Despite the media feeding frenzy and the wringing of hands on Wall Street, all is not necessarily doom and gloom in the marketplace. There are market sectors that are suffering, such as manufacturing and financial services, but there are growth segments as well that still show lots of promise. As you are contemplating your next career move, you might think about targeting one of these growth sectors to help secure your own personal future.
Recently the Said Business School at Oxford University sponsored an event call Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford, where a number of market watchers and industry pundits shared their insight into where the next growth sectors are likely to be. Of courses, these experts see growth in the segments where they have a vested interest, but their insights are still useful:
Biz Stone, co-founder, Twitter, see growth in real-time products. There has been a growing interest in real-time communications and social networking, and a number of technology providers are integrating “presence” into their software; where the technology detects if you are online and sends you up-to-the-moment data that you should find interesting.
Saul Klein, a partner in Index Ventures and co-founder of Seedcamp, is looking to see more global web ventures. He sees the Internet fueling emerging market entrepreneurship.
Gerald Jay Sanders, founder of San Francisco Science, sees innovations coming new emerging medical technology, especially more effective outpatient treatments and non-invasive medical procedures.
Maria Sendra, a partner in Baker & McKenzie of San Diego, is looking to clean-tech companies as innovators, especially in China, India and Spain. She also points to a growing interest from utility companies, who will, in turn, drive other companies who can provide new technologies and innovations.
Chris Sacca, a venture investor and formerly Google’s head of Special Initiatives, sees new business strategies being fueled by new forms of innovation. Monetizing ideas has changed with Web 2.0. It’s easier to create new ideas using web collaboration, so these days funding follows a working product model. There is lots of room for entrepreneurship in web technology.
Other areas of growth the panelists identified include mobile technology, lead generation, and services for the aging boomer population. You might think about taking a hard look around and identifying new growth sectors that can make better use of your talents.
