The digital age has generated countless opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators to provide ground-breaking services to the mass market and make billions on the process. Progress is not going to stall anytime soon, and now could be the perfect time for you to create your own tech startup, perhaps inspired by our latest round of ideas in what is a fast-moving age of cashless finances, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality.
Fintech – Cashless Payment Services
The term “Fintech” is not a novel one and has been around since the first credit card was introduced. A combination of ‘finance’ and ‘technology’, fintech encompasses everything which utilises technology to improve financial infrastructure. Recent fintech innovations are focused on making payment services completely cashless, through phone-based apps like Apple Pay, cryptocurrencies and virtual wallets. They are used by customers everywhere and in particular with retail businesses with an online focus like Amazon, online entertainment services like Interac Casinos, and even taxi firms like Uber who now accept Paypal payments.
Fintech is growing at such an unprecedented rate that, according to a report by CBInsights, there are now over 40 fintech companies valued over $1 billion which, when combined total $154 billion. Backed by venture capitalists, an innovative fintech with a high ceiling can be an extremely lucrative enterprise.
A large reason behind this growth is the fact that most, if not all established banking institutions are willing to adopt and invest into fintech because it allows them to adapt and stay relevant with technological innovations.
Alongside banking, cashless payment services are now being heavily utilised in cryptocurrencies and blockchains, the insurance sector, investments and savings and standard payment services.
AI Assistants for Retail
Have you ever wondered why chats on websites are so quick to respond to your queries? The chances are that you are speaking to an AI directed chat bot which mimics the in-store customer experience, just at a much quicker pace while also being more accessible, negating the need for things such as opening and closing time.
According to Juniper Research, conversational commerce, i.e. chatbots will account for $145 billion of all total commerce sales by 2025.
AI assistants are now high in demand for businesses due to the fact they are able to hyper-personalise the customer shopping experience. Through abilities such as deep learning, AI machines can rapidly learn a buyer’s shopping habits in order to individually tailor the shopping experience to every customer. AI assistants can recommend products that customers may be interested in based on their previous purchases, increasing the chance of repeat purchases.
As AI assistants become smarter, their processes become quicker and therefore can lead to a more convenient experience for consumers. The scope for AI assistants transcends website chatbots, now, developers are creating AI assistants which can be integrated into social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, making the consumer shopping experience even more convenient.
Certified Online Learning
With classroom learning moving online since the onset of the pandemic, businesses and other institutions have been forced to shift the way they train their workforce towards the virtual world too.
Certified Online Learning courses are more flexible than the standard classroom environment, offering their users the chance to earn qualifications without sacrificing their personal or professional life.
As expected, certified online learning has seen an exponential growth since 2020, with many businesses turning to outsourcing to develop their own courses for employees to complete, meaning that a tech startup which focuses on developing certified online courses could prove to be a lucrative proposition.
On Demand Pharmacies
For how large the pharmaceutical industry is, it is severely lagging behind in the fact that they are now beginning to develop on demand pharmacies. According to a report by Daffodil, the global online pharmacy market is expected to grow to $128 billion by 2023.
A tech startup in this industry could focus on logistical enhancements to the pharmaceutical market such as implementing efficient doorstep deliveries of medication to necessitate consumer’s need of companies being on-demand.
Additionally, tech startups could prioritise developing more effective communication channels for patients to contact medical professionals such as online face-to-face appointments or online chat bots rather than being constricted by burgeoning waiting lists or lofty medical fees.
Subscription Delivery
In a similar way, companies are astutely aware of their consumers’ need for convenience and a simplified customer experience. When combined with a subscription based payment system, customers are more likely to stay with a business because a subscription is much simpler than manually paying each time they interact with the company.
Companies are beginning to build their business model around logistical solutions such as delivery services with a subscription service. For example, “Harrys” a men’s shaving service delivers beard grooming products directly to their customers’ doorstep for various prices per month.
There is an opportunity for tech startups to find a niche product which can prioritise logistical solutions based on a subscription model.
VR and Metaverse
Truly a new frontier, it is hard to predict what the outcome will be from the Metaverse, however it could prove to be a very lucrative deal for early adopters to get into the market. Meta (formerly Facebook) is creating a virtual environment whereby employees of a business can interact with one another which can be accessed via virtual reality goggles.
Roblox are taking the metaverse in a different direction, focusing on accumulating their assets by creating a massive virtual world with a working in-game economy which can reward loyal players and community members.
Everything from Marketing Businesses to Museums, Real Estate and even Dating can have a VR angle. So there are opportunities here beyond what you see in Google’s new Metaverse.
