"You take the blue pill--the story ends, you end up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe.
You take the red pill--you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."
The Matrix (1999)
If you are reading this, then congratulations! You chose the red pill and have taken your first step to understanding the truth--the world is going to get flipped on its head two or three times in your lifetime and you can either be a part of this or sit by idly watching from the sidelines. Most people are on the sidelines of the game, watching, while only vaguely aware of the rules to play.
According to some, the world has changed more in the last ten years than it did in the last ten decades. Disruptive innovations are changing the world and moving it into a new era that is unlike anything we have experienced before--defined as the "Fifth Era" by former Venture Capital partners and current angel investors Matthew Le Merle and Alison Davis. Every industry is being impacted--from the internet, mobile phones, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, clean energy, blockchain technology, robotics, sensors, biology, and cars (Tesla!!!)--and the changes are mind blowing! This period of disruption is being driven by two groups: the technology entrepreneurs and the angels who are backing them. Without the angel investors, the whole innovation machine not only does not get primed, it never gets started. According to Le Merle and Davis, the transition from the Industrial Era into the Fifth Era of digital and biotechnology disruption and change is the greatest wealth creation opportunity the world has ever seen. Don't miss this opportunity!
Survey from Keiretsu Forum angel investors regarding the greatest growth opportunities and areas of disruptive innovations in the future.
Ranking of Disruptive Innovation Areas
There are rules and regulations regarding who can participate, but in the US, of the 12.5 million households that could be accredited investors in early-stage private companies, less than 3% are actually investing in these companies today. Therefore, 97% of those that could participate are not participating in the greatest wealth creation opportunity the world has ever seen. Angel investors are investing in this future because it's inevitable and they can help accelerate the efforts of the founders and innovators who are driving these changes. Of course, they plan to make a great deal of money in the process, but they also are doing so to one day look back proudly and know that they helped propel changes that made our world a better place.
The notorious angel investor Jason Calacanis (invested $25,000 in Uber when it was worth around $5 million--it's now worth $87 billion), studied every system in order to find one that is the most efficient for capital creation and his findings led him to believe that angel investing, especially in technology, provides the best returns of any investment out there. The safest investment vehicles in the world have traditionally been things like bonds, treasuries, gold, ETFs, and mutual funds. These are highly regulated, safe, and predictable when compared to angel investing. By safely playing the stock market game, which has historically returned 7% a year on average, you can double your money every 10 years. Government bonds returning 2.4% a year will take about 30 years to double your money. However, with angel investing you have the opportunity to return 100-1,000 times your money--angel investing is high risk but high reward!
Angel investing is a risky endeavor but you have a couple decisions to make--do you stay on your current course or do you take calculated risks with your investments and in life to at least have a chance of an outsized return? For me, I got tired of the hamster wheel that I was on and decided that the reward of the possible returns many times over was too good to pass up. This might take time, but it's been said that everything worthwhile in life takes time and effort!
And that's why angel investing is something that I believe you should consider if you want to create wealth. It can possibly change your life and provide generation changing wealth opportunities if you focus on what could go right with a business, not just what could go wrong.
Interested? Reach out to us to get more information and join us in our ventures as we support the inevitable changes that are happening and the generational wealth that is being created along the way.
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