---
title: "Investing In The Future: What the Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors are Asking Me"
canonical: https://jimcarroll.com/2012/10/investing-in-the-future-what-the-venture-capitalists-and-angel-investors-are-asking-me/
updated: 2012-10-17T14:54:18+00:00
---

# Investing In The Future: What the Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors are Asking Me

Recently, I’ve had two absolutely fascinating session, each about 2-3 hours in length.

In one case, a major private equity firm engaged me to meet with their main advisory board In another case, I met with a group of very wealthy investors who were / are owners of major family held businesses, with valuations into the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars.

![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/venture_capitalist.jpg)Over the years, I’ve taken on an increasing number of small, intimate events for investor groups that have involved  me leading a wide ranging discussion of the investment opportunities I see emerging in the future.

In both cases, these small, intimate meetings (with 20-40 people) were built around a structure in which I would cover a wide variety of future trends where I saw significant opportunity in the future. We then had a wide ranging discussion around these opportunities and a very lively debate.

Both were pretty heavy duty groups, with current and ex-CEO’s, Congressmen, Senators, venture capitalists and angel investors, university professors and researchers. Without getting into a lot of detail, one of the events had me take on four specific issues. These are the key areas that I spoke about:

- **big data**: what’s beyond the hype, and what’s real?

- **intellectual property** – what’s next as a venture play

- **oil & gas & US energy self-sufficiency**: what sideline opportunities are emerging

- **regulatory challenges: **as the velocity of change runs up against regulation, who will emerge as unique winners?

In the other case, I defined future opportunities in the context of the vast, transformative trends that are upending industries, providing for massive business model innovation, and for a lot of competitive disruption:

- **pervasive connectivity**: massive opportunity as every device is connected, and we have awareness as to its status, location and IP address

- **big, bold movers**: the phrase I use for organizations who are in a transformative frame of mind in solving big problems in healthcare, energy and the environment

- **revenue reinventors**: how to find the signs of organizations reinventing their revenue stream at a furious pace, which is fundamental to success in todays economy

- **health care reform**: what’s really happening, and who’s really innovating far beyond the political bluster. Think bioconnectivity, virtuality, mobility, wireless.

- **the future energy**: opportunities beyond shale which involve accelerating science. Cows!

These types of sessions are tremendously invigorating; I really enjoy them, and the feedback in both cases was fabulous.

So there’s another thing that a futurist does that you might have never thought we do.