Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2011. Steve Jobs, who died in October 2011, is cited as someone you might get to talk to, and the idea is described as untapped in Spanish-speaking countries.
Once again we look to the United States, where a new business idea has emerged around a more innovative kind of tourism: business and company tourism. It was created to give future entrepreneurs the chance to visit large companies, talk to their CEOs and learn about how they started, their early funding problems, their offices, their production and so on.
Honestly, I’m fascinated by how useful this kind of tourism is. Visiting a city’s museums is interesting, but I don’t think you can put a price on touring big companies and talking to a Steve Jobs or a Donald Trump.
This idea has promise. Whoever manages to make the right contacts to take aspiring businesspeople into the most important companies in their country, and get the manager or CEO to give them a talk… well, as Mastercard would say, that’s priceless.
Imagine for a moment Amancio Ortega himself (the founder of Inditex, Zara’s parent company) answering your questions and easing your fears, giving you that first boost of encouragement.
The two entrepreneurs who decided to launch this business-tourism idea have Microsoft, Apple and Google on their tour route, where for 5 days participants live the dream of their lives for around €4,500, hotel and meals included.
Tourism is still a market ripe for innovation, where determined entrepreneurs are creating other kinds of tourism, such as gay and lesbian tourism, adventure tourism and so on. But this particular idea is untapped in Spanish-speaking countries, and I’m absolutely convinced it would be in great demand and very profitable.
Further reading
- More business ideas related to tourism
- Business ideas related to love
- How to start your business with no money
- How to attract the first customers to your business
- Why new businesses fail
Featured image: Runner1928, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
