In the summer afternoons along the Southern California coast, the wind picks up out of the north. Some afternoons are stronger than others, but just like clock work you can expect a breeze to pick up around 1pm and blow towards the south.
As an ocean lifeguard, we used to call this time the witching hour. In addition to the glare from the setting sun, the chopped up water would make it difficult to see any swimmers in distress. And, if you did have to get in the water, you’d have to tough out the rest of your shift in wet board shorts wicking away your body temperature with the cold blowing wind.
But that was a small price to pay in order to have a job on the beach. There were lots of other perks, like being able to be outside all day and stay physically active.
When I happened to get a shift that ended early (as in, before it got dark), I’d take a paddle board, throw it in the back of my truck, and drive up the coast. Once I was about ten miles north, I’d pick a small beach and take my paddle board about a half mile off shore.
From there, I’d start paddling south on a down-wind-er. That’s what it’s called. Just like you go for a run or bike ride, I’d go for a downwinder.
When you’re a half mile out from the beach, the wind can be even stronger. And when you’re paddling in the same direction as the wind, you can pick up some serious speed. In fact, you can actually catch waves in the middle of the ocean that can last a minute or longer, allowing you to basically surf a wave that isn’t even breaking.
This picture is from the Molokai to Oahu paddle board race, that takes place every year. As you can see, this paddler is literally riding this wave in the open ocean, even though it’s not breaking. As you can imagine, the more waves you can catch like this, the faster you’ll go, and the better chances you’ll have at winning the race!
Image credit: M2O
Waves in the ocean are basically just energy moving through a medium (water). So, if you can match the speed of a wave, you can literally ride energy. It’s a strange concept to grasp, but that’s the basic physics of surfing.
Last year, I wrote about this exact idea as it applies to the business world in an article titled, “Catching The Wave To Acquisition.” Just as the title suggests, new businesses will have a much better chance of success if they are targeting an industry that is trending upwards. And if you can enter an industry early, you can ride that trend for a long time.
The key is to identify an industry that is early, has a lot of upward growth potential, and has a broad reach. If you can build a business in that situation, you’ll have much better chances at success – it’ll almost be like a downwinder.
I’ve already told you that I’m going to be building some businesses using this exact strategy. But, I’m also going to be investing this way. Well, actually, this is how I normally invest. I look for global emerging trends and then I make investments in the top companies in that trend.
In the past, many of you have invested with me using this strategy. We’re currently invested in a variety of companies that are doing very well in emerging trends, such as food tech, cannabis, longevity, and esports. But, all of those investments have taken months to structure and we’ve invested larger checks ($500k++).
There are many other investments that I’ve made on my own because they are extremely fast moving and require much smaller allocations. That prevents me from structuring larger investments that take longer to execute.
However, I’ve figured out a way that you can join me on these smaller deals that are fast moving. This new method will allow you to make small allocations in exciting opportunities while not having to go through some month long process. It’ll almost be like picking off of a menu at a restaurant. If you’re an accredited investor, you can sign up here to join me.
This is something totally new that I’m doing, and it’s something that many of you have asked for in the past.
I’ll probably have some interesting things coming through there over the coming months.
