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6 Startups Solving First World Problems

March 27. 2017. 5 mins read
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If you’re not familiar with first world problems, they’re things that we consider “problems” that most people wouldn’t. When we say “most people”, what we are referring to are the 38% of the people living on this planet that live on less than $2 a day. With that in mind, please consider some of these sample first world problems we face:

  • Blisters after buying new shoes
  • Going to fridge in middle of night and not finding anything you want to eat
  • Hotels with plug sockets too far away from the bed
  • No merlot so you have to use shiraz in the beef bourguignon

You get the picture. Most people don’t have new shoes, a fridge to store food in, or electronic devices to plug into a socket. These are all first world problems that shouldn’t even merit any complaints from those of us who are privileged enough to have these “problems”.

We do a lot of research here at Nanalyze to bring you insightful articles that help you make more informed investment decisions. In the process of researching, we often come across startups that we would qualify as solving first world problems. We’re publishing this article in hopes of getting some of these down on paper as it were so we can keep adding to this list in hopes of finding the most unnecessary startup ever. Here’s a few we thought were good contenders.

CleverPet

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Is your dog not really engaged? Does your dog forget isht? Yeah, we know what you mean. So while most people can’t afford to feed a pet, your pet just isn’t behaving in a manner that makes you feel your getting your money’s worth out of it. A startup called CleverPet has taken in $1.42 million in funding to develop a food bowl with pads that light up. If the pet puts it’s paw on the lit pads, they get food.

So yeah. That’s about it. According to one customer’s feedback “I can see a difference in his mood and engagement”. You can pick one up for just $299 (or 150 days of living costs for the less fortunate).

Jellyvision

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Remember all those people working for less than $2 a day? They probably don’t have things like a 401K or a health insurance plan. For those of us that do though, it is a serious emotional drain to go through all this stuff and make decisions like which funds to invest in. Now you might say that this is the job of human resources. We would wholeheartedly agree. Apparently though, there are at least 800 companies where HR can’t be asked to do such meaningless tasks. Or maybe their HR staff speak Engrish. Who knows. Whatever the reason, a startup called Jellyvision has taken in $25 million in funding to help you address those overwhelming feelings you get when looking at all those benefits you’re getting:

The product called ALEX claims to “talk to you one-on-one using plain English and humor“. Ok, so maybe HR can’t do that after all.

Kinsa

Click for company websiteEver get the feeling that your thermometer just isn’t doing a good enough job? We’re not talking about the battery being drained or anything. It tells temperature just fine, it’s just that it seems like you’re missing something. If you’re lucky enough to have a thermometer but just aren’t satisfied with the way it takes your kid’s temperature, then maybe you need an upgrade. A startup called Kinsa has taken in $29 million in funding to develop a thermometer that does all kind of stuff other than just do what it was meant to do:

What surprised us the most was that this smart thermometer is actually at an affordable price point. You can pick one up on Amazon for about $15 (or 7.5 days worth of living costs).

TushyMe

Click for company websiteDo you have indoor plumbing that works but you really don’t like using toilet paper because it chafes your nether regions? You could just go out and buy a bidet, or you could convert your sanitary indoor plumbing appliance into a bidet with an innovative product from TushyMe, a startup that’s taken in $500K in seed funding.

As the company says, “If a bird pooped on you, you wouldn’t wipe it off with dry paper. So, why treat your butt any different?” Exactly. Did the person who came up with this brilliant idea realize that this first world problem may have already been solved by one of the companies found on the Amazon “best sellers in bidet attachments” list?

Winnie

Click for company websiteDo you have children but sometimes you find that other people don’t appreciate your screaming bundles of joy as much you do? While some people worry about having food to give to their children, we worry about going to a restaurant that’s not “kid friendly”. This disaster can now be avoided thanks to a startup called Winnie which has taken in $2.5 million in seed funding to “bring transformative technology to parenting“. Their useful app apparently lets you know “which cities are kids friendly“. Seriously.

You can also search their directory to get the parent perspective on local restaurants, parks, activities, schools and more. Or you can just go about raising kids like people have been doing for decades without worrying about which cities are “kid friendly”. We’ll let you in a little secret. They all are.

Hiatus

Click for company websiteAre you spending money so fast that you can’t keep track of what you’re spending it on? You could just exercise some self-discipline and maybe put together a budget in Excel. We know what you’re going to say. You can’t be asked to login into your online bank and look at your credit card statements to see all the useless garbage you spend your money on. A startup called Hiatus has taken in $1.2 million in funding to develop a mobile application that “helps its users cancel unwanted subscriptions” along with some other stuff like using big data to help you negotiate your bills:

Here’s the link where you can download the free app you pampered lazy bastrd.

Conclusion

So there you have 6 startups that are solving first world problems. Have any startups you think should be on this list? It has to be a startup that has received venture capital funding and preferably solves the most frivolous problems imaginable. Drop us a note in the comments section below with your candidate for the most unnecessary startup ever.

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