We live in the age of the “Next Big Thing.”[...]
The latest and greatest smartphones are released every twelve months, rendering the last model about as useful as a paperweight (if you believe the marketing hype). An entire industry has been built around Silicon Valley’s cult of disruption, a belief that we should always be replacing our old way of thinking and doing with new and exciting ideas.[...]
It seems like nothing is safe from our love affair with newness. In the coming years, cars will relieve us of the burden of sitting behind the wheel and smart refrigerators will relieve us of the worry of remembering to pick up milk.
One of the core lessons the greatest investors and business leaders share is an obsession with the fundamentals. In hot markets like today, in which unicorns and pre-revenue billion dollar valuations grab all the headlines, it’s easy to lose sight of the basics.[...]
This old school approach doesn’t just apply to investing, it applies to almost every aspect of building and running a company. In business and investing, cautionary tales are everywhere — from the one-hit wonder Wall Street fund manager who delivers one knockout year and then flames out, to the Silicon Valley rising star who builds a killer app and is never heard from again.[...]
I’ve never liked the old saying that those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it. To me, history is a goldmine of proven ideas just waiting to be uncovered. It may just be that the “Next Big Thing” happened long ago.
Nate Paul is President, CEO & Founder of World Class Capital Group, a leading national commercial real estate investment group.
