+$1 Billion Businesses You've Never Heard Of (#497)

About this video

Sam and Shaan discuss three businesses that caught their attention: Clear, a biometric-based TSA PreCheck alternative now expanding into identity verification for other use cases; Cricut, a home crafting machine company doing ~$1B in annual revenue; and Cloud Poker Night, a video-streamed poker platform founded by an iCracked co-founder that positions poker as ’the new sport for business minds.’ They also share updates on their own projects including new merch and a clips channel.

Key takeaways

• Clear’s success came from positioning biometric identity verification as a luxury service for airports (sharing 10-13% of revenue with airport partners), then expanding into other identity verification use cases like LinkedIn logins and stadium purchases—demonstrating how a narrow foothold in one location can become a defensible, high-margin business with network effects.
• The crafting industry (quilting, Etsy sellers, DIY tools like Cricut) is a multi-billion dollar market often overlooked by venture capital because it’s outside typical founder bubbles; identifying underserved, profitable niches that already exist is often better than trying to create new categories.
• Gamer dating apps represent an untapped opportunity because gamers share common interests and can bond through gameplay rather than just profile-based matching, similar to how successful niche dating apps (Farmers Only, Black People Meet) already validate the model—the friction is in getting people from matching to real-world activity, which gaming naturally solves.

Episode details: published September 21, 2023 · 38K views · 1:04:50 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The business ideas, figures and results discussed are the hosts’ and guests’ own claims, shared as brainstorming and entertainment — not verified facts and not investment advice.

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