From the US to Europe

Quote: “You don’t need to predict the future. You just need to notice it early.”

From the US to Europe

If you want to start something and actually have an edge, here is a simple pattern worth paying attention to. Meaningful shifts in how people work, buy, live, and build companies usually appear in the United States first. The adoption in Europe typically follows with a delay of several years. This is not about hype or social media noise. It is about new business models, new job roles, new formats, and new behaviours that prove themselves in one market before spreading elsewhere.

For Europeans, this time gap is not a disadvantage. It is an opportunity. Those who move early can position themselves ahead of the curve. That can mean building a company around an idea that has not fully arrived yet. It can mean shaping a career around an emerging role. It can mean becoming known for a topic before everyone else starts talking about it.

This is not about copying what exists elsewhere. It is about understanding what is coming, adapting it to local realities, and being early enough that timing itself becomes your advantage. If you are looking for leverage, this is one of the simplest places to find it.

Past Examples

So far so good, but this is still very theoretical. Let’s make it concrete. There are several areas where this pattern has already played out successfully and where adoption in Europe followed after proving itself in the US. Let’s look at some examples.

Work and Organization
• Remote Work
• Venture Capital
• Coworking Spaces

Commerce and Business Models
• E-Commerce
• Subscriptions
• Food Delivery
• Online Grocery Shopping

Technology and Infrastructure
• Cloud-First Strategy
• Neo-Banks and Brokers

Media and Content
• Streaming
• Podcasts
• Reality TV
• Influencers with Their Own Product Lines

Fitness and Education
• Boutique Fitness Studios and Outdoor Bootcamps
• Coding Bootcamps

Future Opportunities

And now to the things that are already gaining significant traction in the US and that are likely to reach Europe at a much larger scale over the next few years. These are not exhaustive or definitive. They are simply a few examples that follow the same pattern we have seen many times before.

Work and Organization
• Fractional Executive Roles
• The Job Title GTM Engineer
• Internal Talent Marketplaces within Large Organizations

Commerce and Distribution
• Home Service Platforms on Demand
• Quick Commerce
• Live Shopping
• Super-Bundling of Digital Subscriptions
• Recommerce as a Default Consumption Model
• Experience-First Flagship Stores

Lifestyle and Culture
• Longevity Gyms and Recovery Studios
• Sleep Optimization Services and Corporate Sleep Programs
• Mocktails
• Day Party Culture (12pm to 5pm) and Sober Raves
• Workation Towns

Media and Platforms
• Non-Algorithmic Social Networks

Summary

These examples are not meant to be exhaustive or predictive. What matters most is not any single trend, but the habit of paying close attention to how behaviour shifts in the US. How people work, consume, and build companies there often offers an early signal of what will reach Europe a few years later.

That was your cheatcode for this week. Now it’s up to you.

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