After COVID-19 redefined the rules of the game for businesses, startups pivoted their product offerings, sought new sources of funding, and did their best to stay afloat despite the uncertainty. As the economy slowly recovers, entrepreneurs and investors are looking to the future as next year’s startup landscape approaches.
If the last couple of years has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is set in stone. We continue to see shifts happening in 2022 and beyond, where we will continue to see the power of new business models emerge and take the world of startups by storm, such as startup studios. Startup studios help streamline the process in which startups are brought to life, offering advantages such as the following: speed of establishment, collaborative resources, funding, and expert execution. This allows for successful startup studios to lunch multiple businesses within a calendar year, helping to fill market gaps in the process.
Startup Studio Insider, a creative and collaborative space that discusses the nuances of the startup studio model, covers the following emerging trends and industries that will catalyze new opportunities and support powerful ventures this year:
- Ed Tech Accessibility
As the pandemic continued, it forced 1.5 billion students away from the traditional classroom. Recently there’s been a huge demand for diverse digital learning tools in corporate settings and for adults who want to fine-tune their skills. This year, there will be more ed-tech startups and companies to watch that will offer a wide range of opportunities for brands to contribute to teachers and students lives, such as Blackboard, Coursera, and Byju’.
- eCommerce
It is no secret that the pandemic has accelerated the shift toward online shopping, and all ranges of businesses have been adapting to this online setting with the help of technology and responsive AI algorithms. For example, VacationRenter is a startup founded by Wilbur Labs in 2017. It’s one of the fastest-growing travel startups in the world due to its innovative platform, reaching $1 billion in gross bookings last in 2020.
- Virtual Healthcare
The pandemic has caused a large range of services to be delivered faster, more conveniently, and at a lower cost through telehealth. According to a new Telehealth Market Size and Analysis study conducted by Market Study Report, the sector is set to grow to $16.7 billion by 2025. We are expecting more innovative products from startups in the wearable device, sensors, and diagnostic equipment sectors, as well as new artificial intelligence technologies in the form of interactive virtual assistants or chatbots. In fact, we’ve already seen this trend come to life successfully with the growth of Hims, which was boosted by the help and guidance of startup studio, Atomic. Hims became the second fastest-growing startup in 2017, with a valuation of $1.6 billion.
- Leisure & Entertainment Platforms
The pandemic has kept people indoors, which has opened the doors to entrepreneurs looking to launch new products in niche online markets and identify new opportunities to engage consumers virtually. The demand for online alternatives like exercise-tracking apps began to soar when gyms closed, and
virtual reality (VR) games and systems suggest a new way of working out for stay-at-home consumers.
- Streaming Services
While people have stayed indoors due to the pandemic, they’ve increasingly watched more TV. An increase in binge-watching has evolved from the pandemic, and it’s safe to say that there are growth opportunities in online streaming services gradually expanding their reach.
- Personalization
Personalization has become a buzzword again with the introduction of AI and machine learning, and according to Deloitte, personalized products or services can increase a company’s sales by 10% or more.
We expect organizations to find innovative ways to leverage AI and further optimize the digital customer experience beyond the traditional use cases. As a result, we expect personalization will also serve in retaining customer loyalty in the coming years. A great example of customer personalization is Dollar Shave Club’s innovations, whose online subscription model has allowed the company to be independent of retailers. Dollar Shave Club was founded by Science, and they offer a personalized experience to their customers.
If you’d like to learn more about what other successful studios achieved with startups through past years, make sure to check out the Top Startup Studios by Website Traffic.
