Ideas, ideas, ideas!

Last Friday I was talking to two co-investors in a highly innovative endeavor, where we are focusing on industrial collaboration in VR.

We were discussing a potential shift from a specific industrial application, to a more industry-agnostic virtual world platform. Or both!

Why?

To address a myriad of problems highlighted by trillions of dollars of industrial waste, climate change and COVID-19.

In other words, physical and travel restrictions, education, training, health and hygiene, plus the challenges associated with decentralised wfh (work from home) and systemic threats to our environment - human caused or not.

Over the past few weeks, I have no doubt there have been thousands of similar conversations going on around the world.

And, out of those conversations will come an avalanche of useful solutions for a world disrupted by tragic weather and health events.

Given the adoption of QE Infinity in all corners of the world, the financing to solve these problems is already in abundance.

In other words, with the guarantees provided by the Fed, ECB and BoE in particular, plus China’s ability to guide its economy by edict, COVID-19 will not kill progress - it will accelerate it.

Accelerating to a new abnormal.

At times of great crisis come great ‘needs’, the first being survival.

Once we pass through the physical survival gate (and we’re not quite there yet) we reach out for wants.

Wants are things that make life easier or better (for some). Things to reward for sacrifices and more of the things we have become used to. Things to promote more family and leisure time, heightened safety and hygiene, wfh, omnichannel distribution, better communication and other nice to haves.

Once the demand and supply of needs and wants has moved into equilibrium, the theory is that we move to a new normal.

But in a post COVID-19 world where QE Infinity has totally shredded classical economics and populism is promoting nationalism, the only new normal will be abnormal.

Cars might just sprout wings. What? Sounds crazy? Nope, that’s easy, but making flying cars super safe and quiet will be the real challenge, according to Elon Musk.

Skills and tools which allow us to get a lot more comfortable with being a lot more uncomfortable - new working platforms, systems of money and exchange, new ways of communicating, educating, moving and living with less waste and within a more sustainable paradigm - are coming to a showroom near you.

US Fed Chair Jerome Powell has virtually guaranteed it.

Bring it!

Mike.

NextLevelCorporate is a leading financial & strategic corporate advisory firm with a multi-decade track record that speaks for itself. Helping clients in all industries to prepare for, respond to and deliver transformative corporate finance strategies and transactions in and out of Australia, is our passion.