A trend becoming reality

One of the areas I talk about when working with companies on Front-End Innovation are trends.

Trends are change agents in your business and they can take place quickly or slowly, but they will change your business. For example, I talk to companies about a trend called urbanisation, which is the growth of mega-cities and people starting to live in large, dense communities across the world.

One of the outcomes from this trend is the lack of space that people will have in their homes under this trend. They might not have a parking space, integrated public transport means they won't need a car or bicycle unless they leave the boundaries of the city, and the lack of space in their homes means they may not be able to store things they only use once or twice a year.

We can already see people and companies reacting to this trend with the growth of cars you can rent for an hour in major cities across the world and the incredible popularity of the Barclays rent-a-bike system in London.

I came across this article on the BBC website the other day. An entrepreneur is opening a cafe in London, where apart from the normal skinny latte, cappuccinos and muffins, you can also rent a cat to pet for an hour or so.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20958687

It may, initially, seem bizarre and odd, but it is in fact, in part, a reaction to this trend. People living in London (and other cities) either do not have the space to keep a pet, or they are not allowed to keep a pet under the terms of their leasing agreement, and so this is a move to rent one and return it when you are finished, satisfying your need, just in the same way that Barclays bikes do.

Of course, cats being cats, may not be entirely compliant in this arrangement, but it will be very interesting to see how this new business develops over time.

At Pure Insight we have a dental surgery in the floor below us, and I am now wondering if there is a business opportunity for us (and cats) to soothe patients nerves as they wait for their appointment.

I wonder...