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The $100 MBA Show
MBA2728 The Best AI Businesses To Start In 2026
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AI is everywhere, but turning it into a real business that makes money is another story. Cool demos and flashy tools might grab attention, yet they don’t always solve real problems. If you’ve been wondering how to actually leverage AI to build something practical in 2026, this lesson is for you.
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The All New five Year Business Boost from Comcast Business it's the certainty of a price lock for five years on qualifying Internet bundles, plus the most reliable WI fi with their best equipment. And ask about a $500 prepaid card when you add two lines of mobile. The five year business boost only from Comcast Business powering possibilities ends 22226 new customers only one year contract required for guaranteed rate. Five year pricing applies to monthly service charge excluding taxes and fees. Best Wi Fi based on open signal awards USA fixed broadband experience report May 2025 AI is here and it's not going anywhere. And if you don't get your head around it, your competition will Most people think AI is about cool tools or prompts or fancy demos. It's not. It's about business models. So today I'm going to break down the five AI business models I believe are most promising for 2026. We're talking about real business models entrepreneurs can build that they can launch that they can profit from without needing a 20 person engineering team. And the beauty is that it's still early days and can still capitalize and build a business around AI. Because it's still early days, let's get into it. Welcome Back to the $100 MBA Show. I'm your host Omar Zenholm where I deliver practical business lessons three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday to help you start, grow and scale your business. If this show has helped in any way, it would be amazing if you could drop us a quick review on whatever app you're using to listen to this podcast right now. It helps me and my team bring new episodes every week. And more importantly, more entrepreneurs will be able to discover our podcast so you can help someone else start their journey. Thanks so much. First things first. AI businesses. They don't win because they use AI. They win because they do three things exceptionally well. Number one, they remove a painful problem automatically. I'm talking about time, frustration, admin, bottlenecks, headaches. You want to alleviate all these pains with your solution. Number two, they deliver instant value. If users don't feel the benefit that you are providing in under 10 seconds, they will leave you, they will forget you and you will lose that benefit potential customer forever. And that's really costly. So you want to make sure that in the business models that we talk about today that you deliver instant value as fast as possible. 10 seconds or less. Third aspect of a successful business model using AI is that they scale without needing a huge team. This means that you have large fat margins. Margins mean your profits. You want to make sure that you have great profit with this business model so that you can reinvest in the business and grow even faster. This great, like a flywheel that makes you unstoppable. So let's jump into those five best AI business models for 2026. Number one is the Micro SaaS business, which is a niche product. This is the most approachable, most profitable business model for solar founders that just want to get started. So why does this work? Well, it solves one painful workflow for one specific group of people. One of my favorite apps that I use every, every single day, multiple times a day, is an example of this, and that's Whisper Flow. Whisper Flow is basically a dictation app using AI that allows me to type crazy speeds. Like I'm able to type out messages, emails, instructions to my team on basecamp, whatever it might be very, very quickly because I just blab whatever I want to say and it just uses AI to clean it up for me and put it out in a coherent way. So this is a great tool for people that are busy, entrepreneurs that do a lot of typing their day. Great tool that is targeted to my demographic, which are business builders. Another example would be like AI that automatically creates personalized workouts for Pilates instructors. So if you're a Pilates instructor, maybe you own your own studio and you want to change up your actual workouts so that your students are feeling like things are fresh and new. This is a very niche and specific tool. It doesn't do everything, but it does this thing very well. Another good example, a real life example, is this little thing called Plod Note. I just bought this. It's a device and software that basically records any kind of lecture, any kind of talk, any kind of seminar, any kind of conference you're at, and then transcribes it, but then puts it into clean notes so that you don't have to take notes. It does all the note taking for you, gives you summaries, and then you can ask questions about your notes and it can give you answers. So this is a very niche type of tool because it does this only it doesn't do anything else. It records and transcribes and summarizes. You know, I know that sounds like three things, but basically it Takes notes for you. And that's what's really cool about it. Because I don't have to use any kind of separate or tools for this. I don't have to have like three or four tools at one time. It's just one tool that does it all. And anytime I need to take notes, I'm going to use this tool. This model works because you can actually solve a specific problem pretty quickly. You can build it pretty fast. The other reason why this model wins is because there's a clear buyer, easy go to market strategy. You know exactly who this is for because it's so specific. And then lastly, there's a tight scope to what it can do, so it's easy to maintain. So your cost to run this business is not through the roof. But most of all, the reason why I love these tools is because it really solves a specific pain instantly and therefore people are willing to pay for it. Think about the tool examples I gave you. Think of the own tools that you use that have a specific use case. I love these types of tools because it actually scratches a specific itch that only can be done by this tool. And that's what I love about this tool is because that I am allowed to not worry about if it does xyz, if it does just this, then I actually have solved a very good problem and can make some good money in this business model. Everyone's deploying AI agents now. But here's the thing. Sometimes they mess up. They delete the wrong files, make changes you didn't authorize, or just go off script, leaving you stuck trying to figure out what went wrong. Unless you're using Rubrik Agent Cloud, AI is here to stay. It's not going anywhere. But can you control the risk? Rubrik Agent Cloud is the only platform that allows you to monitor, govern and rewind AI agent actions. One platform to help you unleash more agents faster, faster without the risk. You need full visibility into your agent's actions. Enforce policies, quantify risk and undo destructive actions to data. Rubrik Agent Cloud gives you AI resilience and the rewind happens fast. We're talking minutes, not hours or days. Rubrik Agent Cloud gives you that safety net when you're experimenting with AI, so one mistake doesn't tank your whole operation. If your business relies on AI agents, you need the ability to monitor, govern and rewind their actions. Right now, my listeners get exclusive early access to Rubrik Agent cloud. Head to rubrik.com that's R U B.
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R I K.com Running a business is complicated. There's dozens of software programs that you need and they're all so expensive. And since they come from different companies, they don't always play nice with one another. But what can you do, right? Odoo. That's what Odoo has all the software business owners need. We're talking sales, CRM, manufacturing websites, literally every kind of software and it's an all in one platform. So it all works together and it's quality software. So you're not sacrificing.
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It's simply a better experience than a hodgepodge of programs trying to fit together.
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You'd expect to pay a premium for it, right? But that's the most amazing part about Odoo. This interconnected suite of business software costs less than the mismatch of disconnected programs you're currently using. So the question is, why spend more on software programs that are less efficient when Odoo's simple software program can handle everything for a fraction of the price? Discover how Odoo can take your business to the next level by visiting odoo.com that's o d o o.com business model.
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Number two, AI workflow automation. And I want to say specifically for small businesses because they don't have big teams. Small businesses are are drowning in admin and they don't want to hire expensive people. They want to have systems that work and they happily pay $49 to $299 a month to make something that is very painful go away. Right? So here are some examples. An AI that automates follow up emails or will schedule things for you automatically when somebody sends an email to you. Or an AI that manages client intake forms and sends them an invoice. One of my buddies, Dale Beaumont from Business Blueprint has a great example of this. He has a tool called OneBrain that has 500 business sops built in. So it's solving the big problem of having SOPs in the first place, standard operating procedures. But also it is making it easy for you to have it all in one place and that you can just tell your team to go there to find the answer to their question. Most small business pain points are universal. It deals with billing, scheduling, admin, follow up documentation. The beauty is that AI eats these for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's its forte, it's what it does best. This is huge and a huge opportunity for 2026 because the market is practically infinite when it comes to the problems you can solve in these areas. Model number three, AI powered education and coaching in My belief this is the future of the creator economy. I think that online courses and even coaching to a lesser extent are going to slowly take a backseat. AI allows you to personalize lessons, tailor feedback, give on demand coaching, guide people depending on their own learning paths and where they're starting out. So it's not like a one size fits all, step by step implementation and instructions based on what they've done already. I've implemented this already in my own program, the 100 Ombie, and I fully believe that AI and what I built Omar AI will cannibalize my program eventually because I believe that's where the future is going. Just like the ipod got cannibalized by the iPhone, I'm trying to do the same in my own little way. So my AI coach that I built Omer AI inside of the hundred MBA allows me to scale my knowledge and scale my efforts without scaling my time. It helps so many people with all the knowledge it's fed from all the content that I've created. Students get support immediately. You don't have to wait for me. The completion rates of the course or even just the fact that they're moving forward starts to skyrocket. The results start to improve. Profit margins are obviously much better because I'm scaling myself to as many people that I can reach out to with AI. This is a model where creators can transform their content business into an AI powered education company, which is a totally different thing. And it's perfect for your brand if you have a lot of content already and you want to move into the next phase of what's going to happen in the content world with AI. Because of course your AI is going to be using your content as its knowledge base. Model number four AI creation tools. Everyone knows they need to create content, but no one has time to create the content. And this model removes friction in the creative process. Good examples of this are like AI video editors that cut clips automatically, or at least do a rough cut so that you can then go in and be a little bit more precise with your taste. Maybe AI slide deck builders, AI course outline generators that you can then turn into something that's powered by AI thumbnail generators. There's a whole market on just creating thumbnails for YouTube script writers that can help you build script based on your own ideas and your own content. The reason why this model and these tools really win is because the customer saves time immediately and they see the value instantly. They see, oh wow, I spent hours on this. I can save so many hours every single week. By just implementing this tool, you know, and creators share their results publicly because they're creating content with your tools and they can say, hey, people are gonna ask them what are you using to cut these clips? What are you using to create this content? And then, you know, they'll be sharing your product. And guess what? When you're in the content game, people understand it's reoccurring. You have to continue to create content and therefore you get reoccurring revenue and very low churn. The great thing is that content is something that you have to continue to do and therefore you're gonna have reoccurring revenue because they're gonna continue to use your tool so they can continue to create content. So low and high retention. Beautiful. Model number five and in my opinion, it's the most powerful business model of all. Why? Because there's a direct line between your tool and their return on investment. If your tool helps people get more customers, sell more, convert more leads, raise prices, improve lifetime value, LTV or improve their marketing, they will pay you happily and they will not churn because they will continue to want to make money. Some examples are like an AI sales page creator, an AI offer builder, AI ad copy and ad creative generator so that you can easily create ads for Instagram and for Facebook. AI pricing strategy tools. I've seen an AI tool that people can install on their website, on their pricing page where it'll automatically detect where the person is coming from, what country, and it will give them their local currency and a local price based on their willingness to pay. So therefore prices will vary depending on where they're from and where they're tuning in from on your website. And therefore you maximize profits because there are markets where you can make a lot more money because people are more likely to pay more money for your product. This in nerd pricing language is localization. The value proposition for this model is very clean, is very clear, and it's simply use this, make more money. It's the least resisted purchase in the world when you know that if I pay for this, I will make more money than I'm currently making. So which one should you choose? Let me make this easy. I'm going to give you a five second decision tree. Here we go. If you want to start fast, build a micro SaaS. Model number one, if you want low churn, build an AI money tool. Model number five, if you're a creator or an educator, build an AI teacher slash coach. Model number three, if you want to build a mass market product, build a Content tool model number four. If you love solving business pains, build a workflow automation tool. Model number two. All five of them are where it's going in 2026, so choose what's right for you. The beauty about all of these is that all five of them scale. But hold your horses. Before you go, I need to make sure that you know what to avoid in 2026. Don't build a general purpose AI product. You can't compete with OpenAI and Google. You just can't. Okay, so avoid that. Or even these types of apps that help you build other apps or websites like Lovable or Bolt. These companies are huge, have a lot of funding and I'm not trying to discourage you, but it's much harder and there's a lot more competition there. You want to go to a blue ocean, not a red ocean. Also, don't build for everyone. AI is won by niching down, not niching up. Also, don't chase hype, chase pain points. Pain always has a budget. When somebody's in pain, they're willing to pay. And lastly, don't hide behind the tech. The winners will be the best at distribution, not the best AI tool. So you want to make sure that you have a great tool, but that you're willing to talk about it, distribute it and market it to the world. If you found today's episode helpful in any way, share it with a friend that you think is interested in getting into AI in 2026. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. AI is not the real opportunity you are. AI is just leverage is allowing you to be a better version of yourself and your business. It's a multiplier, it's a megaphone. And if you can, please, please don't forget, solve one real problem for one real group of people with one AI powered solution and improve it every single month. Just see it as the first step, the second step. You don't have to come out with version 7000, right? Start with version 1, then 2, then 3. Improve it every single day. You can build a wildly successful business in 2026 and you don't need venture capital, you don't need a big engineering team, you don't need even a co founder to get started. You need a laptop, you need a niche, you need an Internet connection, you need a painful problem and the courage to just put it out there in the world. If you found today's episode helpful and you want more practical business lessons to help you start, grow and scale your business, the best thing you could do is subscribe. Subscribe to this podcast, hit subscribe, or follow on your favorite podcast app, the one that you're using right now. Whether it's Apple or Spotify or ever, you listen to podcasts by hitting subscribe, you get our next episode automatically, and it's the best way to support the show. It's absolutely free, and it's a way for you to commit to growing your business. And now that you subscribed, I'll check you in the next episode.
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