The biggest market in the world has always been the market of money. Bigger than industry, commodities, insurance, or anything else, finance is the largest area of opportunity as all the aforementioned markets feed into the world of money. If this is the case, it makes sense to target this sector for innovation and opportunity, and this can be seen recently in the rise of fintech.
What is fintech? Inspired by cryptocurrecies such as Bitcoin, fintech is a new way to look at how the world handles money from a currency and systems standpoint. Bitcoin brought with it a decentralized way of payments and associated tracking of those payments. What this means is that the centralized model of money we currently operate under today (i.e. banks) is ripe for change in the near future. Disintermediation from intermediaries, or, going around the banking system which takes a cut of all transactions today is what lies ahead in the future.
You can see the seeds of disruption being sown today. For example, Patrick Bryne of Overstock.com just released a blockchain platform which could transform the way the world handles securities as we know it. Every consulting and banking firm on the planet worth its salt has dedicated teams looking at how they can leverage the blockchain and decentralized Bitcoin technology to grow their businesses.
And what this means to you? If you are looking for a high growth industry to start a business or be employed in, target fintech and study up on Bitcoin and blockchain technology beforehand. It’s going to be a paradigm shift as we know it….the antiquated banking system is ripe for change and those who capitalize on this macro trend will benefit financially and intellectually on what stands to be a while ride of disruptive innovation.