What are some growing markets to build products for?
I was just listening to IH Podcast 118 with Justin Jackson of Transistor about the joys of building products for a growing market. His analogy was that it's like putting your canoe in a fast flowing river heading downstream rather than needing to paddle against a current.
I like the sound of this but am struggling to think of more than a couple of growth markets.
I'm currently on a mission to launch multiple no code products over the next few months and would appreciate any suggestions!
Thanks.
Kieran did you figure this out? I remember listening to this episode and I'm still on the hunt for growing markets. I found this Quora post useful for thinking of new ideas.
Hi @hacking_4_freedom - I discovered the trends.vc newsletter. You should definitely subscribe and read all the back issues. Some excellent ideas, the author @dru_riley has a crystal ball or time travel machine.
Thanks for sharing Kieran!
This may not seem like a very sexy idea, but one market that's pretty clearly growing is the number of aging baby boomers. I just learned from personal experience that most existing technology tools aren't very accessible to older generations, so I bet there's a huge opportunity in making tech for seniors.
For example, as the population of people 70+ years old grows, I think a lot of people who are ~50-60 years old are having their parents move in or nearby. They need a way to communicate while allowing the older generation to maintain their independence.
I know that's a really specific example, but I think there's a lot of opportunity to build tools for that market.
I love unsexy ideas, less competition! Totally agree on this one and think about it a lot as my parents get older and I see them becoming more isolated. Also they have time and disposable income. The challenge is to make it user friendly enough.
I had some ideas about a marketplace where retirees can offer their skills and knowledge online, as often this is a huge untapped pool of experience. As people live longer, supplementing their pensions will be more and more necessary.
Yeah, I could definitely see that working. It reminds of of a category of ideas my former boss had (he's a serial entrepreneur who is always working on several new business ideas).
He lives in Utah where (a) people on average have kids at a young age and (b) it's common for women to leave the workforce when they have kids. This results in a large group of people who are potentially interested in re-entering the work force when they're ~40-50 years old after their kids leave the house. So he had a variety of ideas around offering flexible jobs to those people. Things like online tutoring, etc.
I've always like that idea, and I think yours has the same type of appeal.
My parents are "baby boomers". They don't use technology because they grow without it and don't feel the need for it.
They use whatsapp and my mother has facebook but that's it. You are right that there aren't many tech apps and websites for old people, but I would to people interested in buying instead of people you need to convince to buy first, because they just don't care.