For the past two decades, one of the greatest joys I’ve experienced as an ecosystem builder is witnessing the emergence of various movements on the internet. Looking back, I never imagined the magnitude of change that a simple idea could bring about. When we talked about changing the world, none of us truly comprehended the scale of that change.
The Cloud Revolution
One significant revolution I had the privilege to witness was the advent of the cloud economy. My first project centered around building for this revolution. Initially, I was skeptical, but the sheer number of big companies investing in this space made us realize its potential. The focus was on smartphones and how they could put technology into the hands of ordinary people, empowering them with information to uplift themselves from poverty.
The app store wave, e-commerce, hyperlocal commerce, internet startups—almost everything you see today that harnesses technology and delivers value is a product of the cloud revolution. The goal was simple: reduce the cost barrier to entry for innovators to build tech and turn it into a business. In 2008, the cloud economy was estimated at approximately $10 billion. Today, in 2024, it’s estimated to be over $700 billion.
The Sharing Economy:
What started as a simple hippie movement of hosting backpackers on your couch unlocked a whole new wave of thinking and products from Silicon Valley. Economic challenges prompted people to reconsider unused resources in their backyard and find ways to monetize them. While Airbnb, Uber, TaskRabbit, and others became the poster children of this movement, numerous other ideas emerged worldwide.
From sharing a lawnmower to home delivery apps, the gig economy and freelance economy were born out of this behavioral change. It shifted our culture from seeking employment to becoming the masters of our own time and destiny. This wasn’t just an economic shift; it fundamentally changed the way we live and earn money in the world today.
The Digital Nomad:
When work moved onto the internet, some savvy millennials asked a simple question: Why stay in one place? Can’t I travel the world, broaden my horizons, and still earn a living? Influencers like Tim Ferris took this idea to new heights by writing books, popularising subcultures, and the notion that you can design your own life experiences instead of just living it.
The movement grew so big that countries began issuing digital nomad visas, and real estate developers started creating co-living and co-working spaces. This changed the way we live and work, and it even revitalized struggling economies like Portugal, Greece, and Indonesia. Remarkably, it enabled a tiny country like Estonia to add millions of e-citizens to its economy without worrying about their welfare. All of this, and more, stemmed from the simple cloud revolution.
The Crypto Mania:
When people live and travel freely, their consciousness expands. Walls break down, communities organize better, their understanding of humanity goes up, and they always find ways to build alternative systems. This time, they created a hyper-flexible, revolutionary financial system. At its core is self-realization and actualization. Mostly! ;-P
The breadth of innovation in art, design, tech, culture, and the idea of ownership is remarkable. With every inch of expanded consciousness, humanity has always found ways to express and improve their world and lives. Expression is at the core of human existence.
The Great Shift:
We find ourselves in the midst of a profound consciousness shift. Social platforms are buzzing with the fusion of quantum physics and ancient wisdom, giving rise to healing technologies. Flow states are the new frontier, with a preference for community living over urban isolation, ancient food practices over modern diets, and holistic healing over hospitalization. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Innovations to access consciousness are no longer confined to counterculture circles; even major corporations recognize the importance of their employees’ spiritual well-being.
As Maslow outlined in his hierarchy of needs, many in the world are transitioning from seeking “self-esteem” to striving for “self-actualization.” The technology meant to unite us now seems to alienate us, and the pursuit of money leaves a void in many lives. Amid mental health struggles, unfair systems, and global chaos, a simple question echoes: What do we truly desire? We believe the answer lies within ourselves. The more we invest in understanding who we are, the clearer our desires become. When enough individuals embark on this journey, it transforms into a movement and perhaps even an economy.
With this worldview and deep experience, we’re embarking on a mission to infuse entrepreneurship into this movement. Our goal: to provide a dedicated stage for this community to unite, organize, thrive & to build for unit of awareness.
Welcome to Sacred Startups.
Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won’t come again And don’t speak too soon For the wheel’s still in spin And there’s no tellin’ who That it’s namin’ For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin’
Bob Dylan
Cheers,
Shashi Gopinath
