cjbarber/unreplied.md

## unreplied.md

      
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              unreplied.md
            
          
    A Request for a Startup: Gmail 'Waiting For Reply' Tab

Problem:

I, Chris Barber, send many emails. I'd like to get more replies.

Solution:

A Chrome extension that adds a 'waiting for' tab to gmail.
I want to see all the emails in 'waiting for' that I haven't received replies to.


How:

Chrome Extension

Features (not necessary for v1):


Easily ignore emails that are on the waiting for tab (maybe I don't expect a reply from that email)


Make it easy to prevent certain emails from ever appearing in the waiting for tab (i.e. maybe all emails that I send to support@wellsfargo.com I don't expect a reply to (ha), so I don't want them clogging up my 'waiting for')


Make a one click 'send follow up' button that generates a non-condescending generic email reminder to the person


Related ideas:


Involve bitcoin in this by making it easy to send a nominal amount of bitcoin to whoever you are waiting on a reply from.


Conversion rate tracking for different cold email titles/body text.


Yesware, a chrome extension I use for email, allows you to track when an email has been opened. With that feature (implemented using a tracking pixel) you could have waiting for, and 'opened and waiting for'.


Expand out and sell to companies. Use the Yammer strategy. Let employees sign up with work email addresses, ensure they find it useful, then tell them after 6 months that they have to pay, but their company has to pay - then they will convince the guy with the budget to buy an expensive enterprise/team package.


Crazy theory:


Start with this, because it's a big problem (I have a small email list of people who will use this and pay for it).


Then expand out and improve email one feature at a time :) (Ha, that makes it sound so easy!)


Next steps for you!


Contact me - I'll be your first customer. Name a fair price, right now I'll pay $20/mo (really, I'd want to be paying $10/mo but I'll pay more if you build it because of this post!).


I'll also help you find more customers - my dad will be your second customer!


Related Idea..


This came up while I was writing this.


A Request for Startups website. A sort of 'reverse startup idea sharing website'. No startup ideas allowed, only problems that you face that you will commit to paying for. Start out as a discussion board.


Soon allow people to place deposits on their 'problems' to prove that they are serious. Start out by forcing people to send a satoshi to post in the first place to eliminate non-serious problems. If I'm not willing to send a satoshi it's probably not a huge problem.


This becomes a reverse kickstarter. You can allow others to add funds to the same problems and then use a bitcoin style solution to the byzantine generals problem to determine when someone has made sufficient progress on solving the problem for them to receive the bitcoin 'donations' (i.e. you could use multisig m of n transactions).


If you want to and are capable of building something like this send me an email also! I'd love to be your first user and try and help you get more.


## waitingfor.gs
function label_waiting_for_reply() {
  var emailAddress = Session.getEffectiveUser().getEmail();
  Logger.log(emailAddress);
  var EMAIL_REGEX = /[a-zA-Z0-9\._\-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9\.\-]+\.[a-z\.A-Z]+/g;
  var label = GmailApp.createLabel("[Waiting For]");
  var d = new Date();
  d.setDate(d.getDate() - 7);
  var dateString = d.getFullYear() + "/" + (d.getMonth() + 1) + "/" + d.getDate();
  threads = GmailApp.search("in:sent after:" + dateString);
  for (var i = 0; i < threads.length; i++)
  {
    var thread = threads[i];
    var lastMessage = thread.getMessages()[thread.getMessageCount()-1];
    lastMessageSender = lastMessage.getFrom().match(EMAIL_REGEX)[0];
    if (lastMessageSender == emailAddress && thread.getMessageCount() == 1)
    {
      thread.addLabel(label);
      Logger.log(lastMessageSender);
    }
  }
}


function doGet(e) {

  label_waiting_for_reply();

}
	function label_waiting_for_reply() {
	var emailAddress = Session.getEffectiveUser().getEmail();
	Logger.log(emailAddress);
	var EMAIL_REGEX = /[a-zA-Z0-9\._\-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9\.\-]+\.[a-z\.A-Z]+/g;
	var label = GmailApp.createLabel("[Waiting For]");
	var d = new Date();
	d.setDate(d.getDate() - 7);
	var dateString = d.getFullYear() + "/" + (d.getMonth() + 1) + "/" + d.getDate();
	threads = GmailApp.search("in:sent after:" + dateString);
	for (var i = 0; i < threads.length; i++)
	{
	var thread = threads[i];
	var lastMessage = thread.getMessages()[thread.getMessageCount()-1];
	lastMessageSender = lastMessage.getFrom().match(EMAIL_REGEX)[0];
	if (lastMessageSender == emailAddress && thread.getMessageCount() == 1)
	{
	thread.addLabel(label);
	Logger.log(lastMessageSender);
	}
	}
	}


	function doGet(e) {

	label_waiting_for_reply();

	}