Software wise, I'd probably look into developing something that helps with localization management. The tools around for managing various translations of copy, images, and so on for websites at the moment are pretty terrible. Maybe one of the reasons a lot of sites are available only in one language.
A simple way to on-board a team of translators and let them manage revisions of copy, manage different variations of copy (for example singular and plural, 1 comment, 2 comments. One minute, two minutes). Then there are more complicated things like functions where you need to say something like "You have just purchased $x apples". This all needs to be wrapped in a simple UI, and then an API/export function that can export this to the WIDE range of formats people use for translation (XLIFF, po, etc to name a few).
In addition to selling the actual software, you can also sell approved translations. You offer to translate their content into another language, with accuracy, for a fee with a reasonable turnaround.
This theoretical software is for gathering all of the translations, and having editors and translators (multiple) manage them with ease. Then generating all of the JSON/XML/XLIFF/Other_Format files for every language for use on the site/software. I have yet to find software that can do this well.
I feel like they are missing a trick with limiting themselves to just YAML/Rails though. I will keep an eye on this though, and hope they go language agnostic in the future. Seems to be a very well made product.
I would open up bookstores with a Netflix-like business model. You pay something like $5/month to use it, read any books you want without buying them and not feeling like a freeloader. There can be monthly family plans etc., and when someone does buy a book, their fee for that month can be waived.
Clearly, despite having an entire bookstore in their pockets, people want a physical place to socialize and read, and this offers them a way to do that in the 21st century.
This might be a crazy (the wrong type of crazy) idea, or coming from me being sad about the fall of Borders and the eventual demise of B&N.
But I do notice that people prefer to "hang out", stroll around, or spend an evening at a bookstore than a library.
Do you want a business you can run yourself? Maximizing revenue? A "safe bet"? Passive or active investment?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk%E2%80%93return_spectrum
http://personalfinance.duke.edu/prepare-your-future/savings-...
It also depends on your location / country, 100K gives you a lot more runway in my country than in the U.S.
Since you're a "college grad" on HN I guess a software-based startup is your goal.
Personally, I'd bet on the Oculus Rift, the guys I knew that struck it rich rode a wave of innovations / new hardware (for example the iPad), I believe the Oculus will open a lot of new avenues (virtual shopping, virtual sightseeing, virtual training, data visualization, virtual everything :) ). 100K might not get you very far in the U.S. however.
Non-software, there are plenty of franchises that give an interesting return on investment.
Myabe you were asking what those were?
I was asking more along the lines of, "what controversial/high risk business have you always wanted to start, but that requires a lot of starting capital?"
(Purely software startups probably don't fall into that category)
Some ideas for said company that I'll probably never implement because I don't have said $100k:
- Running shoes that give feedback on your running form using pressure sensors and accelerometers. Depending on the type/placement of sensors, could also double as a weight tracking device that doesn't require you to weigh yourself
- Smartwatches aimed at diabetics, which can continuously monitor insulin/glucose levels, while also serving other smartwatch functions. Alerts for low/high levels.
- System that would let paramedics/doctors access recent pulse/skin temperature/etc data from a smartwatch and display it in a usable manner. Could help figure out what happened in the minutes leading up to an emergency call.
-or-
I'd invest in Real Estate- flipping houses with a builder I know.
If all goes well, I might be able to do both, depending on the Fliptopia market at the moment. I find many apps there seem overvalued.
Example of a public venue -- I rent a hotel conference room for 3 days and people fly in to take a class. Or I teach at a conference, usually a half-day or a quarter-day course. Occasionally full-day.
Example of a private venue -- a company flies me in to teach their staff whom they also fly in so we are all in one room. :)
I've taught CFEngine, vi, and Time Management for System Administrators (based on Tom Limoncelli's book)
I'd do 2-6 trainings a year.
I was doing this on the side, while holding down a regular full-time job.
Here's the pitch deck I put together last October when I was exploring getting funding to do this full time: http://www.verticalsysadmin.com/vsa.htm
However, I managed to fall into a 1 year CFEngine consulting project which keeps me almost too busy to train (plug -- I have a public CFEngine training coming up in Prague in October -- USD 5K for 6 days of training for one student -- https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cfengine-3-course-and-policy-wr...)
I'd love to offer more training -- specifically I want to be able to take in a computer user and turn out a sysadmin ("infrastructure engineer" or whatever the modern term is) -- my first step toward this was working with LOPSA (Professional Content Committee) to create a sysadmin reading list (http://www.sabok.org/)
I really enjoy training, I find it quite gratifying when students light up with new-found understanding.
People often tell my training is the best they've ever had, e.g.:
"Thank you for such a great class. Been to lots of technical training and you are the best instructor I've had. Beyond standard lecture/lab your examples and willingness to help is unmatched." -- Thomas Nicholson
I've been a regular employee pretty much all my career so working on my own business full-time is new to me. I find it exciting, creative, exhilarating, exhausting. I asked the founder of Pythian (quite successful DBA/sysadmin consultancy) how he grew his company, and what was the key to his success, and he said, a RIDICULOUS amount of HARD WORK. I am finding this to be very true.