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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many business models, and sometimes entire industries, are being redefined. But what seems like a crisis to one, another will see as an opportunity. And for good reason, Peter Diamandis is sure.
As the visionary and entrepreneur notes on his blog, a lot of our lives depend on the way we think. And in the changes taking place around you, you can see not only a cause for concern due to uncertainty, but also new opportunities. Peter Diamandis highlights three reasonsfor which now is the best time for entrepreneurship.
1. Behavioral change
Here we can draw an analogy with evolution. 65 million years ago, slow and clumsy dinosaurs dominated the Earth, but the fallen asteroid changed the environment so much that they could not adapt and became extinct. This crisis allowed the agile furry mammals to dominate.
Today, business models and industries that cannot adapt to the new conditions caused by COVID-19 will disappear. This will open up opportunities for agile entrepreneurs to capitalize on this new, rapidly changing environment.
Here are just a few changes in our behavior due to COVID-19:
- We all spend (much) more time at home;
- We have less contact with people, crave connection;
- We care much more about our health, we want to feel safe;
- We worry about how and where our children will study;
- We have more time for exercise, meditation and study;
- We try to do everything online;
- We spend more time with loved ones;
- We have new hobbies, games and other forms of entertainment.
What challenges have you experienced with these and other behavioral changes? What positive aspects have you discovered? Write down your answers. Each of them potentially represents an opportunity for entrepreneurship.
2. Acceleration of current trends
The three most obvious examples are remote work, online education, and telemedicine.
Remote work
Even before COVID-19, the proportion of people working remotely was on the rise.
In the US in 2010, only 4,3% of employees worked remotely. In 2019, this number increased to about 15%, and with the onset of COVID-19, it increased to about 50%. Zoom is one of the clear winners of this dramatic transition to remote work. But there could be a dozen platforms with even better features than Zoom.
The $100 billion corporate conference market has been effectively put on hold due to the pandemic. How can we use AI and VR technologies to create exciting virtual events? Is your Zoom possible for the corporate conferencing market?
Online education
In 2019, global investment in educational technology exceeded $18 billion, and COVID-19 will accelerate this trend. Previously, school closures affected more than 1 billion students worldwide. How can we use AI and AI data to build more personalized and effective learning at home? What lessons can be learned from the video game industry to make the process more fun and collaborative?
And creating better solutions is not limited to schools. Online learning also continues to grow its share of the $240 billion global corporate education and development market.
Telemedicine
According to McKinsey, in 2019, only 11% of U.S. consumers used telehealth capabilities. By April 2020, that figure had increased to 46%.
How to use exponential technologies to provide effective remote medical care? For example, suppose a person is concerned about something and needs to see a dermatologist. How to use artificial intelligence and imaging technologies for diagnosis?
3. Increase available talent and assets
For the first time in years, you have access to a wealth of amazing talent: the pandemic has caused millions of skilled and hard-working people to lose their jobs or go into part-time work.
Remote work and the increasing proliferation of digital tools have made it easier than ever to access talent from all over the world. For example, does it make sense to hire people in your city if you can find similar (or better) employees at a lower price elsewhere?
It is also possible to use unused assets. For example, businesswoman Sangita Reddy, who runs India’s largest hospital chain (Apollo Hospitals Enterprises), realized that empty hotels could be turned into hospitals by equipping them with remote monitoring equipment.
instead of an epilogue
Here’s another source of inspiration: U.S. start-up applications increased nearly 5% from Q2020 to Q40 XNUMX. This increase represents over XNUMX new business applications.
“I have always believed that the best way to predict the future is to create it yourself,” notes Peter Diamandis. “Your time has come.”
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