Almost everything that has made human progress possible is due to something Google likes to call a "moonshot." This term, coined by Google's secretive research division (simply named "X"), has been used to describe a specific type of technology that very few brave entrepreneurs are interested in investing in, although it may have a significant potential. What does the term mean? And why are people so reluctant to invest in it when others are pouring billions into it?
SummaryDefining a MoonshotWhy it is so hard to find capital for MoonshotsWhy people invest in them anywayConclusionFor a technology to be a "moonshot", it must fit within a very particular set of criteria:
Basically, a moonshot is as the name suggests:you throw money at something in the hope that it will "hit the moon" if you choose to invest in it. A famous example of a moonshot is the invention of the airplane. The Wright brothers, with relatively little capital and an understanding of early 20th century physics and engineering, succeeded in creating a machine capable of flight with a motor. Every great invention one way or another started like a moonshot.
Venture capitalists often have limited budgets, which encourages them to seek projects with the greatest potential for ROI (return on investment). Projects like these are already mature, or about to be, and can prove it with an MVP (minimum viable product). If a startup's presentation impresses an investor, it will most likely do so on its money-making potential. Moonshot projects almost never fall into this category.
However, large investors can afford to exploit the potential of projects with far-reaching implications that will only be profitable in the very long term. Google X, for example, invests in projects such as self-driving cars, Project Wing (a drone cargo delivery program) and Project Loon (a series of high-altitude balloons intended to provide internet connectivity in inaccessible areas) . X does this, of course, knowing that 100 projects failed in 2015. The billions of dollars at its disposal can absorb the cost of failure, keeping the patents for something else they might be useful for. 'to come up. While there may be some revenue potential in funding projects that should be successful, the benefits of being a pioneer in something are even more immense. Foraying into a new market virtually creates a new sector of the economy in which the investment company can compete without too much pressure.
Thanks to lunar investments from Fortune 100 companies, you have smartphones, LCDs, tablets, and all the good things in life you watch cat videos with. While it's wonderful to see all that these bold investments have brought us, I think it's equally fascinating to see all the things that could have been (like vertical farming and floating cargo planes) but didn't. were just not meant to be. Or maybe they weren't meant to be just now .
Can you think of a few failed moonshots that would have been awesome? Tell us in the comments!
