What are the best sources for new and emerging investment opportunities?

Financial News 📰: Stay updated with reputable financial news outlets like Bloomberg and CNBC for emerging investment opportunities. Investment Forums 🌐: Join online investment communities on platforms like Reddit or StockTwits for insights and discussions. Startups 🚀: Explore startup incubators and angel investor networks for early-stage investment opportunities. ETFs 📈: Consider Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) for diversified exposure to emerging markets and industries. Crypto Markets 🌐🪙: Keep an eye on cryptocurrency markets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but exercise caution due to high volatility.

🌐 Networking Tips and Real Examples! 🌟💼 🤝 Founder Connections: Network with founders in target sectors for fresh insights. Example: Reid Hoffman's investment in Airbnb via founder connections. 🤝 Investor Collaborations: Partner with fellow investors for co-investment opportunities. Example: Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz collaborated on deals. 🌍 Global Communities: Engage in online communities like AngelList for global deal flow. Example: Naval Ravikant's investments via AngelList connections. 🚀 Event Exploration: Attend industry events and conferences for networking gold. Example: Peter Thiel's discovery of Facebook at a networking event. 📩 Follow-Up: Regularly follow up with contacts to stay in the loop.

Follow and engage with people (founders), innovation (ideally evidence-based), and startup ecosystems. As an investor, you are constantly ‘trolling’ for standouts in these categories in a volley of outbound and inbound engagement. Deal flow comes from recalibrated persistence.

In my experience, the best deal flow comes from colleagues and/or serendipity. Two way interaction facilitates both. Pursue information of interest and dive several layers deep. For example, don’t stop at hearing a post about an interesting prospect company. Dive-in, learn who current investors, advisors, board members, partners, customers, law firms and reporters covering the company/areas of interest. Mine your LinkedIn connects-reach out. Communicate your interest and rigorously pursue opportunity.

Other founders are the best source of early stage deal flow. Founders who are raising capital (or thinking about raising) often look to peers who are at least one step ahead of them to provide meaningful introductions to investors and help navigate the funding process more generally. By cultivating a rich community of founders, you can source unique and often times undiscovered deals.

🌐 Discover New Investment Opportunities! 🌊📈 📰 News & Social: Stay updated - TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Gizmodo etc Example: Investing in AI startups after tracking AI industry news. 🎙️ Podcast: Tune into podcasts featuring experts and trendsetters. Example: Tim Ferriss discovered startups through podcast interviews. 📊 Market Reports: Read market reports for data-driven investment insights. Example: Mary Meeker's Internet Trends Report influences tech investments. 🔍 Keyword Tracking: Use tools like Google Alerts to monitor relevant keywords. Example: Spotting AI, Web3 through keyword tracking. 📱 Social Media: Follow leaders and influencers. Example: Investors learning about fintech trends from industry influencers.

Think long-term. Swap the daily news noise for some good deep reading from current tech visionaires to the old philosophers. Find ways how other industries can overlap with yours and what processes or technologies can be applied in unexpected but meaningful ways.

Data-Driven Decision Making In the age of information, data is king. At FO-Next, we employ a data-driven approach to fix the direct investment cycle for single family office (SFO) investors. By using advanced analytics and AI, we help SFOs see trends, benchmark themselves, and make more informed decisions. Platforms like Crunchbase and PitchBook are excellent, but they often lack the nuanced data that is specific to family offices. Custom analytics can fill this gap.

Monitoring industry news and trends is a crucial aspect of staying informed about potential investment opportunities. By keeping an eye on developments within your chosen sectors, you can identify emerging startups and innovative solutions that align with your investment goals. Subscribing to relevant sources of information and using tools like Google Alerts can help you receive timely updates and insights, allowing you to stay ahead of the curve in the world of venture capital.

In the Architecture Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, market research firms like IBISWorld, Statista, and McKinsey & Company release reports on AEC market trends, growth projections, and investment opportunities. Organizations like the AIA, ASCE, NSPE, and AGC offer valuable insights, reports, and networking opportunities. Online forums and communities like LinkedIn groups, or platforms like Procore Community are helpful where professionals discuss industry developments and investment opportunities. Follow AEC blogs/news websites, such as ArchDaily, Construction Executive, and BD+ C, to for industry news and trends. Monitor government initiatives/ policies on infrastructure development, sustainable construction, or smart cities.

Some VCs now partner with accelerators. Y combinator is a great example -- so many VCs look at each class of Y combinator companies. Some VCs do this in a more formal way, investing in the fund behind an accelerator. General Inception has a model somewhat like this.

When I think about accelerators and incubators, it's like watching gardeners at work. Good gardeners don't just throw seeds around. They plant seeds carefully, water them, and ensure they get enough sun to grow. This methodology underscores the pivotal role accelerators and incubators play. They meticulously cultivate startups in their portfolio, ensuring a solid foundation. When these startups are ready to enter the public's eyes, they are relatively well-prepared and robust. Accelerators are essential partners to VCs, acting as a crucial pipeline for fresh, vetted startups. It's like a trusted source consistently offering up promising seeds, primed and ready for VCs to cultivate into flourishing ventures.

Exploring accelerators and incubators is a strategic approach to identifying promising startups. These programs often provide startups with mentorship, resources, and a platform to showcase their progress. By attending demo days and events hosted by these organizations, you can gain firsthand insights into startups' offerings and potential.

The Government of BC on Canada's West Coast, created the Small Business Venture Capital Act in 1998. The intent was to encourage 'patient capital' for tech startups. The program closely resembles others introduced later in other Canadian provinces. That proliferation of legislative programs coincided with government-led incubators in much of BC. There are now about ten or so. 25 years on, how effective have these programs been? Back in 2013, when the world was starting to talk about angels, unicorns, and other mythical creatures, I invested in a 'VCC'. Since inception, there have been about 68 such VCCs. I compared the list with exits reported on Crunchbase. One VC firm was responsible for 1/3 of the investments and half the exits. Hmmm!

Within the AEC space, explore startup directories and databases like Crunchbase, AngelList, or CB Insights where you can search for AEC startups that have been through accelerator or incubator programs. Investigate local and regional economic development agencies, chambers of commerce, and innovation hubs. They often have information on programs supporting startups in your area. There are directories dedicated to listing incubators and accelerators worldwide. Websites like Gust, F6S, and Seed-DB can help you find AEC-focused programs. Many universities and research institutions have incubator or accelerator programs that support AEC-related research and innovation. Explore programs affiliated with universities in your region.

We often use forestreet, an AI that scrapes the entire web and proprietary source for emerging firms in a given area. It’s been game changing for us. DM me if you’d like a connection to the CEO. Only serious investor pls.

Leveraging data and analytics is a strategic move in the search for emerging investment opportunities. By utilizing platforms like Crunchbase, PitchBook, CB Insights, and Mattermark, you can access a wealth of information about startups, investors, and market trends.

As it relates to AEC: Look for news about new AEC projects, partnerships, innovations, startups. Create databases/spreadsheets to organize/analyze data. Include information about AEC companies, project pipelines, technology adoption, regulatory changes, etc. Employ data analytics tools/software to analyze the data you've collected. Tools i.e. Excel, Python, and data visualization platforms i.e. Tableau can identify trends/patterns. Analyze the competition by studying the financial performance and market positioning of AEC companies. Identify companies that are outperforming their peers or are positioned for growth. Keep an eye on regulatory changes, zoning updates, environmental policies, and government infrastructure investment plans.

One of the best ways to attract unique deal flow is to have a strong point of view on an industry / sector / investment stage and cultivate a respected brand around it. To accomplish this you can write thought leadership type articles or start a podcast, host events and gatherings on the topic or become an engaged member in that specific community.

Being open minded is key! In a space where the unexpected should be expected, you always need to be open to new channels and opportunities. Sometimes they might surprise you.

George Soros: "Trust is the most important currency in the world." Linkedin plays a crucial role in my origination strategy. When I contact someone on Linkedin, they can instantly audit me, look at who I am, my experience, with who am I connected with, get a sense of my way of thinking (through my blog), and, in summary, evaluate if I am a credible operator and understand what value I can bring them. In exchange, I can carry out the same audit on them. It helps build the first layer of trust necessary to initiate a conversation.

Exploring new channels and methods is a valuable approach to discovering emerging investment opportunities. By thinking outside the box and trying innovative approaches, you can expand your reach and potentially uncover startups that might not be readily apparent through traditional means. These experiments allow you to diversify your sourcing strategy, validate your hypotheses, and learn from both successes and failures.

In the realm of investments, particularly within the startup ecosystem, it's vital to recognize that there's a significant difference between startups and scaleups. Therefore, before embarking on your investment journey, it's essential to decide where you'd like to position yourself in the innovation process. Do you want to be there from the very inception, or would you prefer to engage once a product is fully developed and ready to roll out or scale? This crucial decision will significantly expedite your sourcing strategy, enabling you to focus on where to look, whom to meet, and the most informative mediums for learning. Good luck!

Networking is one of the best ways to access quality dealflow but acquiring exceptional opportunities need to go for the extra mile beyond accelerators/incubators/network/platform, you must design your own active channels to get these opportunities which normally outside our ecosystem and are the one who can make u the 40X

The reality is too many Family Offices or high net worth individuals want to pursue these opportunities directly Most don’t have the time allocated necessary or the number of repetitions necessary to qualify. For large scale many of these FO’s or HNW should allocate to funds (especially emerging manager funds). I suggest emerging manager funds because 1st time fund managers actually have a higher historical average of success (and smaller funds are easier to outperform the market). OR They should look to syndicators to provide them greater access to lots of deal (where they give up some upside) but gain optionality to invest in lots of deals before they determine if they want to consistently participate in the venture asset class.

The best investment opportunities are unlikely to be found by sitting in front of your screen and waiting for someone to contact you. The best investment origination requires building a formidable and expansive global network. There is no magic formula and nor are there shortcuts. It requires hard work over a prolonged period of time - arguably a lifelong journey. Meeting different people in different contexts will increase your chances. You will build lifelong friendships!

From my experience working closely with experienced Technology Transfer Offices of research-active universities can provide access to many high-quality, early stage, start-ups that can lead to a steady flow of opportunities for many investors. Such a relationship can be extremely beneficial for all parties (researchers, universities and investors) especially if the investors are willing to work with the university tech transfer teams, researchers, and academics and before the spin-out is launched.

While jailed, famous bank robber (Willie Sutton) was asked why he kept robbing banks. His reply? That’s where the money is. There’s limited science to finding seed investments. Long-term success depends on access, access, and access. Sourcing, sourcing, and sourcing. CONSISTENTLY creating opportunity by being where early stage founders are (digital and analog). Make serendipity possible. Propinquity counts. Discipline matters. Creating genuine (not tactical) relationships matters. Earn a reputation for being trustworthy, informed, and decisive. Don’t be subtle. Make it obvious you’re a potential lead investor or co-investor. If you do, while you seek investments they’ll also seek you. You’ll earn the chance to say “yes” or “no”.