The Hustle - 💒 Untapped opportunities in weddings

Happy Trends Tuesday!

Today we’ve got:

• 1 trend alert

• 1 piece of operator wisdom

• 1 article you should read

• 4 tabs we have open

Let's get to it.

🚨 TREND ALERT

We first wrote about microweddings in the summer of 2019, long before covid lockdowns and social distancing forced everyone to rethink how to celebrate their big day.

Fast forward a friggin’ lifetime just four years and the pandemic has eased — but interest in microweddings has held strong:

Successful businesses have been built catering to this niche. For example, Janessa White’s company, Simply Eloped, generates millions each year by planning elopements and small group weddings for <20 people.

We asked her where she sees untapped opportunity in the industry, and she quickly pointed to two areas:

1. Simplifying Other Marriage Processes. Why are microweddings taking off? Easy: simplicity. Couples don’t want to deal with the hassle of huge ceremonies. But the wedding is just one part of the process.
   
   • Prenups: HelloPrenup is the “TurboTax of prenups,” offering quick, easy flat-rate agreements to couples in 31+ states. There is an opportunity to extend this to other places, or niche down and cater to a specific area or demographics (e.g., LGBTQ+).
   • Divorce: YC-backed Wevorce aims to simplify and humanize the divorce process. But the site is outdated, and the company hasn’t gotten press or posted to its social accounts in years. Might be time for a reboot!
     
     
2. Flower Delivery. The floral industry is a hot mess, Janessa told us. It’s a huge time-sink for a company like hers, which has planned 10k+ weddings all over the world. What’s needed is an aggregator: one point of contact who will work with high-end, local florists across many locations to deliver the quality of a boutique shop and the geographic scale of 1-800-FLOWERS.

⚡ 10 SWIFT SALES SCRIPTS

🧠 OPERATOR WISDOM

Melanie Perkins, co-founder of Canva, told Trendster Carmine Gallo that 100+ potential investors rejected her initial pitch, admitting that her presentation was “pretty terrible.”

The transformative moment occurred when Melanie discovered a time-tested formula for telling her story: the three-act structure. 

Here’s how you can leverage it to nail your pitch:

• Act 1: The Setup. The first act sets the scene: characters are introduced and the story’s setting is established. In a business presentation or startup pitch, it highlights the story’s key figures and introduces an inciting incident that moves them to take action. Some things to consider:

  • What’s your origin story? (Jeff Bezos does this beautifully)

  • What are the unique and relatable aspects of your background?

  • What questions can you plant, to be answered later?
    
    

• Act 2: The Conflict. This is where you explain why your idea should exist. If you provide a strong enough “why,” your audience will anticipate act three: the “how.” This is critical because it explains why customers need the product. (If you offer a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist, nobody will care.)
  
  
• Act 3: The Resolution. In this final act it’s time to focus on specific benefits of your product, service, or idea, while walking the audience through the details. Sell the dream, and how your company will transform the world for the better.

🔥 ARTICLE YOU SHOULD READ 

In the 1500s, Queen Elizabeth I denied a patent for the first knitting machine to preserve job opportunities for her subjects.

Hundreds of years later, automation in textile factories led to protests and uprisings.

Today, we’re once again questioning what new technologies will mean for our jobs.

Read more about how AI might impact the future of work.

OPEN TABS

✏️ Tips and tricks: Trying to sell a quirky product? It’s all in the storytelling.

🏝️ Castaway: There’s a whole industry helping you live out your desert island dreams.

📊 Data viz: Take a deep breath before checking out this interactive inflation graph. 

📚 Deep dive: An entrepreneur’s guide to product design.

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