Entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has a bold theory about the next big startup opportunity. Instead of extracting value, he believes businesses should focus on giving money back to consumers.

Yang's inspiration comes from Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs, which sells pharmaceuticals at cost, and other ventures like Nobile Mobile, which offers discounted cell service and refunds unused data charges. Yang sees this as a response to the looming threat of AI reducing wages while increasing costs for essentials such as housing and education.

Yang argues that as AI compresses profits and displaces jobs, meeting people's needs more cheaply presents a rich vein of opportunity. His Nobile Mobile is an example, with thousands of customers and millions in revenue since its launch last September. The company shares profits by refunding unused data charges, aiming to make users happy and encourage word-of-mouth marketing.

Yang encourages entrepreneurs to tackle problems they are passionate about, suggesting that businesses can be built on solutions that benefit consumers while generating value. However, the challenge remains in convincing investors who might prefer more traditional tech investments focused on AI.