It is all about the youth of the nation. They too impact Indian economy in plenty ways for an instance, and marketers would invest on low-cost products to meet the pocket size of youngsters.

Today, once again, we’re breaking out our 2014 “crystal ball”!   We’re offering up a prediction about a major business trend, and dishing out advice about how to make money from it through equity crowdfunding. Let’s start with a quote:   “Take teenagers 20 years ago and ask them would they rather have a car or a computer?  And the answer would have been 100% of the time they'd rather have a car, because a car represents freedom, right?   But there is a new generation coming where freedom is defined by "I can do anything I want, whenever I want.  If I want a ride, I get a ride, but I don't have to worry.  I don't have to make car payments.  I don't have to worry about insurance. I have complete flexibility."  That is freedom too.   This quote, from November 2013, comes from Marc Andreessen, one of the planet’s most far-sighted and successful entrepreneurs and investors…   Marc made a king’s ransom investing early in homeruns like Facebook and Twitter. So when he makes statements about the future, we put down the remote and perk up our ears.  In this case, he’s pointing to a new trend that enables “freedom.” This trend has such massive implications that the term mega trend is more appropriate.   Freedom (and Cashflow!)   The mega tend I’m talking about is known as “The Sharing Economy.”   The Sharing Economy allows us to use the internet to rent anything we need from other people just like us. Cars, bikes, boats… even parking spots and power drills. Instead of buying them, now we can “rent” them from our neighbors.   Sharing is turning into a big business, and we believe it’s going to get bigger fast. We’re not alone: Forbes estimates that sharing put $3.5 billion into citizens’ wallets this year, and is growing by 25% per year.  Let’s look at an example…   Something In The Air   At a holiday party in NYC last month, I was talking to a fancy friend – a 37-year-old investment banker – about her upcoming vacation to Paris. I asked her where she was planning to stay, expecting her to mention some swanky hotel.   Instead she said this: “An awesome apartment overlooking the Seine! I’m using Airbnb.”   “What’s Airbnb?” you might ask. Simply put, it’s a fast-growing hospitality service. The “bnb” stands for “Bed & Breakfast.”   For those willing to “share” their home in exchange for some income, Airbnb allows you to rent out your spare bedroom (or your whole place, without you in it) by the day, week or month.   And for travelers, it makes for a more affordable and interesting stay.   Airbnb has 300,000 listing in 192 countries. In 2012, acting as a matchmaker and administrator, they helped 2.5 million people find a place to stay. In exchange for handling the reservation, collecting the money, and providing insurance, they take a cut of the transaction – about 10%.   Now let’s look at another example of the Sharing Economy…   Lyft me Higher… Or Just Across Town   Lyft is a service that allows people with spare time and a car to run a taxi company.   Need a ride somewhere? Fire up the Lyft “app” on your phone, electronically “hail” a cab, and a regular citizen with a regular car will soon be chauffeuring you to your destination. All fees are pre-negotiated.   Get in Early   It certainly seems that there’s gold in these sharing hills. But here’s the important thing about investing in – and profiting from – mega trends:   Young companies like Lyft and Airbnb are privately held. You can’t buy their shares on the stock market. And if they do go public in the future, by that time the big profits will already have been made.   You need to invest while they’re still small. You need to get in early.   Lyft, for example, raised its first round of $300,000 in 2009. Its valuation (the private company equivalent of a “market cap”) was likely in the $3 million range.   Lyft went on to raise $60 million in May 2013 – at a $275 million valuation. That’s the equivalent of a 9,100% gain in 4 years!   Airbnb has done even better. Its valuation in 2008 was about $1 million. This year it was valued at $2.5 billion. That’s a 250,000% return.   To read Airbnb’s back story (and to review those jaw-dropping numbers) click here »    How to Take Advantage of This Trend… Now   Airbnb shows you what can happen when you identify a mega trend and invest early.   That’s why we’re so excited about equity crowdfunding: now, regular investors can put money into high-growth companies at their earliest stages.   As believers in the investment potential of the Sharing Economy, we’ll pass along any relevant companies for your review in our weekly deal round-ups.   In fact, we recently featured one – a company called “Geekatoo." Despite the silly name, this “sharing” company is attacking a big, serious market:   Geekatoo allows independent IT technicians (i.e., anyone with specific IT skills and free time) to “share” their technical services with those who need help.  Their main competitor, Geek Squad, does $2 billion in annual sales. Geekatoo is creating a less expensive and “shared economy” version.   While Crowdability doesn’t make specific investment recommendations, it certainly appears that Geekatoo is focusing on an attractive opportunity. To read more about it,click here. Here’s to a happy, healthy, profitable 2014!

Imagine yourself sitting in a high-backed leather chair in an oak-paneled office. The year is 1905, and the first Ford Model-T’s have started to dot the road. You live in Detroit, Michigan – ground zero for the automotive industry – and work at a small investment fund. Entrepreneurs visit you throughout the day, asking you to invest in their projects. One afternoon, two men come in, one right after the other – Adam and Jack. Both are successful businessmen, and each is passionate about a new business idea. You listen carefully to each of their presentations, and then spend a few hours doing some thinking. By the end of the day, you call Adam and let him know you’ve decided not to invest in his company. “But why?” asks Adam. “How could you decide so soon?” “Well,” you say, “it’s simple. You’re starting a company that makes better shoes for horses. That’s the past. Another gentleman was here today and he’s building a better engine for cars. Horseless carriages – that’s our future!” Jack was catching a wave – or as we like to say, he was capitalizing on a megatrend. As investors, not only should we follow megatrends; we should try to catch them before others. This is especially true when it comes to early-stage investing. Today I’m going to tell you about a megatrend that has us very excited – a trend I believe will play out in both the private and public markets over the next several years, and will allow early investors to profit handsomely. Urban Problems Since the 1920s, more and more Americans have left rural areas and flocked to urban areas like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. In fact, according to the U.S. Census, the population of urban areas in this country grew by more than 12.7% from 2000 to 2010 alone – outpacing population growth by 33%. This is a megatrend! Everything becomes more difficult to manage as urban centers grow – from basics like water and sanitation, to complex issues such as housing and transportation. As our national debt continues to mount, we can’t rely on the public sector to solve these thorny problems. Solutions need to come from the private sector – and thankfully, entrepreneurs have the passion, and the financial incentive, to try and create these solutions. Let’s take transportation as an example... Urban Solutions Living in New York City spoils me. If I need a ride home after midnight, there are usually a dozen yellow taxis vying for my business. A couple of years ago, however, on a particularly cold and rainy night, there wasn’t a cab in sight. So on the recommendation of a business associate, I pulled out my mobile phone and fired up an app called “Uber.” Uber is a mobile application that quickly connects passengers to drivers. With the touch of a button, a car picks you up and takes you to your destination. The cars are well-kept town cars or SUVs, and your credit card is on file so you don’t have to worry about payment. The coolest part is that you can track the car from your mobile phone’s GPS, so you know exactly when it will arrive – that means you can wait inside a warm, dry restaurant while it’s pouring outside. Uber is already in many U.S. cities, and is starting to expand internationally. Thecompany’s revenue numbers were leaked the other day and it looks like they’re generating over $1 billion in annual sales – and this is just a few years after the company got started. This stunning revenue growth might explain why Google invested $250 million into the company at a whopping $3.5 billion valuation. (“Valuation” is the private company equivalent of a “market cap.”) Uber is a perfect example of a company taking advantage of a megatrend. Where to Find The Next Uber But Uber isn’t the only company capitalizing on the urban growth megatrend by attacking the transportation market. There’s a similar company called Leap Transit – and Leap is currently raising money on AngelList, one of the high-quality platforms we cover on Crowdability. Simply put, Leap aims to become the “Uber for Mass Transit” by creating a new type of bus service. They’ve already launched in San Francisco, and now they’re looking to expand. The buses are spacious, comfortable, and equipped with internet access. And similar to Uber, you can track your bus on a mobile phone so you don’t have to wait outside in the cold. We might also mention that we’re attracted to Leap’s simple business model. At $6 per ride, it’s easy to calculate how many commutes it would take to reach a billion dollars in revenue! Another transportation company raising funds on Angel List is Corral Labs. Corral is differentiating by focusing on shuttle buses – the type of multi-passenger service you might take to the airport. We also see plenty of opportunities outside of transportation... We believe urban dwellers will need to rethink everything from how they generate energy to how they find a place to live. And as entrepreneurs create solutions to these problems, investors like us will be presented with significant investment opportunities. As the urban growth megatrend continues to play out, we’ll continue to bring these new opportunities to your attention. If we can get in early on the next Uber, the returns could be tremendous!