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Seeking the Best Startup Opportunities Today

RichRich administrator Posts: 582 Site Admin
edited July 2016 in Selecting a Business
I'm the cofounder of StartupNation and have created a slew of other entrepreneurial ventures. If you're here in the StartupNation forums, you're an entrepreneur like me or you're seeking to become one.

I always keep my eye out for trends in the startup market. I'm constantly canvasing the web and my business network, even my friends, for what kinds of companies are hot. What's shifting in society? Which markets are starting to sizzle? Who is in the space and why? What are the screaming needs that are going unmet?

Personally, I always look for businesses that have the ability to scale up and to get more profitable as they do so. To be clear, profitability is more important than gross revenue in my view. After all, those profits can either fatten up your personal wallet, or, if you're ambitious, can be the kindling to grow your business.

I also look for businesses where I believe the key people to grow it are involved or readily recruitable. If you can get great people involved early, the chances of success rise dramatically based on what I've seen and experienced.

Lastly, I look increasingly for businesses that go to market rapidly. Slow fuse businesses, like a number I've been at the heart of unfortunately, can drain resources, generally burn more of your precious capital, and sometimes become less relevant by the time they finally enter the market commercially. Speed to market reduces lots of risks in this extremely fast-paced world.

So, with all of that, and without compromising your own personal opportunities, can you share businesses, business types and markets that you think are hot? Do you know of screaming needs you believe need to be addressed?

Maybe the question goes like this:

If you weren't doing what you're doing right now, what business would you start and why?

Would love your thoughts...

Rich

Comments

  • tinbugtootinbugtoo subscriber Posts: 12 Bronze Level Member
    Hi, Rich.

    First off, I'm a long-time fan of StartupNation, so it's an honor to meet you online!

    "If you weren't doing what you're doing right now, what business would you start...". That's the thing, isn't it? If lack of money and time weren't an issue, right? I have dreams while commuting 3 hours a day, but lack both the time and money...a story for another time. One thing you can't take from me is my dream and my drive. People like you are doing it, so I know there's a way!

    I feel the hot tech industry trends are moving towards being more immersive physically. No longer do people want to be tied to a location or a screen on a desk, but they want more of a real physical experience, whether that's using something VR like Oculus Rift, or mobile augmented reality like Pokemon Go. The technology is there, stable and folks are anxious to use it. If you can develop your business, invention, gadget, etc. to take advantage of or enhance the user experience of these things...I think maybe it's something to keep an eye out for when scouting for business.

    Could you please explain more about profitablility vs, gross revenue? I have an accountant, but what I really could use is a financial education ;)

    Thanks, Rich!
  • RichRich administrator Posts: 582 Site Admin
    Tinbugtoo,

    Check out https://startupnation.com/start-your-bu ... -business/ for some useful insights on distinguishing revenue and profits.

    I love how you're thinking in terms of Pokemon Go and weaving in physical experiences with our online activities. Definitely a hot area.

    Keep it coming folks. I want to hear more of this kind of thinking, folks! Let's inspire each other. And maybe find collaboration opportunities.
  • tinbugtootinbugtoo subscriber Posts: 12 Bronze Level Member
    Nice article, Rich! Thank you so much!
  • Charlie PCharlie P subscriber Posts: 84 Silver Level Member
    Rich,

    Thank you for being a part of putting this community together!

    VR and AR are great places to put together a tech company that is focused on making components or wearables. It's still a good 5 to 10 years before the B2C market will be solid enough for physical tech to take off (the units will need to get less expensive and less niche), but the B2B market seems to really be gearing up. Like if you reach out to the companies making the next Oculus Rift and become their manufacturer for sensors or the processors or the cameras if it is going the AR route. Basically, if that next product takes off you are good. If it doesn't then you are still good because you are positioned to adjust your components for other companies and continue moving forward.

    Solar is a market that will continue to grow. As the prices continue to drop for panels and the tech gets better for conversion of light to power and the variety of panels that can be produced expands, it will only continue to become more lucrative. This would be a good field to jump into from any direction. Installation, Production, R&D, or Distribution it's all wide open.

    There are others, but the above are a few that seemed to come to mind the quickest when reading your original post.
  • QuickFMSQuickFMS subscriber Posts: 36 Bronze Level Member
    Sharing such kind of thoughts and experiences are really going to be useful for young entrepreneurs for their business startups..
  • YourRetailCoachYourRetailCoach subscriber Posts: 30 Bronze Level Member

    For the best start-up business and to know how to distinguish revenue and profits you can consider below businesses that will give you huge profits in lesser time

    • Fast food

    • Delivery services

    • Virtual reality

    • Estate agent

    • Travel agency

    • Parlors

    • Website rentals 

    • Activity bars

    YRC is a Management Consulting Company, especially for the B-C Sector. Our expertise lies into designing of Standard Operating Procedures, Franchise Development, Strategy & Operations services, Process Audits & Training. 
  • Helen LarsenHelen Larsen subscriber Posts: 58 Bronze Level Member
    It's a very useful topic to find new ideas. 
    I can't launch startups in all fields that I want, cause I'm not qualified in an appropriate fields. But I can invest in the promising projects.
    So I'd like to highlight next fields;
    - healthcare. As the 75 million baby boomers age, there's increased demand for health care services. Meeting the needs of an aging population creates opportunities for physical therapists, doctors, optometrists and other specialists.
    - mobility tech. This industry offers startups potential partnerships with and acquisition by large tech companies and automakers working on autonomous vehicles.
    - construction management. Global funding for hardware and software to streamline building projects, or to sell and rent construction equipment
    - synthetic biology. Health and environmental concerns have driven interest in genetically engineered medicines, foods, and fuel. It's a costly and technical field, but payoffs can be huge for companies like DNA manufacturing company.
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