New startup ideas · Consumer and commerce · Commerce and marketplaces
startup idea
Netback
An agent that recovers the money your supply chain quietly loses every week.
Netback connects read-only to a shipper's TMS, ERP and carrier portals and runs an agent that finds recoverable leakage: freight damage and shortage claims, detention and accessorial overbilling, retailer deductions, supplier short-ships.
- AI agent as a service
- Enterprise
- $100B+ market
- Creates a new category
- Global from day one
3/5
venture judge
11
similar startups, last 2 years (77 all-time)
96%
of 4 nearest real companies still alive
yes
8 matching federal grants and programs
Direction supported by government programs and grants
Test it before you build it
$1,200 · 6 weeks · 15 prospects
For $1,200 and 6 weeks, this test proves distributor controllers will hand over deduction data, sign a 25% contingency agreement, and that manual recovery beats their in-house baseline on 90 days of open deductions.
Riskiest assumption · A mid-market distributor's controller will grant deduction data access and sign a 25% contingency agreement with an unknown two-person vendor because they believe meaningful dollars are recoverable beyond what their own team already collects.
1Focus group: who and where
Controller or CFO at a food or beverage distributor or supplier, $20-200M revenue, shipping into UNFI, KeHE, Walmart or Kroger, carrying $25k+ per quarter in open retailer deductions with no dedicated deductions clerk.
where to find 15 · The Startup CPG Slack, where suppliers openly complain about UNFI and KeHE deductions; the IFDA and NAW member directories for mid-market food distributors; referrals from the food brokers who manage these companies' retailer accounts and see the deduction statements firsthand.
2Sell first, build later
We work your last 90 days of open retailer deductions to settlement: evidence files assembled, disputes filed in the UNFI, KeHE, Walmart and Kroger portals, cash reversed inside 45 days. No software to install, no retainer, read-only data access only.
the ask · 25% of recovered dollars, contingency only; $0 if nothing comes back.
a real yes · A real yes is a signed contingency agreement plus the deduction export and read-only access granted by a named date. A verbal yes, a 'send more info', or an agreement signed without data ever arriving is not a yes.
3Small experiments
The first one attacks the riskiest assumption; each ends with a number that says whether to run the next.
1. Free deduction file teardown
$150 · 10 days
Offer 15 controllers a free 48-hour teardown of their last 90 days of deduction exports: which codes are disputable, the recoverable dollar estimate, and what their team is writing off. The ask on the first call is the export itself, because sending it is the real commitment signal. One founder runs calls, the other builds the teardown template.
keep going if · 6 of 15 controllers send their deduction export within 7 days of the call
2. Contingency recovery sprint
$850 · 45 days
Sign 2-3 of the teardown recipients to a 25% contingency agreement with a dispute-authority letter, then manually file and work their disputable deductions through the Walmart, Kroger, UNFI and KeHE supplier portals, assembling BOL, POD and invoice evidence by hand. Track every reversal against the partner's trailing recovery rate.
keep going if · $10k+ in reversals per partner within 45 days, and recovery of at least 12% of disputed dollars versus their prior baseline
3. Twelve-month agreement conversion
$200 · 7 days
After the first reversals land, present each partner a 12-month contingency agreement covering all leakage categories (deductions, freight claims, accessorials) at the same 25%. The conversion conversation is the price and retention test in one.
keep going if · 2 of 3 sprint partners sign the 12-month agreement
4Collect a deposit up front
Tesla took $1,000 refundable reservations for the Model 3 and $100 for the Cybertruck before building either: the deposit is the measurement, not the revenue.
$0
no cash yet: take a signed commitment
how · No cash deposit: contingency pricing is the wedge, so asking this buyer for money up front would contradict the offer and stall in AP. The collectible instead is a signed contingency agreement with a dated data-access deadline, a named AP contact for settlement, and a signed dispute-authority letter naming Netback as filer of record.
what it reserves · A slot in the three-company first cohort and the 25% rate locked for 12 months if they convert after the sprint.
refund · The agreement cancels in writing any time before the first filing with nothing owed by either side.
target · 3 signed agreements with data access granted, from 15 controller conversations, within 21 days
before taking money · Do not buy claims outright or advance cash against expected recoveries until counsel has reviewed state commercial-collection and factoring rules; the contingency-service model itself stays clear of them.
Go: build it if
6+ of 15 controllers send data, $25k+ recovered across 3 partners inside 45 days at a recovery rate at least 12% of disputed dollars, and 2 of 3 sign 12-month agreements - build the connectors.
Kill: stop if
Fewer than 4 of 15 controllers ever send an export, or recoveries settle below 5% of disputed dollars after 45 days of filings - the leakage is not machine-findable money, stop.
5 Scripts to run itoutreach message, landing copy, deposit terms · click to open
outreach message
If you ship into UNFI or KeHE, you are eating deductions every week - most suppliers your size write off $25k+ a quarter because disputing through the portals is nobody's job. I recover them on straight contingency: 25% of what comes back, $0 otherwise, no software, read-only access. Send me your last 90 days of deduction codes and I will return a free teardown in 48 hours showing exactly what is disputable. Open to a 20-minute call this week?
landing page
We recover your retailer deductions. You pay only from recovered cash. 25% of recovered dollars, no retainer, no software fee, first reversals inside 45 days. Send your 90-day deduction export for a free 48-hour teardown.
deposit terms
No payment is due at signing. This agreement grants Netback read-only access to your deduction data and authority to file disputes on your behalf; you owe 25% of dollars actually reversed to your account, invoiced monthly, and nothing else. Cancel in writing any time before our first filing at no cost.
Would you run this test?
One tap. The yes-share feeds the Demand pillar of this idea's score; nobody sees who answered.
Budgets are out-of-pocket estimates for a team of one to three, US market. Size the deposit to the deal, and check the terms before taking money in a regulated line.
Scorecard
One score that balances how trendy the idea is, the demand for it and its potential for 100x, with competition measured relative to every other idea in the catalog. Recent startup trends first, government priorities second.
47
Idea Score, 0-100 · raw 29.0 x 1.61
Crowded
competition: more crowded than 81% of ideas · headwind x0.59
+3.3
government priorities, secondary (27 matching grants)
Trend
23
Is the wave forming now? 2025-26 entrants vs 2023-24, rounds since 2025, the sector's live-batch direction, the 2026 trend analyst.
- Entrants 2025-26 vs 2023-24 (similar companies)59
- Rounds announced 2025+ in the sector8
- Sector direction (live batch)0
- 2026 trend analyst25
Demand
52
Does anyone want it? YC's current RFS, companies already paid for something similar, the operator judge, founders' yes-rate in decks, readers who would run the test.
- YC asks for it (current RFS: idea / sector)0
- Someone already pays (similar companies, recent / all-time)100
- Operator judge: real pain100
- Founders' yes-rate in decks9
100x potential
67
Can it return a fund? The venture judge (double weight), market-size and moat axes, neighbours still alive, the technologist judge.
- Venture judge50
- Market size axis100
- Moat axis100
- Neighbours still alive53
- Technologist judge50
Score = 100 x cbrt(Trend x Demand x 100x) x (1 - 0.5 x crowding) + government bonus (max 5), calibrated so the 95th-percentile idea scores 90 (order never changes). A geometric mean: a weak pillar cannot be papered over. Percentiles are among the 272 ideas in the catalog; the terms matched were recovers, money, supply, chain, quietly, loses, connects, read-only.
The idea in full
- What
- Netback connects read-only to a shipper's TMS, ERP and carrier portals and runs an agent that finds recoverable leakage: freight damage and shortage claims, detention and accessorial overbilling, retailer deductions, supplier short-ships. It assembles the evidence file, dispatches a contract inspector from its own field network when a physical look is needed, files with the carrier or retailer, and works the dispute to settlement. Customers pay a share of what comes back, so it starts earning in the first billing cycle.
- Why now
- Ekho Labs (yc S26) is selling decisions for disrupted freight and Profit Optimizer (techstars TS 2025) pitches a profit radar for distributors finding hidden margin, which shows buyers already accept that leakage is machine-findable; neither closes the loop by filing and collecting. ClearJet's $25M round in August 2026 is the only funding event recorded in this cluster's news, so the space is capital-thin and open.
- Wedge: first customer and entry point
- One mid-market food distributor with heavy retailer deduction traffic: connect the ERP, work ninety days of open deductions on contingency, no software fee.
- Path to 100x
- Freight claims, accessorial overbilling and retailer deductions together drain well over $100B a year from shippers globally, and every settled claim teaches the model which carrier, lane, adjuster and evidence type actually pays out. That outcome data is the moat: after a few million adjudicated claims Netback prices recovery probability better than anyone, which lets it buy claims outright and define a category that had no vendor before.
- Ceiling
- If recovery rates plateau near what an in-house claims clerk already achieves, contingency fees stay a services-shaped business that scales with case volume, not code.
- Closest real companies, as the generator saw them
- Ekho Labs advises on disrupted freight decisions and Profit Optimizer surfaces hidden margin for distributors, both stopping at the recommendation; Netback takes the action and is paid only on recovered cash. Haladir builds logistics superintelligence at the network level rather than at the claim level. transload measures freight with cameras, which is one evidence source Netback would consume.
- Main risk
- Carriers and large retailers change deduction and claim rules to make automated filing inadmissible, killing recovery rates.
Five judges
Each judge scores every idea in the catalog with a named rubric; the venture judge decides whether a card is shown at all (4-5 is venture-grade).
Venture investor
3/5
Adjudicated claim outcomes are a real data moat, but contingency fees plus a contract inspector field network make this read as a recovery service.
Bootstrapper
5/5
Contingency pricing on a mid-market distributor's ninety days of open deductions pays in the first billing cycle with no software fee or capex.
Operator
5/5
Read-only ERP connection, contingency pricing, and cash back in the first billing cycle means a food distributor's controller risks nothing and feels deductions weekly.
Technologist
3/5
Outcome data from millions of adjudicated deductions is a real compounding asset, but the delivery is read-only ERP connectors plus contract inspectors.
Risk
3/5
Contingency pricing across many mid market shippers spreads risk, but recoveries depend on carriers and retailers whose deduction rules they can rewrite against automated filings.
trends
2/5
Freight claims leakage predates 2023 by decades; two cohort companies stopping at recommendations is thin evidence a recovery-agent window just opened.
Similar startups in the directory
Companies whose pitch matches most of the idea's terms (recovers, money, supply, chain, quietly, loses, connects, read-only): 77 all-time, 11 from the last two years. Same matching as Idea Check.
Supply chain compliance and cost savings
The AI-native financial platform for enterprises
borong is a SaaS-enabled marketplace that connects brands like…
Agentic procurement & inventory for deep tech teams.
We help Fortune 500 companies hedge their supply chain risk
Smart packaging that tracks consumer product usage
MovieBall is an AI-native production OS helping for studios and creators — accelerating the content pipeline and turning gut-feel intuition into data-driven decisions.
Coconut Silo is a logistics/commercial vehicle specialized mobility startup, connecting whole players in the logistics market into a single platform, COCO TRUCK.
AI Cost Management: Track and attribute AI spend across every provider
An Austin and Lagos-based software company simplifying global trade for businesses in emerging markets using technology; MVX & TradeAlly.
Streamlining Data Capture to Report Creation for Heavy Industries
MesoMat provides a tire management platform by combining proprietary tire-mounted sensors with cloud-based software.
The generator's reference companies
Real companies the model named as closest when it wrote the card, with their fate. A check mark is a company the radar could verify in its directory.
Public money in this direction
US federal grants, SBIR/STTR awards and open opportunities from the radar's public-money feed, matched to the idea's terms; the sector totals give the context.
8
grants and programs matching the idea
21
startup-relevant grants in Commerce and marketplaces
$20M
awarded in the sector, tracked
1
opportunities open now in the sector
National Science Foundation · SBIR Phase II · $1M · posted 2026-08-27
- SBIR Phase II: Advanced Metrology System for Surface and Bonding Quality Control in Semiconductor Manufacturingawardhigh relevance
National Science Foundation · SBIR Phase II · $1M · posted 2026-08-24
- I-Corps: Translation potential of a neurosymbolic intelligence platform for root cause identification and corrective action in semiconductor manufacturingawardhigh relevance
National Science Foundation · I-Corps · $50K · posted 2026-08-17
- SBIR Phase I: Assessing and Enhancing Microbiological Rare Earth Element Recovery for Domestic Productionawardhigh relevance
National Science Foundation · SBIR Phase I · $304K · posted 2026-08-12
- I-Corps: Translation Potential of a Multi-Modal Sensor Fusion Platform that Provides Precision Drone Swarm Trackingawardhigh relevance
National Science Foundation · I-Corps · $50K · posted 2026-08-04
- SBIR Phase II: Solving the 4,023-Year-Old Logistics Control Problem Using Modern IoT Standards and a Novel Combination of Passive RFID, UWB, and Cellular Technologyawardhigh relevance
National Science Foundation · SBIR Phase II · $1M · posted 2026-07-24
- Collaborative Research: GCR: Bioengineered Approaches to Recover Critical Minerals and Produce Sustainable Silicon-Based Materials from Silicon-Rich Wastesawardmedium relevance
National Science Foundation · GCR-Growing Convergence Resear · $870K · posted 2026-08-21
- Collaborative Research: GCR: Bioengineered Approaches to Recover Critical Minerals and Produce Sustainable Silicon-Based Materials from Silicon-Rich Wastesawardmedium relevance
National Science Foundation · GCR-Growing Convergence Resear · $595K · posted 2026-08-21
Market signal
What the radar sees in Commerce and marketplaces: new companies by cohort year, the forming YC batch, and outcomes since the February snapshot.
Commerce and marketplaces · 145 → 119 → 130 → 67 → 34 new companies 2022 → 2026 · 87% aliveYC F26 live: 0 in this cluster, 0% of the batch (was 2% in S26)Since February, of 419 YC companies here: 4 acquired, 7 shut down, 28 rewrote their pitch
Design attributes
The card is one cell of a designed set: every axis below was chosen before the text was written, and the text had to realize it.
- Buyer
- Enterprise
- Business model
- AI agent as a service
- Path to 100x
- Creates a new category
- Market size
- $100B+ market
- Capital intensity
- Capital-medium (ops, field teams)
- Speed to revenue
- Revenue within a year
- Technical depth
- Real engineering
- Go-to-market
- Self-serve
- Moat
- Data moat
- Geography
- Global from day one
- Regulation
- Unregulated
- Vibe
- Boring business
Listed under
An idea sits in its own sector and in any sector its text clearly touches.
More ideas like this
Consumer and commerce · Commerce and marketplaces
Verolane
Shared supplier verification network for importers facing forced-labor enforcement.
Verolane is an enterprise subscription that maps an importer's tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers, scores each site against forced-labor and illegal-fishing enforcement criteria, and produces the evidence file customs authorities ask for when a shipment is detained.
Consumer and commerce · Commerce and marketplaces
Switchyard
Marketplace for long-lead datacenter power gear, graded by ML from electrical test data.
Switchyard is a marketplace where operators, EPCs and refurbishers trade transformers, switchgear, breakers and chillers with multi-year lead times, including surplus and decommissioned units.
Consumer and commerce · Commerce and marketplaces
Originary
An API that computes duty, origin and eligibility for any product on any lane.
Originary compiles customs tariff schedules, binding rulings, rules-of-origin texts and trade-remedy orders from every major customs regime into one executable rule engine, then exposes it as a self-serve API that returns a landed cost and an origin determination with the citation chain behind it.
Consumer and commerce · Commerce and marketplaces
Provenor
Machine learning that proves where every imported good actually came from.
Provenor sells enterprise import and sourcing teams a subscription platform that traces the true origin of goods through transshipment: entity-resolution ML over global trade filings, vessel AIS tracks, and corporate registries flags when a shipment labeled Vietnamese was actually laundered through a third country.
Consumer and commerce · Commerce and marketplaces
Shelfwire
One API that makes any small store's catalog readable by AI shopping agents.
Shelfwire ingests a merchant's product catalog, inventory and policies once and serves a hosted, always-current machine endpoint per store: structured product data, availability, shipping and returns terms, and checkout handoff, in the formats AI shopping assistants and marketplace crawlers consume.
Consumer and commerce · Commerce and marketplaces
Lotwise
Buying network and live price index for independent US pharmacies.
Lotwise gives independent pharmacies a free inbox that ingests their serialized inbound shipment data and wholesaler invoices, reconciles what they actually paid per drug per lot, and shows them what comparable pharmacies in the network paid for the same item that week.
Fictional company written 2026-08-23 from MarkosWeb data; the companies, grants and numbers around it are real and tracked. Treat the idea as a research prompt, not a plan.