In our view there is already a ton of coverage of the trends that ivory tower professors and billionaire fund managers are seeing. What’s the edge in hearing the billionaire consensus view over and over again?

The edge comes from hearing new perspectives and new information like from the wedding planner who has worked with hundreds of couples during the pandemic and has noticed that couples are allocating significantly more of their wedding budgets on “small details” like personalized neon signs and eco-friendly customized digital invitations rather than paper invites. Or the accountant seeing how there’s a huge uptick in ecommerce clients generating revenue from in person popups.

Below, you’ll find some of the most thoughtful entrepreneurs and creatives in across various industries and markets sharing the trends they are seeing.

Stefanie Anderson

It’s no secret that social media and trends go hand in hand—trending audios, content, creators, brands, the list goes on and on. While tracking and leveraging trends is essential for both brands and creators, relying on them exclusively unfortunately isn’t the answer for long-term, sustainable success. Read more>>

Joseph Pompo

For years, sports teams at the technological bleeding edge have employed wearable GPS monitors to track player movement, workload, and effort. These devices revolutionized training by providing insights into overall usage, speed, distance, and acceleration. But now, the industry is evolving beyond just tracking the athlete—we’re embedding sensors directly into the equipment itself, whether that’s a ball, a stick, or even protective gear. Read more>>

Chasity Black

In the world of beauty and wellness, there’s a powerful shift happening—people are moving away from quick fixes and opting for holistic beauty treatments and regenerative medicine. This trend is about enhancing natural beauty by working with the body’s own healing powers rather than fighting against time with harsh chemicals and invasive procedures. Read more>>

Christy Ranlett

We see the evolution of trends change drastically year after year. As a Wedding & Event Venue in a widely populated, diverse and rapidly growing city, we love to make all of our client’s creative ideas come to life! Our brides and clients are looking for a unique and intimate venue that has a story behind it and brings a little bit of history into their love story. Natural beauty, old historic brick buildings and original tin roof tiles. These are trending up due to what they portray in photos, the charming landscape it brings to events and the conversation pieces that adorn our building. And as social media and interactive experiences become the forefront in a lot of things we do today, we are seeing that showing its creativity in the event world. Read more>>

Jeff Applegate

I see brokers infiltrating the industry, creating confusion, stagnating progress, obscuring transparency and preventing trusting relationships between industry participants. The promise of the 2018 Green Rush brought an influx of opportunistic brokers into the hemp industry, often adopting strategies from the cannabis sector. Brokers engaged directly with farmers, equipment manufacturers, extractors, refiners, product formulators and contract manufacturers at every level. But this trend fostered ambiguity, misrepresented market demand and resulted in short-lived relationships fraught with mistrust. Read more>>

Katie Matheny

One of the most exciting trends we’re seeing in the coffee industry is the use of customized coffee experiences as a powerful branding and marketing tool. More brands are realizing that coffee can do more than caffeinate—it can connect, engage, and build loyalty. At Intentional Espresso, we’re leading the way by turning coffee into a brand touchpoint that leaves a lasting impression. Read more>>

Josh Hester

Clients often come to us frustrated. They’ve been pushing out blog posts, social media updates, and email newsletters at a breakneck pace because that’s what the marketing playbook told them to do. It’s exhausting. And despite all that effort, engagement is… meh.

Here’s the problem: We, as marketers, have fallen into creating content just to create content. We’re filling feeds, maybe even satisfying algorithms to some degree, but we’re not reaching hearts. We’re definitely not building the kind of deep, lasting emotional connections that turn audiences into believers. Read more>>

Hillary Dargenzio

As a Sommelier, I have seen several trends in restaurant wine lists. Most recently is the shift from offering wines from all over the world, to something much more specific. The list at my restaurant consists of wines that come from islands and coasts of Europe. Some might believe this is quite specific, but I am very passionate about the minerality flavors found in seaside vineyards. Eight different countries are featured on my wine list, and each wine is quite different from the next. I think that this concept works well because my guests are very interested in wines they have little experience with. While my list is generally smaller than most, I firmly believe I can find something for everyone within. Read more>>

Abby Morris

Back when our grandparents had kids, or even when our own parents were raising their families, it was a given that the mother was the default parent and expected to carry the mental and physical roll of doing it all. Mothers were the caregivers, watching the kids and making everything happen behind the scenes, and asking for help would often bring shame and guilt. She was just expected to be able to do it all, and carry it well. Read more>>

Josh Langston

I fear the growth of Artificial Intelligence tools. I see too many of my students–all aged 50 and above–who try to use AI to write for them. I’m less fearful of them using AI graphics to help design their book covers, but I feel basing a story on text generated by a computer will inhibit creativity and imagination. The results won’t be worth reading without exercising and ultimately beefing up those skills. Read more>>