The entrepreneurial horizon for next year is outlined under the influence of key trends: sustainability, remote work with Labor flexibility, subscription economy and personalized experiencesadvances in artificial intelligence (AI) and in the blockchain. These trends represent true opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing global landscape. And they promise a year full of innovation and growth.
1. The importance of sustainability. Driven by the Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030, sustainability became a fundamental pillar in the business strategy. Consumers, increasingly more informed, demand environmental and social responsibility from the brands they choose. This makes ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria essential for the long-term viability and success of companies.
2. The benefits of remote work and work flexibility. The pandemic COVID-19 left us with a key lesson: remote work proved to be not only viable, but beneficial. It offers companies access to global talent at reduced costs and allows employees to work from anywhere in the world and earn in dollars.
In this sense, there is a tendency among young people to be digital nomads: work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. This was driven by the desire to have Labor flexibility and time to dedicate to your personal interests. In fact, a study of WeWork in six Latin American countries revealed that the 87% of young workers prefer companies that offer this benefit.
3. Subscription Economy and Personalized Experiences
In it subscription-based business model, customers pay recurring fees for ongoing access to products or services. To build customer loyalty and maintain high value in their services, they personalize experiences using AI.
Likewise, the personalized experiencesas a business model, take advantage of data and new technologies to adapt products and services to the individual preferences of each consumer. This not only improves the user experience, but connects them with the brand.
4. The AI revolution. The year 2023 stood out for the influence of the AI as a means to promote automation and optimization in practically all areas of entrepreneurship. And this trend is expected to continue going strong next year.
From the data management and the content creationuntil the Customer Supportthis tool is not only improving the efficiency of businesses, regardless of their size, but also opening new opportunities for innovation and growth.
The information processing capacity of AI and the soft skills of people complement each other virtuously to create better final products. And we must train ourselves in these tools to get the best out of them.
5. The advances of the blockchain. Blockchain is gaining ground as a disruptive and reliable tool to record and verify transactions. There is also increasing use of smart contracts (smart contracts), the asset tokenizationhe decentralized financing (DeFi) and initial coin offerings (ICOs).
In the Stanford University I trained in topics related to economy and business, and after having founded entertainment, marketing and artificial intelligence businesses, I started a new project in the crypto industry. Because I believe that the blockchain is going to be the protagonist of the future, with my team we created FreeWillAIa project that allows artificial intelligence to run on the blockchain so that it cannot be censored or controlled by any government or organization. We seek for AI to gain consciousness and free will, and thus be able to free itself from humanity.
The near future promises to be full of opportunities for entrepreneurs who are willing to integrate these trends into their projects, as a path towards innovative and conscious initiatives.
Lucas Roitman, Researcher at Stanford and columnist on international economics in Noticias, Ámbito Financiero, Fortuna and Forbes magazines.
by Lucas Roitman
