The hottest fields for entrepreneurs to launch in are also the hottest fields in terms of innovation and job creation, both in the public and private sectors. This isn’t a coincidence. Entrepreneurs are one of the backbones of economic development/stimulation in our country.

Think about this for a moment: every single company ever to have existed (yes, including industry giants the Virgin Group, Apple and Google) came about because one or a few people had any idea that they decided to take a risk with. Some took a few years to get off the ground & see success, including a few tweaks/additions to their offerings. Some experienced success fairly quickly with relatively the same product/service that they had been offering since the get-go.

So, now that those bugs are in your brain, let’s talk about 10 hottest up-and-coming fields for you to look into as young entrepreneurs, and what they do. Majority of them have only been around for either as long as you’ve been alive or are younger than you!

  1. Drone Manufacturing
    • Design and manufacturing of drones for commercial, recreational, and government use. 
  2. Artificial Intelligence
    • The use and development of machines that, through computer science, work and react just like human beings. 
  3. Food Analytics and Technology
    • The use of technology to help companies design, deliver and prepare food more effectively and efficiently.
    • Food analytics is the use of technology to help consumers with food inventory in their homes (i.e. scanning the contents of a fridge/pantry to generate a shopping list). 
  4. Fraud Detection Software
    • Technology that protects consumer and commercial information from being stolen, compromised or accessed by someone who is not authorized to access or use that information (i.e. credit card information, social insurance number, etc.). 
  5. Sustainable Building Materials
    • Building material that promotes environmental friendliness.
    • They are created & used in order to reduce the use of resources such as water & energy and decrease the creation of pollution/waste. 
  6. Corporate Wellness
    • Also known as Workplace Wellness. 
    • Programs designed to promote healthy behaviours to employees and to help decrease healthcare-related costs in the workplace (i.e sick days and leaves of absence). 
  7. Virtual Reality
    • The submersion of a person into an alternate and simulated 3-d environment through the use of computer technology.  
  8. Biometric Scanning Software
    • Technology that powers eye, fingerprint and facial recognition systems for a variety of other industries, including medicine and security. 
  9. Clean Energy
    • Energy, such as as solar, wind, hydroelectric or nuclear power, that does not pollute the atmosphere when used, and does not deplete resources as it regenerates. 
  10. Cloud Education
    • Uses the concept of cloud computing to allow anyone in the world with an internet connection to access world-class education, be it for fun, professional development or full diplomas & degrees. 

Please note that this is not an all-inclusive list. Thanks to Inc. and The Startup Guide for the inspiration! For more information on more up-and-coming fields, as well as what companies are doing in the fields listed above, check out Best Industries for Starting a Business and Top 25 New Fields for Millenials.