🌭 5 stories to go with your bratwurst and beer

Happy Trends Tuesday!

It’s been a whole 30 issues (!) since I took over as editor of Trends.

I’m having hella fun, and pumped to keep sharing interesting trends to help y’all build better. 👊

But if you remember from last week, I’m currently basking on the beach in Cape May. So today we’re serving up a list of stories you might’ve missed, or want to revisit.

– Cyan 

In today's email…

• ICYMI: New-gen financial ed, the $400B cleaning industry, a podcast crash course, and other trendy opportunities to revisit from the first half of 2024.

 Let's dive in! 

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👀 ICYMI

1. Teaching Gen Alpha about finance = good business

School break is here. Love it or dread it, the kids are out and about. 

Don’t let them sit on their asses!

Scratch that. Kids should be kids.

But if your little one's already making a good chunk of cash (because you’re a kickass entrepreneur who’s passing it down, duh), you might want to read this one. 

Even if you’re not a parent, the Gen Alpha financial literacy space is ripe for the taking. Fintech startups and banks are flocking to serve them — but can you build something better?

We think you got a shot. 

2. Three lessons from a founder of two million-dollar companies 

Speaking of financial education…

Many Gen Zers are taking wealth into their hands as well. 

The problem? They have no spending power. 

Beatriz Acevedo is a business maven who gets Gen Z — she’s built two million-dollar businesses with them as the core demographic. 

Her latest venture, which teaches Gen Z about personal finance, offers a great lesson on capturing their mindshare by tapping into the cultural zeitgeist.

So check out her operator guide, one of my favorite stories from this year. 

3. How to cash in on the $400B cleaning services industry

Is the upcoming long weekend time for a deep clean? Probably not. 

What about the week after, with beer bottles and greasy plates littered around the house? (For non-US folks: I'm sure y'all can also find a reason to party this weekend 😜) 

Don’t start stressing yet. I got good news for you:

• You don’t have to clean it yourself – there’s a service for that
• You can make money by establishing such a service for others

The cleaning service biz is a ~$400B industry, and residential homes are only a small slice of it. 

Here are four ways you can cash in on this evergreen niche.

4. Unleash your inner pod genius — we've got you covered

Everyone and their dog has a podcast these days, sure.

But you could totally be a pod genius in hiding, and your voice might just be the one this generation is starved for.

Is it delulu? You won't know until you try. 

So if you're itching to make a podcast, let us give you a kick. 

My colleagues Darren and Kal (aka the killer podcast combo) dished out their secrets from producing industry-leading pods like My First Million.

From ideation, launching, to monetization, you’ll get a crash course on putting together a winning formula.

4. Seven data-backed predictions from our network

It’s that mid-year point where we check if our crystal balls are getting dusty. 

So go ahead, check us. 🔮

Some of these trends our experts predicted are still going strong, like AI video and niche sports. 

Others have us on the edge of our seats… I mean, who’d thought Bitcoin was really going to come back? (Jury’s still out on this one — as of my writing, Bitcoin has just hit a major slump.)

Most importantly, if you’ve got your own prediction for the second half of 2024, hit us up!