9 Huge Startup Opportunities in the AI Boom

9 Huge Startup Opportunities in the AI Boom

Author: Greg Isenberg May 18, 2026 Duration: 1:08:23
I sit down with my friend Jonathan Courtney, a.k.a. Jicecream, to dig into the 9 biggest startup opportunities I see right now across B2C, AI, mobile, and IRL. We each pick ideas, trade reactions, and pressure-test them live. The conversation ranges from agent-first "action apps" to elder tech, third spaces, hobby retreats, pet health, AI-native media, and the case for selling AI "junior employees" to small businesses. Listeners walk away with a concrete map of where to build in 2026, plus the framing I use to decide which niche is worth marrying. Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 01:14 – Idea 1: Unscripted Creator Shows (Twitch model for tech) 07:50 – Idea 2: Action Apps: AI Agent Native Apps 16:39 – Idea 3: Loneliness and IRL Communities 26:47 – Idea 4: Elder Tech: Building for 65+ 33:21 – Idea 5: Adult Hobbies 38:17 – Idea 6: AI Employee and AI Agents 45:33 – Idea 7: Personalized Nutrition/Health 53:08 – Idea 8: Pet Health and AI for Animals 57:34 – Idea 9: AI-Native Media Companies Done Right 01:03:18 – Stacking Ideas: Live + Retreats + Entrepreneurs 01:07:22 – Final Thoughts The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ The Vibe Marketer - Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: https://www.thevibemarketer.com/ FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND JONATHAN ON SOCIAL Unscheduled CEO Podcast: https://www.unscheduledceo.com/ X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jicecream LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-courtney-4510644b/

Greg Isenberg, the CEO of Late Checkout who has previously advised platforms like Reddit and TikTok, hosts a twice-weekly conversation designed to spark entrepreneurial thinking. The Startup Ideas Podcast is less about dry business theory and more about opening a window into the process of identifying opportunities. Each episode serves as a catalyst, presenting listeners with actionable concepts and the reasoning behind them. You'll hear Greg dissect market gaps, consumer behaviors, and emerging trends, translating them into tangible ideas for potential ventures. The aim is to build a consistent habit of creative exploration, pushing beyond the initial "what if" to consider the "how" and "why." This podcast functions as a regular dose of inspiration for anyone feeling stuck in a rut or simply curious about the mechanics of building something new. It’s a resource for aspiring founders, side-hustlers, and innovators who appreciate seeing the blueprint before the ground is broken. Tuning in means joining a forward-thinking dialogue where the next big idea might just click into place.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The Startup Ideas Podcast
Podcast Episodes
How to Build an AI-Native Company in 2026 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:28
I sit down with Allie K. Miller to talk about the shift from managing AI agents to enabling them. Allie runs a workforce of 34 AI agents led by an AI chief of staff named Simon, plus six directors named after Friends cha…
Making $$$ selling to AI Agents [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:10
In this solo episode I break down Cloudflare's AI agent announcement in plain English and explain why I see it as the new business model for the internet. I walk through AI crawl control, pay per crawl, the monetization…
These AI Marketing Agents Get You Customers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:59
I bring Cody Schneider back on the show to build two marketing agents end to end, live. The first one monitors LinkedIn posts from creators in your category, scrapes everyone who engages, waterfalls those profiles into e…
Graph Engineering Clearly Explained [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:28
I go solo on this one to break down graph engineering, the term I keep seeing go viral on X. I define it in plain English: prompt engineering is how you ask AI a better question, context engineering is how you give AI be…
Jack Dorsey's Buzz: The New Hermes Agent? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:44
I sit down with Vinny for a live tour of Buzz, an open source, agent-native chat app from Block built on an open protocol. Vinny makes the case that openness is the real story here: agents arrive as first-class teammates…
How I use Claude Code + MCPs to run my marketing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:47
Cody Schneider is back on the podcast, and I ask him to lay out what a real marketing agent looks like once you get past the hype. He draws a hard line: an agent owns unified business data, runs on a cadence, and improve…
Most Valuable Skill of 2026: Managing AI Agents [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:46
I welcome Ryan Carson back to the show to turn anyone into a world-class agent operator. Ryan spent 25 years founding companies, scaled Treehouse to around 110 employees and a million learners, and now runs Untangle, an…
FDE: The $1M/Year AI Job Explained [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:34
I sit down with Vas from Varick Agents to map out exactly how to break into AI forward deployed engineering — and how to grow into a sharper FDE — in thirty days. We start from a single premise: every company can now buy…
The $1,000/hour Solo AI business (Full Course) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:05
In this episode I sit down with Corey Ganim to unpack what he calls the simplest way to earn money with AI in 2026: a $999 AI Tools Assessment for small business owners. Corey lays out his entire four-phase system, from…
Making $$$ with Loop Engineering [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:43
I sit down with Elie Steinbock to unpack loop engineering and how to run a business on loops. We start with the roots of the idea in the lean startup and Toyota's manufacturing, then move into practical, copy-ready workf…