A few 2020 remote work predictions combined with free startup ideas:
📺 Multiple teams will innovate on videocalls
Startup Idea:
Rethink video clients without "BIG FACES IN A BOX"
Different calls need different optimized experiences (eg Townhall vs 1on1 vs small team call)
📺 Multiple teams will innovate on videocalls
Startup Idea:
Rethink video clients without "BIG FACES IN A BOX"
Different calls need different optimized experiences (eg Townhall vs 1on1 vs small team call)
📖 Gitlab company manuals will become the new norm.
Even management courses will focus on it.
Startup Idea: Build a tool that merges the boundary between reading/knowledge, team-communicating/update and doing/action.
Even management courses will focus on it.
Startup Idea: Build a tool that merges the boundary between reading/knowledge, team-communicating/update and doing/action.
🏡 Rural areas will try to come up with "remote work" strategies.
Tulsa, Vermont and GrowIreland might become R&D labs how to do this.
Startup Idea: be the "service layer" for "me-too" rural areas to service and attract highly paid remote workers. Literally a concierge service.
Tulsa, Vermont and GrowIreland might become R&D labs how to do this.
Startup Idea: be the "service layer" for "me-too" rural areas to service and attract highly paid remote workers. Literally a concierge service.
💕 A nation-wide Starbucks competitor will launch and focus on remote workers.
Startup Idea:
Well. That. 🤷♀️
A cafe chain focusing on remote workers who occasionally hang out there relaxed. Not a primary workplace, a third-space.
Quiet, hidden away, focused, small member fee.
Startup Idea:
Well. That. 🤷♀️
A cafe chain focusing on remote workers who occasionally hang out there relaxed. Not a primary workplace, a third-space.
Quiet, hidden away, focused, small member fee.
👔 Venture Studios will become en-vogue again
The office / HQ will be in hip spots but the teams will be all-remote.
Startup Idea:
Raise money for a Venture Studio, not a startup. Have all ideas focus on a customer/industry/pattern/problem.
The office / HQ will be in hip spots but the teams will be all-remote.
Startup Idea:
Raise money for a Venture Studio, not a startup. Have all ideas focus on a customer/industry/pattern/problem.
📈 Multiple remote teams will go IPO.
New joint-ventures will realize that all-remote acquihiring is a great setup for having a fast-track to IPO.
Startup Idea: Build a double-blind M&A "exploration" marketplace in your niche
New joint-ventures will realize that all-remote acquihiring is a great setup for having a fast-track to IPO.
Startup Idea: Build a double-blind M&A "exploration" marketplace in your niche
👀 Remote-first will become a recruiting buzzword.
Teams who aren't set up to support remote-first will still use it to attract talent, because talent will favor/expect it.
Startup idea: Glassdoor for remote work env and sell recruiting support and courses on top of it.
Teams who aren't set up to support remote-first will still use it to attract talent, because talent will favor/expect it.
Startup idea: Glassdoor for remote work env and sell recruiting support and courses on top of it.
💰 Buying SaaS companies and restaffing with remote teams will be a common theme
Some will form private equity funds around it.
Others will just operate out of cashflow to acquire well-aligned products.
Startup Idea: Build tooling to manage and compare multiple saas startups.
Some will form private equity funds around it.
Others will just operate out of cashflow to acquire well-aligned products.
Startup Idea: Build tooling to manage and compare multiple saas startups.
🧠 The best remote teams won't win through price dumping but through talent selection.
Startup idea: Become an agent for top 0.0001% talent in your niche. Think sports coach but for a romanian datascience guru in a town you can't pronounce.
Startup idea: Become an agent for top 0.0001% talent in your niche. Think sports coach but for a romanian datascience guru in a town you can't pronounce.
👨👦 Now that remote work becomes more common. Parents working part-time from home will be an important asset
Startup Idea: Employ people who used to do top paid career jobs before they decided to focus on their kids (eg lawyers, analysts, etc). Offer products w/ expert support
Startup Idea: Employ people who used to do top paid career jobs before they decided to focus on their kids (eg lawyers, analysts, etc). Offer products w/ expert support
🛀 Between-jobs sabbaticals will become a common thing
"Take time off to focus on X"
Startup Idea:
Create a hotel chain focusing on month-long sabbaticals
Amazing experiences in unexpected (cheap) locations where people otherwise never go to.
Help overcome burnouts + inspire
"Take time off to focus on X"
Startup Idea:
Create a hotel chain focusing on month-long sabbaticals
Amazing experiences in unexpected (cheap) locations where people otherwise never go to.
Help overcome burnouts + inspire
🏙 City planning will change because of climate change and remote work
How does an ideal new small city look like if remote work and extreme seasonal heat is common?
Startup idea:
Build a city. Play sim city or skylines before to make sure you are qualified.
How does an ideal new small city look like if remote work and extreme seasonal heat is common?
Startup idea:
Build a city. Play sim city or skylines before to make sure you are qualified.
🌏 If more people become location independent many countries will become defacto service providers
Startup idea:
Read sovereign individual twice, over-invest in bitcoin and partner with a small island country. Become a global service provider for your specific global niche.
Startup idea:
Read sovereign individual twice, over-invest in bitcoin and partner with a small island country. Become a global service provider for your specific global niche.
💵 More "global citizens" becoming rich
Startup idea:
Reinvent Switzerland.
Build a private bank focusing only focusing on startup founders who had an exit.
Call it "Exit Bank" and build member-only SoHo-house like HQs
Startup idea:
Reinvent Switzerland.
Build a private bank focusing only focusing on startup founders who had an exit.
Call it "Exit Bank" and build member-only SoHo-house like HQs
💻 Remote work will become embedded in tooling
Startup Idea:
Build Figma for X.
Eg Figma for architectural drawing. People can collab on the work.
More importantly: You can hire somewhere highly talented to finish your work where you lack time or skill.
Startup Idea:
Build Figma for X.
Eg Figma for architectural drawing. People can collab on the work.
More importantly: You can hire somewhere highly talented to finish your work where you lack time or skill.
👮♀️Remote work as an opportunity for incarcerated
Startup Idea:
Build a marketplace helping people in prison (or recently released) to work remotely. Goal: rehabilitate and reintegrate into society.
Pro-tip: Maybe don't start this in the puritan US but rather Europe.
Startup Idea:
Build a marketplace helping people in prison (or recently released) to work remotely. Goal: rehabilitate and reintegrate into society.
Pro-tip: Maybe don't start this in the puritan US but rather Europe.
💵 Global Payroll will be a common problem
Payroll fragmentation is literally the same problem we had with creditcards before stripe came.
Startup Idea: Focus on convenience and overall experience. But hurry. I think @remote will win this market (disclaimer: i'm an investor)
Payroll fragmentation is literally the same problem we had with creditcards before stripe came.
Startup Idea: Focus on convenience and overall experience. But hurry. I think @remote will win this market (disclaimer: i'm an investor)
↕️ Hybrid setup will be a default
Office-heavy companies suck in staying remote-friendly.
Startup Idea: Build a tool that automatically monitors how remote-friendly you are.
Think daily green checkboxes for best practices plus peer reviews.
Office-heavy companies suck in staying remote-friendly.
Startup Idea: Build a tool that automatically monitors how remote-friendly you are.
Think daily green checkboxes for best practices plus peer reviews.
🧠 Loneliness & Mental Health
More people work from home => more people feel lonely
Startup Idea:
Start something like @codiwork but to see where in your neighborhood people plan to work together this week. Spoilers: I think codiwork might do exactly that 🤷♀️
More people work from home => more people feel lonely
Startup Idea:
Start something like @codiwork but to see where in your neighborhood people plan to work together this week. Spoilers: I think codiwork might do exactly that 🤷♀️
🐄 Coworking as we know it is not the answer
Coworking spaces are too distracting, too noisy, too impersonal and definitely too unfocused.
Startup Idea:
Create tooling to enable coop-driven small shared offices for remote workers. Think: 8 people office, everyone works remote.
Coworking spaces are too distracting, too noisy, too impersonal and definitely too unfocused.
Startup Idea:
Create tooling to enable coop-driven small shared offices for remote workers. Think: 8 people office, everyone works remote.
🤝 Global ad-hoc teams will be more and more common
You get a project; need support. You know a girl who knows a girl. The team is formed. The next project comes in. More people join the crew. It becomes complicated
Startup Idea:
Tooling for employee-owned project-based coops
You get a project; need support. You know a girl who knows a girl. The team is formed. The next project comes in. More people join the crew. It becomes complicated
Startup Idea:
Tooling for employee-owned project-based coops
💬 People will focus more on async
Startup Idea:
Build a slack killer focusing async discussions (pattern mix of forum, pull requests and google docs) but also allow sync-chat for where it's useful (eg watercooler, emergencies).
But hurry @twistappteam and @threads are fast.
Startup Idea:
Build a slack killer focusing async discussions (pattern mix of forum, pull requests and google docs) but also allow sync-chat for where it's useful (eg watercooler, emergencies).
But hurry @twistappteam and @threads are fast.
🤓 Cultural difference become a problem on global marketplaces
Talent might be distributed globally. But the "ability to sound cool to the SV-tech-bro who video-interviews you" is not
Startup Idea:
Business english courses plus "please don't work from your laundry room" + ISAs
Talent might be distributed globally. But the "ability to sound cool to the SV-tech-bro who video-interviews you" is not
Startup Idea:
Business english courses plus "please don't work from your laundry room" + ISAs
🗣 Professional english is a struggle
Being able to communicate concisely and correctly is tough for foreigners and limits career opportunities.
Startup Idea:
A remote language school that has an NDA with your company.
Real feedback for your writing (google docs + slack)
Being able to communicate concisely and correctly is tough for foreigners and limits career opportunities.
Startup Idea:
A remote language school that has an NDA with your company.
Real feedback for your writing (google docs + slack)
🖥 Companion devices
Startup Idea:
Facebook portal but for remote teams.
Easily share documents, collab on one document, video call people, join calls (with a camera that follows you), see what everyone is doing, play games.
Startup Idea:
Facebook portal but for remote teams.
Easily share documents, collab on one document, video call people, join calls (with a camera that follows you), see what everyone is doing, play games.
