🧭Web 3D, Digital Tar Pits & Travel Pooling (Founder's Compass)
Hello there and welcome to Founder's Compass, a good way to get oriented around the labyrinthian world of startups.
Tool of the week: Spline
Always wanted to integrate 3d elements into your website? Or maybe wanted to build a game? Spline is the best tool to play around with that idea. It’s the easiest-to-pick-up 3d modelling system and lots of fun toys can be built in it. Once you reach it’s limits however, take a look at three.js.
Video of the week: Digital Tar Pits
Top 5 stories of the week
“With TikTok quickly becoming the go-to platform for food trends and viral recipes, Voilà needed to capture the attention of millennial consumers who were more likely to trust their next meal inspiration from a TikTok influencer than from a traditional ad.
The goal was clear: leverage the viral nature of #FoodTok to drive both brand awareness and website conversions. But they didn’t just want to follow trends; they wanted to become the brand that helped users bring those trends straight from TikTok to their tables—without the usual delay of making a grocery list.”
“Investors only know two emotions: ‘Fear & Greed’”
It’s a great first principles thinking that applies also to the broader market, I think about it this way:
If you understand the “Greed” you understand where the market can go (potential). It’s a window for innovation and big bets.
If you understand the “Fear” you understand how much risk you should consider. It’s a window for optimization, quality and holding on what you have.”
“There’s a popular saying that debugging code is twice as hard as writing it. It’s the reason why when ChatGPT outputs some hogwash, it’s easier just to re-prompt it or write it from scratch yourself instead of trying to figure out the errors in its buggy code.
Clever code is harder to read and looks esoteric.
Clear code is harder to write and looks easy.”
“If you use Cursor often, this should sound familiar. You constantly nudge the AI back toward your project's standards and personal preferences. If you're already nodding in agreement and (from the title) understand where I'm going with this, you probably just want the meta cursor rule template that I use. In that case, you can jump straight to The Plug-and-Play Meta-Cursor Rule.”
“More generally, it is OK for people to not want to work at your company. Better that 10% of people are extremely interested than 70% are mildly intrigued.
Take home tasks are pointless in an AI world.
Pay people for their time, dammit.
You have too many stages in your process, probably. 2 hours of interviews and a SuperDay is enough for us.
At the beginning and end of a process, you are in sales mode – the whole interview process is not ‘impress me’ the whole way through.
We have never taken references. They’re too easy to game, and a weaker signal than just doing some work together.”
Updates from Creative Motion & ReaktorX:
We’re rebuilding our website into a more engaging 3D experience.
Results coming soon…
Startup idea of the week: Travel Pooling
Problem:
Solo travel is booming—but it comes with a cost. As more digital nomads, remote workers, and independent explorers hit the road, they’re often saddled with higher prices because most travel deals target groups, couples, or families. Solo travellers get left out of the deep discounts that come with booking in larger numbers.
Solution:
A dedicated platform that harnesses the power of collective buying by pooling solo travellers together. By letting individuals join “deal pools” for hotels, tours, and experiences, the platform unlocks group-level discounts without requiring travellers to coordinate a full group journey. No one is charged until a minimum number of participants is confirmed, ensuring everyone enjoys the savings.
How It Works:
1️⃣ Browse Exclusive Deals: Users visit the platform and explore travel offers specifically curated for solo adventurers.
2️⃣ Join a Deal Pool: Interested travellers opt into a deal pool that targets discounted rates for a particular hotel stay, tour, or local experience.
3️⃣ Unlock Savings Together: Once the pool reaches the required number of participants (similar to a Kickstarter model), the special rate activates, and travellers pay only after the deal is confirmed.
4️⃣ Community Option: Users can choose to connect with fellow solo travellers in their pool (if they wish) to share insights or plan meetups—keeping options open for both social and completely independent journeys.
Benefits:
✔️ Deep Discounts: Unlock rates typically reserved for groups by leveraging collective buying power.
✔️ Tailored Offers: Enjoy travel deals designed exclusively for solo adventures.
✔️ Flexibility: Join a community if you desire connection or fly solo on your own terms.
✔️ Risk-Free Commitment: No payment or charge until the minimum traveller threshold is reached.
Go-to-market:
Target Audience: Focus on Millennial and Gen Z travellers who are exploring the world solo.
Initial Rollout: Start in three major cities known for vibrant solo travel cultures.
Growth Tactics: Use social media, influencer collaborations, and affiliate partnerships to build a dedicated user base before scaling globally.
Challenges:
⚠️ Critical Mass: Consistently reaching the user threshold needed to activate each deal pool.
⚠️ Partnerships: Securing exclusive and competitive deals with hotels, tour operators, and experience providers.
⚠️ User Experience: Maintaining a seamless, secure platform as the user base and deal volume grow.
Stick close for the next one.