Big Data & Venture Capital

If you want to understand the current Big Data market reality, just follow the money. There is generally no better way to spot the most important trends in the American marketplace than to observe who is getting the money, and what is that money buying. In the case of many of today’s most important venture capitalists, the smart money appears to be in Big Data.

The point of venture capital is to invest in emerging businesses or markets in the hope of not only funding innovation but funding profitable innovation that delivers strong and continuous return on investment. The best capital investments will be in markets that are just getting off the ground but have enough of a track record to be both somewhat safe and relatively new. Another factor? High demand.

When today’s venture capitalists look at the current marketplace, particularly in the tech sector, they see a very similar environment to the mid-1990s. In those days personal computers were just beginning to gain a real foothold. Sure, they had been around for some time, but most people were still getting accustomed to the idea. Enter venture capital and, suddenly, everyone had a PC and, a few years later, the Internet was a must, not a pipe dream. Everyone was connected, even if it did take a disc and an additional home phone line. Fast forward a few more years and add yet more venture capital and you have WiFi in nearly every home in the United States and many public areas as well. People are carrying the Internet around on their phones, along with movies and music and a host of other things it used to take a U-Haul to move.

Today, venture capitalists are just as excited about the tech sector. And the reason? Big Data. The industry requires a massive influx of capital to continue innovating and implementing, but investors are more than happy to cut those checks…because Big Data is paying huge returns. While the profits may not quite be there yet, the research and development being funded by Big Data venture capitalists has already yielded exciting results…and revolutionized multiple different industries in both the public and private sectors.

Jonah Engler is a successful entrepreneur, investor, franchise owner and coffee lover who hails from New York City.