The new frontiers:
- Oil Patch
- Publishing
- Education
- Space Exploration
New frontiers have opened up, with incredible opportunities as wide as the prairies in the northern plains states. They also have the same high price of admission as the old frontier.
In the previous post, I talked about the oil patch and publishing. Now I’ll talk about education and space exploration.
Education
The education world is in a financial bubble. There is a very unsettling shakeup on the near horizon. All levels of education are facing dramatic changes – primary, secondary, college, and graduate.
There are tremendous opportunities to develop new educational models and new educational revenue streams.
However….
The price of admission is steep.
The technology is rapidly developing. Some big questions remain, like how to deal with cheating. But the basic tech is falling into place.
You have to figure out how to make the tech work.
Many players are already offering free on-line education.
The revenue model is still fuzzy, but some vague outline is starting to develop.
Not a lot of money is needed. Will probably help if you have some serious money at the table.
Lots of subject matter knowledge is necessary.
You have to build a following.
On the other hand, a lot of people have already set up a college or other on-line education or other new models. The opportunity is there at all levels of education.
The education frontier is open.
Space Exploration
The age of private space flight on privately designed spaceships that are privately built and privately funded has dawned.
The technology and capabilities are there.
The possibility of huge economic reward is there.
However…
The price of admission is steep.
The technology hasn’t all been worked out.
The details on how to make it pay off are a bit fuzzy. The opportunities are there but fuzzy.
You gotta’ have some serious money to play in this league.
On the other hand, there are quite a few people who pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars, or sometimes billions, from selling their whiz-bang neato tech outfit. Not many, but they are around. There are people who have plopped down half a billion or a billion on their own space startup.
(If taking a run at starting my very own space exploration outfit cost as much in relation to my total wealth as if I were to buy a nice, brand new car, I’d be in the game tomorrow.)
You have to assemble a team and work out a lot of technical issues.
On the other hand, there are today, right now, multiple companies that are working to develop privately run, manned, resupply flights to the international space station.
There are multiple companies figuring out how to mine asteroids.
The space exploration frontier is open.
Oh yeah, the frontiers open now are just as exciting as the American frontier 150 years ago.
Way cool.