Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2010. Its description of Google as “the world’s most valuable brand” reflected brand rankings of that time, and the experts’ claim that technology was “at 15% of its development” is unsourced.
Many business owners and investors are now tearing their hair out over their lack of vision when it came to investing in the businesses that went on to shape part of the future. Here we’re talking about the businesses that opened up the field of new technologies, but don’t forget that this lack of vision is present every day, stopping entrepreneurs from carrying out their projects and keeping investors from earning a return or taking part in a lucrative business. Let’s look at two examples.
When Larry and Sergey, the creators of the world’s most valuable brand (Google), had their idea and their business vision, they knew they couldn’t cover the costs their project required, but they also knew they had invented something very important.
Google looked for both buyers and investors, and failed. The companies that might have been interested at the time couldn’t see how the project would make money. In fact, they thought it was crazy to invest in a search engine, because it wasn’t selling an office or a shop; it was selling a project that lived in a virtual space.
Those companies also failed to notice the enthusiasm of those two young men, who had an outstanding academic record. The rejection was so complete that they had no choice but to carry out their business idea on their own.
At some point along the way they got funding from a few people who were starting to believe in them, and five years later it was a reality.
They went public, but because it was an unknown sector, nobody wanted their shares, so Google handed the shares out among its employees, who became rich in less than seven years.
In this particular case, we see that there’s no need to fear the unknown, because the unknown is where the most profitable business opportunities are found.
Wall Street showed the same lack of vision with Microsoft. Did you know that when Bill Gates, Microsoft’s founder, decided to take his company public, he was turned down by the Wall Street stock exchange?
He was told that only the most important companies were listed on that exchange, and Microsoft wasn’t important at all. That’s why Microsoft trades on the Nasdaq.
Not only did nobody believe in what are now the largest companies in existence, but those companies have changed business models and, without a doubt, the way we do business. And according to experts, this is only the beginning, since technology is at just 15% of its development.
So remember: when someone comes to you with a project in hand, don’t dismiss the idea simply because you don’t understand what they’re offering. In most cases, entrepreneurs give off an energy and enthusiasm that, if we’re paying attention and have business vision, can make us part of one of the new businesses of the decade. It’s been proven that anything is possible.
Further reading
Featured image: Steve Jurvetson, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
