Venture Capital Investing in an Epoch of Change

The world and everything around us is changing faster than at any time in history. Despite that reality, things rarely feel like they’re changing all that fast, because we are so accustomed to the pace of change.

By Len Batterson
VCapital Founder, CEO, Chief Investment Officer

The world and everything around us is changing faster than at any time in history. Despite that reality, things rarely feel like they’re changing all that fast, because we are so accustomed to the pace of change. 

On top of already rapid change, a major disruptive event -- the current Covid-19 pandemic – is further accelerating that pace of change.  

Ironically, the pandemic is perceived and even experienced by many as a slowing of the rate of change. After all, for many of us, our lives during the pandemic have settled into an apparently static routine. We’re not thinking about what new outfit to wear, which new restaurant to try out, which new store to shop, or what exciting destination to visit during our next vacation.  Our day-to-day routines, which for many of us include working without even leaving home, seem unchanging.

Consciousness is a complex mosaic, blending past, present, and an anticipated future. We may view our lives like a motion picture in slow motion. The previous film frame incorporates what we were just experiencing, the current frame presents what we are experiencing now, and the next frame will display what is about to happen.  The human brain is wired to manage expectations, reflecting what was just seen, what is present now, and what is anticipated next. Since we expect that anticipated “next,” it doesn’t feel like much is changing.  

However, the reality is that a major disruptive event like the Covid pandemic accelerates the pace of change, loading more otherwise future events into the present. It is as if time itself is accelerating. 

The Covid pandemic’s accelerated pace of change presents an excellent window for investment, since change inevitably leads to investment opportunity. Accelerated change means more high potential investment opportunities in a shorter window of time. That also suggests the likelihood of a faster return on investment.  

So while apparently static day-to-day routine may seem like slower change, let’s not forget all the change that has in fact been happening before our eyes: the rapid growth of Zoom and other remote communication and presentation tools, software advances to enable children’s remote education, tele-health to enable remotely delivered healthcare, Peleton and other exercise-at-home utilities, numerous shopping home delivery services, and on and on. And let’s also not forget the breathtakingly fast technological advances that have led to multiple Covid vaccines that have already reached or will soon reach the market, not to mention groundbreaking Covid treatments like the Regeneron cocktail.

Even after the pandemic has been tamed, many behaviors will not go back to our 2019 world. A new normal will emerge. It will inevitably include more working from home, greater recognition of remote educational possibilities even with children back in the physical classroom, greater recognition of possibilities for accelerated healthcare innovation, and on and on. 

Investing during periods of disruptive change like we are living through right now, with a new normal around the corner, presents unique opportunities for those with the vision to recognize the accelerated pace of change that is underway.   

What do you think about the topic of change?  Talk to us.