Narrative violation: consumer businesses are not dead.

For the past decade, venture capitalists and founders have blamed distribution as the main reason for the lack of success of consumer products. This seems more of a smokescreen for imitative thinking. Instead of looking for areas to create real consumer value, founders and investors have naively chased the same ideas as their peers and built the 100th food delivery service. Meanwhile, consumers are paying far more for health and education, access to high-quality financial and legal services is limited, and despite the hype around e-commerce growth, adoption is capped at 15%.

Untitled

Areas of opportunity ****

  1. Democratizing access to high-quality health care at affordable prices.
    1. Home care delivery to provide on-demand access to affordable lab tests, diagnosis, self-triage, digital therapeutics, mental care, female care, and medication fulfillment.
    2. Personalized care to improve efficacy and access to vitamins and drugs, workout trainers, fertility and personal nutritionists.
    3. Digital devices to increase convenience, accessibility, and quality of care through innovations in wearable monitoring devices, AI health assistants, diagnostic, digital therapeutic, and medication devices.
  2. Democratize access to high-quality education.
    1. Private tutor for K-12 and college students providing personalized teaching material, exams, and feedback.
    2. Educational content platforms creating engaging content, unlimited Q&A, and new form factors for books.
  3. Engaging, inspiring, and informed shopping experiences.
    1. Democratize access to personal stylists using generative AI to find apparel for specific occasions, match it with shoppers' wardrobes, and enable virtual try-ons.
    2. Shopping consultants to assist shoppers in choosing the right products, particularly in categories that require consultations such as skin care, diet and nutrition, OTC pharmacy, jewelry, and furniture.
    3. Local marketplaces to help shoppers find nearby products, chat with stores, make a purchase, and delivery and pick-up services.
    4. Virtual shopping experiences to close the experience gap between in-person and online shopping and create serendipitous and inspiring discovery using VR headsets in categories like home goods.
  4. Democratizing access to professional services.
    1. Personal financial advisor to manage income and spending, recommend investment opportunities, and help individuals and families make informed financial decisions.
    2. Personal lawyers to decrease the cost of legal services by automating common-use cases such as real estate, employment, and family.