Andrew Yang thinks the next big startup opportunity is lowering the cost of living
Entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang argues that the next major startup opportunity is lowering the cost of living for Americans. Inspired by Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs, Yang launched Noble Mobile, a low-cost mobile carrier that returns money to customers who use less data. He frames this as a market-based response to AI compressing wages and displacing workers.
Key Takeaways
- Andrew Yang made a list of everything Americans overpay for - housing, food, wireless - and thinks the next startup gold rush is giving that money back.
Entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has a theory about where the next wave of startup opportunity lies, and it starts with a question most founders aren't asking: what if the business model was giving money back instead of extracting it?
- As AI threatens to compress wages and displace workers, Yang sees a business opportunity in bringing down the cost of living.
Cost Plus Drugs, Noble Mobile, dumb phone makers like Light Phone , and even online grocery store Misfits Markets are early examples of an emerging business category where the startup's value proposition is the margin it gives back to the customer.
- Yang is still an advocate for UBI, arguing that the value generated by AI companies needs to be redistributed into the hands of the average American.
But whether the government will be the vehicle for that redistribution, or whether it will just use any collected wealth to "plug a hole and do something not terribly productive," Yang is less certain.
- "We're unit profitable per customer, but we just share the profits with our subscribers with the idea that it'll make you happy, you'll stay around, and maybe you'll tell your friends and family," Yang said.
Yang noted that the average monthly savings of $50, invested and compounded over 40 years, could amount to $24,000 - enough for a retirement down payment.
- "The value being concentrated in the hands of a handful of folks and firms is just bad for everybody," he said.
Stats & Key Facts
- #Yang first launched himself into the public eye during his 2020 presidential campaign, during which he advocated for Universal Basic Income as a means of combating AI-related workforce displacement and wealth concentration.
Andrew Yang made a list of everything Americans overpay for - housing, food, wireless - and thinks the next startup gold rush is giving that money back. Entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has a theory about where the next wave of startup opportunity lies, and it starts with a question most founders aren't asking: what if the business model was giving money back instead of extracting it? Yang was inspired by Mark Cuban.
Not by his wealth, or his celebrity, but by Cost Plus Drugs - Cuban's startup that sells pharmaceuticals at cost. "Housing, education, food, fuel, transportation, media, and wireless," Yang told TechCrunch on a recent episode of Equity . "The things we all spend money on."
He picked wireless and last September launched Nobile Mobile , a new mobile virtual network operator that provides cell service for a fraction of what traditional carriers charge and gives customers money back if they use less data. As AI threatens to compress wages and displace workers, Yang sees a business opportunity in bringing down the cost of living. Cost Plus Drugs, Noble Mobile, dumb phone makers like Light Phone , and even online grocery store Misfits Markets are early examples of an emerging business category where the startup's value proposition is the margin it gives back to the customer.
For more details please read the original article at TechCrunch AI.
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