Ideas we want to fund
Last month the XFactor investment team gathered for an offsite. As you would imagine when you get a group of creative, driven, founders in the same room, the conversation turned to market opportunities, sectors that we think are ripe for innovation, and, ultimately, “ideas we would like to fund”. We also find our investment model works best when we meet passionate, formidable, founders that are working in fields we are equally passionate about. As an example, we just closed an investment in a company that is solving a problem that was identified in our brainstorm.
So rather than relying on the serendipity of connections, we thought we would share our list of ideas. To the extent you or a friend are working on ideas in these markets, reach out and connect with our investment team directly or via hello@xfactor.ventures!
Without further ado, here are some of our favorite themes and ideas:
- Solutions for an aging population: We are excited about ideas that help people retire well in a fulfilling way, which could include ways for recent retirees to continue to find fulfilling work; tech-forward solutions to allow the elderly to live well, including mental and physical health and wellness; and creative solutions to help families deal with loss and remember their loved ones.
- Solutions to create more sustainability and transparency in consumer products: This could include product components, ingredients, and supply chain innovations.
- Cybersecurity solutions for autonomous devices and the intelligent edge.
- “Recession-proof” solutions: Not that we are pessimists, but there are a host of ideas that could benefit if the global economy were to experience a correction, including bringing resale marketplaces to new markets, education platforms to reskill workers, SMB lending platforms, and female-forward car repair services.
- Solutions for digital lagging industries: Vertical market software and AI-driven solutions for digital lagging industries such as agriculture, real estate, construction, and logistics.
- Solutions for the Cannabis and CBD industries including banking, fintech, and regulatory platforms.
- Healthcare solutions we identified included platforms to better use genomic data; CROs with a focus on underrepresented populations; AI platforms to drive improved quality of care; and new insurance solutions for fertility and, more broadly, the un/underinsured populations.
- Ideas that benefit from the social media backlash, including new identity platforms that are not focused on selling data and ads, aka the anti-Facebook connect solution; platforms to help drive customer acquisition outside of the current alternatives, perhaps including nano-influencers; and tools to combat disinformation and facilitate more positive discourse online.
- Future of Fitness solutions — New generation consumer fitness for at-home use that combines on-demand personalized workout, smart features, and real-time metrics.
- Govtech solutions — Platforms using emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, and collaborative platforms to improve the delivery of public services — at local, state, and federal levels — as well as political campaigns through increasing efficiency, access, transparency while lowering costs.
- Next Generation of Learning using AR/VR: With more usage of AR/VR in real-world applications, the technology is becoming more versatile and affordable. The future of learning and workplace training is connected to immersive learning technology. We are excited about AR/VR software that makes learning new skills more exciting and more impactful.
- Esports and gaming: With 380 million esports viewers worldwide and rapidly quickly, we believe this growing industry will allow for many new business models, community and fan engagement tools, and consumer products to be introduced.
Are you working on an idea that fits with one of these themes? Do you have a passion for an idea that you feel like we are missing? Reach out via hello@xfactor.ventures as we would love to hear from you!
