Kevin Ryan

Kevin Ryan Looks for Businesses Created by the Second-Order Effects of Trends

Kevin Ryan argues that building durable companies requires looking past trends that are already popular and asking what they will make possible over the next decade. The AlleyCorp founder and investor says the task is to turn a broad shift into a specific product or supporting business—and to act when an idea keeps occupying his attention, even though no formula can reliably identify the winner. His examples range from DoubleClick and MongoDB to missed opportunities such as YouTube.