)
Easier to market (speak their language)
Opportunity: Pick any industry still using Salesforce or spreadsheets. Build vertical CRM. Win.
💭 Final Thought
The opportunities everyone's sleeping on:
Companies need ESG compliance but don't have tools. HR teams dread offboarding but have no automation. Contractors need CRMs but won't use Salesforce.
These aren't sexy. They're not going to TechCrunch.
But they're profitable, defensible, and solving real pain.
Sometimes the best ideas are the ones nobody's talking about.
That's it for today.
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Tomorrow: EdTech, Health & Wellness, and API Tools.
Connor
P.S. Next week: Saturday deep dives start. First topic: "Audience Is Not Demand."