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The Top 10 Most Untapped Industries For Startups

 

What industry or niche is there a ton of untapped potential in for aspiring entrepreneurs right now?

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

 

1. Health and Wellness


“This industry is about to hit a massive growth inflection. The speed at which new lifestyles, eating habits, alternative health, supplements, juice cleanses, etc. are moving into the cultural mainstream is mind-blowing. There are still huge opportunities to help people cut through the noise and find a greater sense of balance.”

Michael Margolis, Get Storied

 

 

 

2. Fashion-Technology


“There’s a growing movement in the “fash-tech” space. There are opportunities to take away the standard risks of fashion companies. Inventory management, crowdsourcing, adding tech to clothing and discount sites that enable retailers to clear old product are all needed. The best part about starting a fash-tech business is that it’s something everyone can understand, increasing your support network.”

Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches

 

 

3. Internet-Enabled Real Goods


“Software is an important part of every industry. The focus for a long time has been enabling efficiencies through devices. However, the time has come to enable computing and connectivity to the Internet through real goods. Information reports and synchronization to every passive object will soon be a requirement and blooming market in both the consumer and commercial world.”

Matt Ehrlichman, Porch

 

 

4. Quantified Self


“‘Quantified self’ is the movement around enabling people to measure and analyze their behaviors, habits and activities. Companies like Fitbit or Asthmapolis are great examples. Self-quantification is still a niche trend but growing in impact. Aspiring entrepreneurs would do well to look at the “QS” concept as the basis for a business or as an idea to incorporate into a company they’re building.”

Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.

 

 

5. Neighborhood Real Estate


“As a cyclical industry, real estate is poised to make a major comeback since many agents left the field during tough times. A recent survey pinpointed “neighborhood” as the No. 1 factor in choosing a home, and you can’t find that with technology. You need a savvy agent who knows the area inside and out. There is huge growth potential for entrepreneurs with motivation and persistence!”

Kuba Jewgieniew, Realty ONE Group

 

 

6. Career Creation


“As the global economy evolves, questions around skills gaps, the global work force and “lean” teams mean that the definition of a career is rapidly changing. Kathryn Minshew of The Daily Muse has shown that there’s huge potential in this market for strategic players to address how organizations define roles and how people develop meaningful careers.”

Emily Eldridge Holdman, The Remarkables

 

 

 

7. Email


“Email is still the most popular means of communication, but it’s also the most lacking in innovation. There is no good solution for processing unread email, and more importantly, there is a severe lack of attention paid to the inbox as a database. There is a trove of information in our email that just needs to be parsed, and the company that builds a platform for parsing email will be huge.”

Ryan Buckley, Scripted, Inc.

 

 

 

8. Peer-to-Peer


“We’re still at the beginning of the peer-to-peer revolution. There has been a lot of publicity around Airbnb, TaskRabbit, Getaround and others. I’d argue there’s still a lot of opportunity out there in peer-to-peer. It’s a great subject to brainstorm around and consider how you can solve problems in your own life – always a great starting point for an entrepreneurial brainstorming session.”

Mitch Gordon, Go Overseas

 

 

9. Non-Sexy Businesses


“Non-sexy businesses include brick-and-mortar companies such as those in the manufacturing sector. They tend to fly under the radar because of the current focus on technology startups, and young entrepreneurs don’t realize their potential. With outdated digital marketing and social media, there is plenty of opportunity to refresh these non-sexy businesses and introduce them to a wider audience.”

Bill Hennessey, RoyalPak

 

 

10. Social Gaming


“Social games like Words With Friends and FarmVille continue to surge in popularity, and there is plenty of room in the field for new games. You don’t have to be a programmer to mine the social gaming niche, making this an ideal industry for entrepreneurs. With low startup costs and a wide open playing field with few dominating giants, you can carve out a niche in the social gaming scene with ease.”

Jay Wu, Best Drug Rehabilitation

 

 

Photo Credits

The YEC | quinet

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