How to Spot the Next Starbucks, Whole Foods, Walmart, or McDonald’s Before Its Shares Explode

Investor Tier delivers an exuberant but disorganized guide to getting rich quick (or not so quick) by identifying the next big company. Perhaps the earliest investors in Walmart or Starbucks just got lucky, but perhaps, Tier suggests, they also made educated, studied guesses about the best investment. Tier goes over the characteristics of rising stars in order to help readers recognize such companies in time to put some serious money down. As he points out, it’s not enough to pick the market leader; the first to market—the innovative startup—is not always the most successful. Using either the Warren Buffett model (which aims for consistent returns) or the Peter Thiel model (which seeks the next big thing), investors are encouraged to ask the same questions they’d have if they were getting into the business themselves. Starting a business, after all, requires knowledge of the same logistics as does choosing the right investment. Though the book’s ideas are solid, it’s hard to imagine that someone who responds to the get-rich-quick title would slog through the crowded, sprawling text. [em](Aug.) [/em]