2 Key Trends Driving Investments and Business Models

Two key trends are driving new investments.  1) 3D Printing and 2) The Sharing Economy

3D Printing

3D Printing is the manufacturer and creation of low-volume and custom products.  Given the decreased price point on the technology, the 3D Printers are finding their way from the research labs and schools and into business.  Given the ability to create low-volume goods, manufacturers are trying to determine how the emerging 3D model can co-exist with the mass-production models in place.  The 3D Printers are part of a growing trend in the United States and could be an enabler to increase manufacturing.

The Sharing Economy

The sharing economy is leveraging a trend that simply observes that a lot of services and products can be leveraged and used given there is extra capacity and gaps in the usage model.  The trend started with the open source movement in software and the social network gaming model but is spreading to other industries and sectors.  From travel, examples include Priceline and RelayRides to optimize the usage of resources.  Trust using a reputation view allows for the sharing model to succeed based upon ratings in a marketplace.

When looking for future companies to invest in, 3D Printing and The Sharing Economy are key business model enablers.  If a company can demonstrate and monetize these trends, it is a solid business model to build on.