One more $2 trillion round

Pat Walls

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Updated: June 16th, 2022

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One more $2 trillion round

In 2020, the global market size of alcoholic beverages amounted to over $1.49 trillion. And it’s estimated to increase to over $2.2 trillion by 2025.

We’re talking about huge numbers here.

And the best thing? Despite being a mature industry, it’s still possible to find new business opportunities in it.

For instance, this startup is disrupting winemaking using AI.

The industry is so huge, that many smart founders are making money in very different ways:

By the numbers:

$339B -> wine industry market size
300% -> hard seltzer market expected growth
100 -> successful drinking-related businesses case studies

Our take:

Alcohol consumption rose during lockdowns, with 60% of people drinking more than before COVID-19, according to a study.

New options like hard seltzers and zero proof drinks are helping to widen the market's potential audience, with the traditional image of beer and whiskey drinking being unappealing to many people.

As I said, this industry is so big that it offers pretty unique possibilities. Like starting an $84K/year business farming flowers and herbs for cocktails, you just need to find the right opportunity for you.

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Quick hitters

(1) The guy who made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling framed tweets sold the business. To none other than Sticker Mule. If you want to know what he’s up to now, he’s selling used bikes online. It’s a pretty cool update to read.

All kinds of businesses get acquired: this founder sold his business for 9 figures, and this Messenger app side project was also bought.

There’s even a trend of marketplaces to buy and sell businesses, these founders are making $72K/year with theirs.

(2) This test prep business makes over $1M/year. And the co-founders built their dream houses thanks to it - including swimming pools and home theatres.

Test prep is a huge industry (estimated to reach $10B) and offers endless possibilities. You can focus on teaching investors ($240K/year), future college students ($1.2M/year), or finance professionals ($2.4M/year).

More money, less problems?

3 excellent reasons to start a side project (instead of going full time):

#1. You can develop new skills and learn new stuff (even if you fail).

#2. It’s a great way to test the waters on different ideas & industries.

#3. The extra income will motivate you to turn it into something full time

Side note: Starter Story was initially a side project and it helped me fulfill all 3 of these purposes above.

This side project went from hobby to generating an extra $16K/year.

I love seeing side projects like these. Here are my 3 other favorite side projects we’ve profiled recently:

Ready to start your own but can’t find the right idea for you? Check out our side hustles database

Thanks for reading!

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Pat Walls