Interesting Ideas for the Coming Years
The world isn’t static. It’s an ever-changing mix of markets, technologies, and geopolitics. Each paradigm shift—whether the internet, mobile computing, or AI (quid AGI)—introduces new problems to solve. The latest wave of technology is no different.
As AI reshapes industries and legacy systems struggle to keep up, the window for innovation is wide open. Now is the time to build. Here are some of the more interesting areas worth exploring.
Industry specific
1. Education Technology
Education has adapted slowly to past technological shifts (Smartboards, PC’s, internet, tablets, E-learning, …) and is thus an overlooked field by many entrepreneurs. The internet and search engines made knowledge more accessible, forcing schools to rethink their role. The rise of laptops and tablets introduced new formats for learning. Now, with LLMs capable of generating high-quality explanations, problem sets, and even entire lesson plans, education faces a potential major shift.
There’s an opportunity for startups to build the missing pieces, better AI tutors, automated testing tools, or even entire learning platforms that function outside traditional education systems. You should be hyper aware of your role compared to the traditional stakeholders: teachers, schools, content providers, parents, students, governments…
2. Recruitment: A Broken System
Recruitment is one of those industries/processes that feels outdated. If you talk to recruiters, job seekers, or hiring managers, they all describe the same frustrations: outdated platforms, inefficient processes, and a general sense that hiring is more painful than it should be.
LinkedIn, the dominant platform, has seen rising prices and diminishing value, leaving an opening for something better. AI can help with better matching and automation, but the real opportunity may lie in rethinking the entire hiring process from the ground up. A company that figures this out successfully could build something huge.
The solution isn’t just slapping AI on resumes or polishing the same old process. It’s burning the playbook. Think: platforms that ditch job posts, or hiring pipelines that feel less like a tax audit and more like a dating app. Or a career platform that does the boring application / search process for you, turning people into the product. Sound familiar? It should.
3. B2B services: Automation at Scale
Service businesses—marketing agencies, law firms, recruiters, translators and consultants, have traditionally been difficult to scale. Until now: automation is changing that. The cost of building AI-powered software is dropping, which means many of these businesses could be disrupted in three ways:
- AI-native tools for service providers – Software that helps existing firms by automating repetitive tasks.
- Software for insourcing – Platforms that allow companies to bring these functions in-house.
- Service-as-a-Software – Entirely new service firms built on automation rather than human labor.
The last category is the most ambitious. Instead of building software for lawyers, why not build an AI-powered law firm? Instead of selling recruiting tools, why not create an automated recruiting service? By taking a stake in the service value, at a higher margin, these companies could become immense without the need for global domination.
4. Note
These industries are not waiting for another point solution, their tech stacks are already bloated, building on top of this might be good in the short term but will be catastrophic in the long term. With a point solution you will see direct traction and even PMF like metrics. Yet, these industries will be rewritten in the coming decade. So ask yourself the following questions: What is the final vision? What value streams can be captured? How will the future look? What steps are needed to take towards this new future? What do others overlook? What should the focus be of the product roadmap? All questions the winner will need to have the correct answers to…
Focus on the broad B2B market
1. Geopolitics: Manufacturing and Security
The world is more fragmented than ever. The U.S., China, the EU, India, Russia—everyone is prioritizing national interests. Trade wars. Friend-shoring. Semiconductor arms races. The 20th century called—they want their Cold War back. Generations alpha and beta we present you: protectionism, fractured supply chains, and shifting security priorities.
For startups, this chaos means opportunity. Manufacturing is moving closer to home. Companies are aiming to secure their supply chains. Governments are looking at any strategic opportunity for ways to reduce foreign influence.
Hard tech, semiconductors, energy, defense, ..., will be the most obvious winners, but software will be just as critical in helping industries navigate the shift.
2. Vertical SaaS: Software for Specific Industry
Find an industry. Find its clunky, 1990s-2005s software. Build a better version. Profit.
Yes, it’s niche. Yes, scaling is hard. Yes, corporate adoption often comes with resistance. But for founders who can execute? It’s a cash cow, grazing, (still) waiting to be milked.
Focus B2C market
1. Social media - Scrolling
Look around. Everywhere you go, people are hunched over screens, scrolling through endless feeds. These social media platforms are everywhere, who in turn monetize their user’s attention. If it is free, you are the product …
Generative AI has flooded platforms with ‘blend’ slop—posts, images, comments, it is all becoming very gray and boring. Most of the social platforms are becoming a direct communication channel with LLM API calls. This doesn’t seem sustainable, as most people are experiencing an active aversion and detachment towards these platforms. Humans crave connection, not ad consumption.
Clubhouse showed promise with its live voice-driven spontaneity, but couldn’t hold their momentum. BeReal is a second example, that seems less subject to generative AI, with its daily dose of real life.
This evolution will, hopefully, make people more aware of their smartphone usage. This creates an opportunity for new social media platforms. We have no idea how the winner will look like, but most likely it will be designed for humans, not advertisers.
Final note
We’re sector-agnostic. If your business model is cost efficient, and built to scale, we’re in. Don’t hesitate if your idea is not in this list, most of our portfolio companies are not in this list. This isn’t a prescription; it’s inspiration. Find your own path, build your plan and vision, execute, and go. The rest is noise.
If you'd like to discuss further or explore how we can collaborate, feel free to reach out:
Ruben Pauwels
Investment Manager
Angelwise
e-mail: ruben@angelwise.be
