A couple of others I can think of:

  • Crypto-boom of 2016ish: GPUs/mining rigs
  • LLM/AI hype nowish: User generated data
  • 90’s dotcom bubble: Server space
  • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    When investors are pouring money into tech startups with dubious models, start a bank that connects startups with investors.

    Ie Mercury Bank making money hand over fist

      • ours@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Affordable GPUs is a thing of the past I’m afraid. Bubble or not I’m afraid they will never come down.

        • elucubra@sopuli.xyz
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          They wont come down. Prices are upwardly sticky. Nvidia and the rest have seen that people will pay those inflated prices, so they have no incentive to lower them

    • neidu2@feddit.nlOP
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      2 months ago

      I was thinking that, but figured I’d go for input data instead for the sake of variation.

  • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    During a pandemic, sell sanitizer and toilet paper?

    But most those guys were pretty much seen as assholes, so I don’t know if this good advice or not.

    • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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      No, hand made masks. Especially when it surprises the officials who should have known it was possible and beefed up supplies of the real thing. The first few months of Covid were a wild ride on knowing what would be the best choices of DIY protection, and Etsy and other sites were crazy.

      • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        I 3D printed a few dozen of these visor things for my local hospital that took 3 ring binder dividers as face shields/sneeze guards. Several ended up multi-colored because I used the ends of several spools of filament for that.

        • cynar@lemmy.world
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          I’ve still got about 100 or so of them. I was mass printing them as part of a coordinated project. We basically managed to saturate the local area with them. Once demand suddenly stopped, I was left with the next batch ready to go. I’ve still to find a good use for them.

    • neidu2@feddit.nlOP
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      2 months ago

      Yeah, over here we have this former rich guy (he lost his fortune thinking he was better at picking stocks than he actually was.) He got lucky and made his fortune as an early investor in a cell phone company in 2000s, and after that he’s basically become a serial grifter. His covid enterprise was to buy face masks in bulk, repackage them, and resell.

      Well, he got hit with a huge fine: The face masks were only approved as long as they remained in their original packaging. Once he repackaged them, they were no longer considered sterile, and as such no longer approved for medical use => false advertising

    • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      The toilet paper thing was mostly a result of mass hysteria, not an actual issue of supply and demand. There were some supply issues in Australia IIRC, but most countries would absolutely not have had any toilet paper shortages if people hadn’t all panic-bought far more than they needed

      • neidu2@feddit.nlOP
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        2 months ago

        I wonder if all of the ones hoarding toilet paper have managed to use up their stash yet.

        • grue@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          I don’t know about that, but I do know I grabbed basically a lifetime supply of hand sanitizer a year or so ago because the grocery store was so overstocked they were giving them away for free, LOL.

        • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          Nope. Still good for a few years.

          But that’s because I always buy toilet paper and paper towels at Costco, and buy more when I’m down to two cases.

          Two is one, one is none.

      • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Gold rush = a bunch of fools getting hyped up on the latest thing thinking they’ll get rich, but almost none of them will.

        Selling shovels = not chasing the latest hype, but making money off the fools who chase the latest hype.

        Edit: because I know someone is gonna try this

        That’s not an opinion or an interpretation. That’s the meaning of the phrase. It’s not this amorphous ambiguous thing where all interpretations are valid. It has a specific meaning.

  • Tellore@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Definitely all those Udemy / Coursera / Whatever paid courses for “Data Science”, “AI” and whatever else is popular recently.

    • neidu2@feddit.nlOP
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      And here I was focusing on making money from the rides like some plebian smoothbrain. Also giving away the maps for free, because my guests always complained about getting lost in my labyrinth of a park with as many rides as I could fit, to the point of basically having four floors/levels in the park.

  • Scratch@sh.itjust.works
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    2 months ago

    Also during the crypto craze: Set up an exchange and charge a small commission on transactions

    • Oneser@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      This is identical for online brokers in the stock market. They win based on the number of trades, thus they make as much money in bust as in boom years with people exiting positions.

    • neidu2@feddit.nlOP
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      2 months ago

      Just make sure it’s tamper proof and that you actually can run it competently. Mtgox started as a place to trade MTG cards, and while I’m sure the platform was fine for that, the stakes were substantially higher when they pivoted to crypto. I’m sure you know the rest of the story.

  • bradorsomething@ttrpg.network
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    2 months ago

    In the stock market, there are groups called market makers, that actually buy and sell the stock. They are required to buy and sell, but they maintain price neutral positions and collect a margin on each sale.

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    2 months ago
    • During/after natural disaster, buy cheap land. Probably works during an economic crash too.

    • Protests & Riots happening? Invest in glass companies

    • Cloudy & rainy every day? Sell coffee (looking at you PNW)

    • War happening? Just sell bombs! (see USA) This one is particular good cause you can always start another war. It’s just smart business!

      • kozy138@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        Gold Rush = high demand = invest in (aka buy) shovels

        Same thing, no?

        • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          No.

          Gold rush = a bunch of fools getting hyped up on the latest thing thinking they’ll get rich, but almost none of them will.

          Selling shovels = not chasing the latest hype, but making money off the fools who chase the latest hype.

          I’m not offering an opinion or interpretation of the phrase btw, that’s the actual definition.

  • Artyom@lemm.ee
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    It’s always GPUs. Crypto boom? GPUs. AI boom? GPUs. PC gaming boom? GPUs. GPUs are so difficult to program effectively that we still probably haven’t discovered things they’re capable of doing yet. The next major breakthrough in tech, whatever it is, will cause a massive explosion in GPU demand.

    • neidu2@feddit.nlOP
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      2 months ago

      That’s actually pretty clever. Especially considering that he tried that avenue for himself and therefore knows what any hopefuls would need. Any idea how he’s doing? Is it portraits only, or does he offer additional stuff such as sample tapes?

      • HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I believe he expanded beyond headshots and photo shoots and at one point he was even doing sound production for a rapper’s video. Basically wherever he has opportunity to have his career be providing what those still trying to make it big needed

  • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    There was a company started recently to leverage AI and its trends prediction to stage what people need where they need it. Floods? Gyprock. Weather coming into California? Tents and bottled water near the school fields.

    It predicts conflict by recommending first aid supplies staged near a border.

    Absolutely mercenary, it opens its sales windows only when ‘surge’ pricing is allowable. You’re gonna be paying 3, 4 times the regular drywall cost.