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CHAPTERS
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Steph Smith’s “digits” database: turning stats into market bets
Steph Smith explains how she collects “generation-defining” data points and why certain numbers deserve deeper scrutiny. Sam Parr frames the discussion around the importance of picking the right market, setting up the episode as a tour of under-the-radar trends and second-order business opportunities.
- •Steph describes compiling 100+ notable “digits” and using them to spot trends early
- •Sam emphasizes market selection as the most important factor for startups
- •Steph introduces Internet Pipes as a way to teach people how to find opportunities themselves
Trend: Hearing loss grows—and hearing tech needs a cultural makeover
Steph introduces a projection that billions of people will experience hearing loss in coming decades and suggests hearing aids could become as common as reading glasses. Sam shares personal experience wearing hearing aids and points out how expensive and poor-quality many current products feel.
- •Steph cites a large future population expected to experience hearing loss and frames it as normalization similar to reading glasses
- •Sam explains he resisted hearing aids due to stigma and describes product failures and high costs
- •Steph ties increased risk to modern habits and loud environments, noting the rise of in-ear device usage
Loud lifestyles, better signals, and a consumer wedge: fashionable ear protection
The conversation shifts to how technology and culture are changing awareness of hearing damage, including wearable alerts about dangerous noise levels. Steph and Sam discuss earplugs as a consumer product category, focusing on making protection feel cool and desirable rather than medical or awkward.
- •Steph describes loud workout classes and changing norms around wearing earplugs
- •Steph mentions devices like Apple Watch warning when noise exposure is damaging
- •Steph points to Loop as an example of design + marketing making ear protection aspirational
- •Sam reacts to premium pricing and suggests stylish ear protection could be a big business
Hearing health implications and the OTC regulatory unlock
Sam explains why he finally got a hearing aid, describing theories connecting unaddressed hearing loss with higher dementia risk. Steph adds that hearing aids going over-the-counter in 2022 is a major regulatory inflection that could expand access and reshape the market.
- •Sam shares theories for why unaddressed hearing loss may correlate with dementia, including zoning out in noisy settings
- •Steph highlights the 2022 shift to over-the-counter hearing aids as a key policy change
- •Sam names “regulation inflections” as major market-shaping moments
Trend: FAA changes unlock drones beyond line-of-sight and new aerial categories
Steph points to FAA regulatory changes as catalysts for two adjacent shifts: operational drone use at larger scale and progress toward electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. She argues these rule changes matter because they enable new capabilities like drone delivery and introduce a new aircraft category for the first time in decades.
- •Steph says FAA approval for drones flying beyond line-of-sight enables use cases like drone delivery
- •Steph notes FAA approvals for eVTOLs and calls out the significance of a new aircraft category
- •Sam asks clarifying questions about terminology and what these changes could mean over time
eVTOLs in cities and public-safety drones: practical early use cases
Steph and Sam discuss eVTOLs as city-oriented transportation, likening their long-term impact to how cars shaped urban life. They also explore drones for emergency response, including sending drones quickly to assess 911 calls and reduce uncertainty before responders arrive.
- •Steph describes eVTOLs as designed for intra-city trips and airport transfers
- •Sam references a company idea where drones are dispatched quickly after 911 calls
- •Steph explains the safety benefit of verifying what’s happening before escalating response
- •Sam and Steph discuss how these technologies could reshape daily logistics and mobility
Second- and third-order business ideas around autonomy and drone delivery
Rather than assuming listeners will build the next major platform company, Steph focuses on “edge” opportunities created by big shifts. They discuss how packaging, operations, maintenance, and coordination change when delivery methods and autonomous vehicles scale.
- •Steph encourages thinking in second- and third-order effects like changed packaging needs with drone delivery
- •Steph mentions autonomy adoption can move quickly and cites an article about Waymos in Austin
- •Sam marvels at delivery infrastructure and imagines how last-mile delivery could transform further
- •Steph lists adjacent businesses: cleaning autonomous cars, lidar components, and operations/coordination roles
Trend: Psychedelics decriminalization and the retreat economy
Steph summarizes the policy shift around psilocybin, starting with Oregon’s decriminalization and spreading to other jurisdictions. Sam shares a personal story about attempting to join a psychedelic retreat experience and being disinvited after a bad fit with the organizer.
- •Steph frames psychedelics as a policy-driven trend with long-term business implications
- •Steph mentions retreats as one early business response to decriminalization momentum
- •Sam recounts a negative pre-meeting experience with a retreat organizer and being disinvited
- •Steph notes the importance of the right environment and guidance for such experiences
A new category of guides: psychedelics for life and career decisions
Steph proposes that if psychedelics become normalized, guided experiences could broaden beyond trauma or severe issues into helping with major life choices. Sam connects this to the idea that different populations have different therapeutic needs and that specialized practitioners can serve specific contexts.
- •Steph suggests lower-dose or guided experiences could help with difficult decisions like jobs or having children
- •Sam discusses struggling to find therapy aligned with his specific life circumstances and needs
- •Steph compares the evolution of therapy usage—from crisis-only to broader, ongoing support
- •They explore the notion of niche “genres” of guides serving different types of clients
Trend: Fast-growing jobs and where AI can sell easiest
Steph reviews fast-growing roles and highlights that many are not purely tech jobs, including clean energy installation and healthcare. Sam adds firsthand insight from running an accountant directory, arguing the bigger bottleneck is talent scarcity—an angle Steph says makes AI tools easier to sell into.
- •Steph lists examples of high-growth roles including data, security, wind turbine techs, solar installers, and nurses
- •Steph highlights maintenance/ops needs like cleaning solar panels to maintain efficiency
- •Sam says accountants report they don’t need more clients; they need more accountants
- •Steph argues AI products sell more easily in industries with strong demand but staffing shortages
Nursing shortages and travel-nurse marketplaces as a scaled business model
Sam describes the travel nurse model and companies that coordinate placements between hospitals and nurses. Steph connects it to broader demographic-driven demand for healthcare staffing and the geographic mismatch between where talent exists and where it’s needed.
- •Sam explains hospitals pay extra for travel nurses to cover temporary gaps
- •Sam cites Trusted Health as an example of a large business built around staffing logistics
- •Steph references increased need for nurses and distribution challenges across locations
- •They frame staffing coordination as a major opportunity area within healthcare labor markets
Trend: Pay transparency laws create a new ‘open salary’ data moat
Steph argues that mandated salary ranges in job postings create an opportunity to build a new kind of compensation database—without relying on self-reported entries like Glassdoor. Sam tests the idea live by checking a job listing’s posted range and asks about limitations like what’s included in disclosed pay.
- •Steph notes pay transparency laws across many states now force salary ranges into public postings
- •Steph proposes a “Glassdoor for open salaries” by scraping and aggregating job-posted ranges
- •Sam finds a posted pay range on a job listing and reacts to the transparency
- •Steph clarifies postings generally require base pay, not total compensation, but still offer valuable data
Nature + technology: sensing, biomimicry, and tools like Ask Nature
Steph pivots to how technology can learn from and connect with nature, inspired by a book she recommends and her recent trip. They discuss animal perception differences, biomimicry examples, and the Ask Nature website as a resource for turning natural strategies into design and product inspiration.
- •Steph explains the premise of a book about how animals perceive the world differently across senses
- •Steph argues tech and nature can be complementary via biomimicry and better understanding of animals
- •Sam explores Ask Nature and highlights how it maps animal traits to potential applications
- •Steph credits Internet Pipes community submissions for finding unique tools like Ask Nature
Galápagos stories, evolution in action, and playful product riffing
Steph recounts her Galápagos visit and how island isolation shapes species divergence, sharing examples like different birds and lizard mating behaviors. The episode closes with the hosts riffing on whimsical product ideas inspired by nature, then Steph plugs Internet Pipes and her “digits” database.
- •Steph explains why the Galápagos are linked with Darwin’s observations about evolution
- •Steph describes species differences across islands and an example of lizard courtship variations
- •Sam and Steph joke and brainstorm nature-inspired signaling products like color-changing shoes
- •Steph mentions Internet Pipes offerings and that the digits database includes many other stats and topics
