We at Spark Partners are constantly asked how to know when to invest in a trend.  We’re asked how to tell a trend from a fad, and how to know that investing in a trend will pay out. This podcast answers those questions by looking at case examples like Amazon, Apple, Tesla and even making predictions about Nvidia and the future of AI.

The key to identifying trends is learning how to read weak signals.  If you wait until the trend is dominant you’re already late, and early adopters have advantage over you.  It’s then important to recognize the triggers that will lead to innovation adoption, and identifying where money is de-investing in order to re-invest in the trend.  We cover how anyone can do this today, and build better future scenarios that will lead to more business success.

Thinking points:

• Are you tracking weak signals of change so you will recognize their importance?
• Are you tracking where your industry, supplier industries and customers are increasing their investments in trends?
• Are you gathering the data so you can measure trend investments vs. the one-off stories, analogies and boomerang experiences the press reports but which are not really important to trend adoption?
• Are you watching your industry’s investment in trends and figuring out where you should be putting your money to have an advantage 3 to 5 years in the future?

‍