Home schooling is on the increase. The educational impact is open to debate, but the fact that kids often miss out on group-style activities seems certain. San Francisco-based company Outschool is hoping to change this, by offering dozens of workshops and activities for children to enjoy in groups.

Outschool is a database of local workshops which parents can browse by activity type, date or location. There are a huge range of activities on offer: everything from squid dissection to TV studio tours. Once the user has chosen an activity, they can book and pay for it through Outschool. Parents can see who else is enrolled and share the class with other local families.

Could a similar database developed in your area? I can see no reason why not.

www.outschool.com

One of the biggest hurdles to overcome with buy-to-let is finding reliable tenants. That’s why I was interested in Roofstock – an Oakland, California based business which provides a market for homes which are already rented. The business recently raised $13m in funding and is about to launch in central Florida, so they must be at least on to something.

This could definitely be worth looking into here in the UK. As far as I know, there’s no publication, agency or database that specialises exclusively in this very attractive niche.

www.roofstock.com

I received an email this week from a reader, which may strike a chord with someone. Here’s what she said:

“My idea is  to start a franchise outlet called ‘Sugarfrees’. This would be a shop selling sugar free food, ice cream, chocolate, cakes, kids birthday cakes, biscuits,  bread and natural fruit and veg drinks, etc. It can be done without apartamine or fructose etc and taste just as good.. There is definitely a huge growing market out there.  With the alarming rise in diabetes figures I think it will soon become a necessity.”

It’s not really our ‘thing’ but it’s hard to argue with much of this. I know the lady concerned would be keen to partner with someone with either cash or retail experience to move this idea forward, and be prepared to take a small stake for her input. I don’t doubt it could be a winner, but the key will be in the implementation.

If this interests you, send me an email (john@streetwisepublications.co.uk) and I’ll pass on your details.

To most British holidaymakers, the mosquito is an irritation, but it brings far more serious problems. Mosquito-borne infections affect hundreds of thousands every year, from the outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil to a surge in cases of Dengue fever in South East Asia. But now a device that can be fitted to the backs of mopeds could provide a new way to repel mosquito’s from cities in Thailand.

MotoRepellent is a device that fits onto the back of motorbikes in Bangkok. The cylinder is filled with natural mosquito repellents that are activated by the exhaust pipe of the bike, spreading the insect repellent several meters around the vehicle.  With millions of motorbikes in the capital, the device could crowdsource mass mosquito removal. The developers claim to have helped repel mosquito’s in slums across Bangkok and protected 80,000 people.

Last year, I saw street  lamps in Malaysia being used to trap and kill mosquitos. Now we have motorbikes in Bangkok. I can’t help thinking there may be other common devices that have a dual use in mosquito control. And if there are, maybe there’s a money making application in countries where the insects are an annoyance rather than a threat to life.

I was looking at American food trends the other day. As I’m sure you know, what’s big  in the United States tends to find its way over the Atlantic soon.

According to Foursquare data, the tastes of Americans have been changing during the last few years. There was a decline in food truck dining, to the tune of 21% compared to January of 2014. That’s a significant decrease on what was a rapidly expanding sector. But other food trends are on the rise. Have you tried bubble tea? As the name suggests it’s a tea-based beverage mixed with fruit or milk and then finished off with tapioca balls or fruit jellies. It sounds awful, but visits to bubble tea shops are up 192%. Perhaps something to investigate.