The Roaring Twenties are back, except it will not be defined by Urbanization, Prohibition, or the Lost Generation. Instead, the Twenties of the Second Millennium will be characterized by a paradigm shift to Remote Working, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Decentralization.
Trillion-dollar companies are being built today in ways we can’t yet fathom. Half a century ago, man first stepped on the moon.
In 2019, fifty years later, the 2-hour barrier for a marathon, once considered impossible, was broken for the first time by Eliud Kipchoge.
This is progress, this is evolution. The markets are telling us unambiguously that what has worked the past two decades won’t work for the next two decades defined by an exponential growth in technology and productivity.
I believe the Roaring 2020s will be defined by a paradigm shift to Remote Work, Robotic Process Automation or “RPA”, and Decentralization.
Collectively, these three paradigm shifts may disrupt every conceivable vertical industry and respective horizontal sub-industries over the next decade, ushering in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
What is Remote Work?
We all know what remote work looks like today — cramped co-working spaces with a false sense of collective dynamism — but what will remote working look like in 2030?
I believe that there will be a trend toward Counter-Urbanization, not unlike the growth of suburbia in America post World War II during the “Baby Boom” generation.
Due to rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and virtual reality (VR), remote work will become less taboo and more mainstream, and has been accelerated by structural changes brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Representative startup companies competing in this space today include MeetinVRfor conducting virtual meetings, Checkrfor performing AI-driven employee background checks, and harness for allowing intelligent software deployment globally using machine learning algorithms.
What is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?
Wikipedia defines Robotic Process Automation or “RPA” as a “form of business process automation technology based on metaphorical software robots (bots) or artificial intelligence (AI) workers.”
An uncommon term today, RPA or Robotic Process Automation, will be part of the common business dialect as companies compete to improve efficiency and margins through the automation of manual processes that are prone to human error and time-consuming.
What is Decentralization?
Decentralization highlights a broad umbrella of various trends that shares a common theme of Disintermediation, the idea that certain vertical industries (e.g., finance) and horizontal industries (e.g., investment banking, investment management) are still operating legacy business models with high fees causing tremendous transactional friction in a global economy that is trending towards frictionless transactions.
Decentralization will fundamentally alter how companies are built and businesses are conducted by exponentially reducing Intermediary Fees and establishing Decentralized Trust across every conceivable industry.
Representative startup companies competing in this space today include Ethereumfor developing an abstraction layer for blockchain technology (in addition to their venture into digital currencies), Reserve for developing the first Stablecoin to be acknowledged by the European Central Bank, and Aidos for developing a blockchain platform to tokenize venture portfolio companies, reducing the cumbersome and time-consuming process for exceptional Founders to fundraise capital from prospective investors.
Conclusion
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the king of Ephyra punished for his sins by being condemned to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only for it to roll down when it nears the top, repeating this action for eternity.
Analogous to Sisyphus’ boulder, the Roaring 2020s will be defined by Remote Work, Robotic Process Automation, and Decentralization, a Trifecta representing an Unstoppable Force that cannot be overcome by any Incumbent no matter their capital expenditure. This Trifecta also represents the catalyst for disruptive technologies for the Innovator’s Dilemma in the words of Clayton Christensen.
Source: Sergey Vladimirovich Kolesnikov; Innovator’s Dilemna of the Roaring 2020s
So, are you ready for these paradigm shifts that will define the ranks of the Fortune 500 companies of the 2030s?
By Andrew Vo
Editor of The Humble Guide
About The Humble Guide
The Humble Guide is a new kind of publication that cuts through the noise of venture capital and technology. Learn what really matters from a thought leader with over a decade of experience in finance, technology, and early-stage investing.
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