The dotcom boom of the 1990s was a glorious and wonderfully chaotic time. When it began, nobody really knew that there was such a thing going on as a “dotcom boom,” they just knew that there was something exciting and disruptive happening, and they wanted in. Only a very small handful of visionaries truly saw the full scope of what it was and how it would change the world.
There were a lot of things about that time that failed. A lot of companies burned out quickly, a lot of venture capital money went up in smoke and a lot of 20-year-olds found themselves on the unemployment line with nothing on their resume except “Dotcom CEO.” Yet, a lot of things went right too: The innovative spirit changed how we view and launch startups to this day. Even though most of the companies didn’t last, the technology persisted and has made the world a better place.
Today, we find ourselves in the same situation.
Once again, most people don’t know what’s coming. In fact, it’s already begun, and the relatively small handful of people who see it will emerge as winners. The dotcom boom was only the beginning, and was only one peak in an ongoing cycle of technology-driven entrepreneurship. It’s the emerging dotcloud boom that will dominate the next 10 years, and its scope will run far greater with a disruption much deeper than the dotcom era. It has already begun to make permanent and transformative changes to business models, work models and much more, not just in startups, but in the largest of the Fortune 500 companies.
The dotcloud boom is lowering the barrier to entry for entrepreneurs, creating countless opportunities and eliminating the barriers that once defined who we are and what we may or may not become. It is redefining what a company is and what a job is. It allows us to take a more global, collaborative approach to business, and it lets us get right to the heart of what your startup really is — to find, if you will, your company’s “God particle.”
Enormous opportunities are arising for those who see what’s coming. Those who resist change aren’t going to like the dotcloud boom. It’s disruptive from a personal, business and political point of view. Some jobs will disappear as we redefine what a “job” is. Entire industry segments will disappear and others will be created. The dotcloud will form the heart of small companies with global ecosystems that will not be stopped by isolationist politics and trade barriers. No matter what your personal points of view may be, this genie is not going back into the bottle.
Make no mistake, there will be winners and losers. Your future prosperity — and…