New Business Idea: Managing Time
When talking about resource, the most severly constrained is time. Time is almost never on your side, and when you need a few extra minutes, you almost never find them. Managing time is extremely important and because of that, scheduling time correctly becomes imperative.
Most of us use Microsoft Outlook or other all-in-one programs but there are a few startups today who are emerging that help manage time. I hold about 10-12 external meetings per week and scheduling can be a nightmare. I’m a control freak and like to schedule everything myself… and because of this, when I’m scheduling on the road or away from my main computer, I make mistakes. If you’ve been on the receiving end of the mistake, I’m sorry. I hope you didn’t wait too long! 
I see a large business opportunity in managing time. There are a few VC’s who are looking into this now with investments including Mayfield and JLA Ventures, but I believe no one has hit the nail on the head yet. One company who is coming close is TimeBridge, who I’ve been trying their online application lately. The feedback I’ve gotten while using their application has been terrific and honestly, it’s made my scheduling a bit easier. I have a few tweaks that I’m going to send them (to their product manager) but overall, I like what they are doing. (their TechCrunch writeup) Tungle has also emerged, but I have not used them yet.
The reason I like managing time as a business idea is that it’s most precious. We tend to spend money to guard our most precious posessions and that means there is a recognizable revenue stream. In order for this not to become commoditized, think outside the box and don’t just develop software for this. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve, but go beyond the simple “feature” list.