After another full year in the books, it seems proper to recap just a bit and look forward to the year ahead.
2009 was a tough year for the world and US economies, wall street, main street and many personal pocketbooks. Yet, despite the headwinds, we have continued to see the entrepreneurial spirit push forward and seek out opportunities for success.
As we head into 2010, I see a number of groups poised to take advantage of their hard work during the broader turmoil. Some of these are raising capital and some are commercializing, but the opportunities for success are clearly still available.
What trends are we seeing now:
1. Web 2.0 progressing into bionic software
2. Seamless integration of digital technology
3. Globalized opportunities
Probably the biggest trend seems to be the merger of trends together into a broader digital innovation wave.
It also seems to me that we have a rather fortunate circumstance for innovation because at a time that outside investment is more difficult, the internet and digital resources are making it easier to bring innovation to a broad audience. This also has the benefit of decentralizing innovation and adding real opportunity for regions, such as the southeastern US, that have not historically participated in the US innovation economy.
Of course we still have headwinds, but opportunities abound for those that persevere and stay focused on bringing real value to the consumer.
Now go build something.
