Research
Deep dives & evidence
24 write-ups on real industries, in plain English: how big the market is, who's already paying for solutions, and what's still open for one person to build. Every number links back to where it came from.
- AgriTech
AgriTech — What's Going On (May 2026)
AgriTech looks like the easiest industry to break into — it has the lowest amount of competition of any industry Atlas of Ideas tracks. But don't get too excited: the reason there's so little…
Related industry: AgriTech
- AI Infrastructure
AI Infrastructure — What's Going On (May 2026)
The whole AI infrastructure market is huge — somewhere between $82 billion and $136 billion in 2025. But almost all of that money goes to giant companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, plus a…
Related industry: AI Infrastructure
- AI and Machine Learning
AI and Machine Learning — What's Going On (May 2026)
The market for AI and machine learning tools is enormous — over $294 billion in 2025. But almost all of that money goes to the companies that make the AI itself (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google), plus…
Related industry: AI and Machine Learning
- Climate and Clean Energy
Climate and Clean Energy — What's Going On (April 2026)
You'll see headlines saying this market is worth "$880 billion, growing to $2.8 trillion." That number is almost meaningless for a solo software founder, and here's why: most of that money is spent…
Related industry: Climate and Clean Energy
- Climate Tech
Climate Tech — What's Going On (May 2026)
Climate tech software is a real market ($38.5 billion growing to $115.4 billion), but the part a solo founder can actually reach got much smaller in 2026. Some climate rules that used to force…
Related industry: Climate Tech
- Construction Tech
Construction Tech — What's Going On (May 2026)
Construction is surprisingly friendly territory for a solo founder — the whole industry has barely gone digital and doesn't like big, complicated software. General contractors with 5–15 employees…
Related industry: Construction Tech
- Creator Economy
Creator Economy — What's Going On (May 2026)
The creator economy is enormous — over $205 billion — but almost all of that money is ad revenue and brand-deal cash flowing straight to creators, not to software tools. The software layer is…
Related industry: Creator Economy
- Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity — What's Going On (May 2026)
Cybersecurity is a tough space for a solo founder to break into. The overall market is huge — $272 billion in 2025 — but it's dominated by big, trusted companies. The core problem: when it comes to…
Related industry: Cybersecurity
- Digital Health
Digital Health — What's Going On (May 2026)
Digital health is worth more than $288 billion, but almost none of it is reachable by a solo founder. Strict privacy laws (HIPAA), the need to connect with hospital record systems, and the fact that…
Related industry: Digital Health
- E-commerce Operations
E-commerce Operations — What's Going On (May 2026)
The world of Shopify add-on tools is packed. Inventory syncing across sites, handling returns, recovering abandoned carts, and collecting reviews — all of these already have dozens of competing…
Related industry: E-commerce Operations
- EdTech
EdTech — What's Going On (May 2026)
The global education technology market was worth about $187.01 billion in 2025, and could grow to $437.54 billion by 2033 (about 10.8% bigger every year) — though different research firms measure…
Related industry: EdTech
- Event Tech
Event Tech — What's Going On (May 2026)
Event tech is really two separate markets. One is big enterprise event-management software (companies like Cvent, Bizzabo, and Hopin/RingCentral) — that market isn't realistic for a solo founder to…
Related industry: Event Tech
- Facility Management
Facility Management — What's Going On (May 2026)
Facility management software — the tools that help manage buildings and maintenance — is dominated by big enterprise platforms (ServiceChannel, Corrigo, Dude Solutions), with one real option for…
Related industry: Facility Management
- B2B Fintech
B2B Fintech — What's Going On (May 2026)
"B2B fintech" means financial software sold to other businesses, not regular consumers. It's one of those markets where the total number sounds enormous but almost none of it is available to one…
Related industry: B2B Fintech
- Fitness Studio Management
Fitness Studio Management — What's Going On (May 2026)
Managing a fitness studio is already covered by big software companies (Mindbody, Glofox, WellnessLiving all charge $69–399+ a month to boutique studios). But two real gaps are still open for one…
Related industry: Fitness Studio Management
- Healthcare and Biotech
Healthcare & Biotech — What's Going On (April 2026)
You'll often hear healthcare is worth $1.5 trillion or more, but that number is almost meaningless for a solo founder. The part of the market a solo founder with no sales team could actually reach…
Related industry: Healthcare and Biotech
- HR Tech
HR Tech — What's Going On (May 2026)
HR software for big and medium-sized companies is already locked up — Rippling, Gusto, BambooHR, Workday, and ADP all have huge head starts. The whole market is worth more than $42 billion and…
Related industry: HR Tech
- Legal Tech
Legal Tech — What's Going On (May 2026)
People are willing to pay a lot for legal help — lawyers bill $200–$500 an hour, and they hate wasting time. There's a real opportunity for a solo founder here, but only in the right lane. Big…
Related industry: Legal Tech
- Mental Health Tech
Mental Health Tech — What's Going On (May 2026)
Mental health tech looks huge from the outside, but most of it is out of reach for a solo founder. Companies like TherapyBridge, CareQueue, and the big workplace mental-health platforms need…
Related industry: Mental Health Tech
- Nonprofit Tech
Nonprofit Tech — What's Going On (May 2026)
Nonprofit tech has a tiny market — only $0.85 billion today, growing to $1.17 billion by 2034. That makes it the smallest market of any industry in this whole research library. But the problems…
Related industry: Nonprofit Tech
- PropTech
PropTech — What's Going On (May 2026)
Real estate tech (called "PropTech") is big and growing, but well-funded startups already own every price level. Zillow, CoStar, and Apartments.com control how people find listings. Buildium, Rentec…
Related industry: PropTech
- Restaurant Tech
Restaurant Tech — What's Going On (May 2026)
Restaurant tech is the hardest category in this whole research library for a solo founder to break into. Toast (free hardware, but they take 0.5–3.5% of every payment), Square for Restaurants…
Related industry: Restaurant Tech
- Sales Enablement
Sales Enablement — What's Going On (May 2026)
Tools that help salespeople sell better are the most crowded and most AI-disrupted category in this whole research library. Enterprise tools like Highspot, Seismic, and Showpad cost $800,000+ a…
Related industry: Sales Enablement
- Supply Chain Tech
Supply Chain Tech — What's Going On (May 2026)
The big-picture supply chain software market ($25–38 billion) is almost entirely owned by giant companies — Flexport, project44, Oracle, and SAP. The real opportunity for a solo founder sits at the…
Related industry: Supply Chain Tech