Google (GOOG). Amazon (AMZN). Microsoft (MSFT). Facebook (FB). Apple (AAPL).

If you had invested in them in their early pre-IPO stages, you would have made more money than you’d know what to do with.

Early investors in Google earned 150,000% in profit.

Early investors in Amazon saw their stakes return 81,000%.

Early investors in Microsoft saw gains of 92,000%.

Early investors in Facebook made 200,000%.

And early investors in Apple collected a 51,000% win.

These companies have a stranglehold on the tech sector. And they seem as strong as ever.

But appearances can be deceiving.

Technology is at the beginning of a major era-defining crossroads. Five years from now, the tech landscape will look completely different.

Different tech sectors will emerge and dominate. Different companies will be leading the charge.

For early investors – those who know what to look for – it represents an enormous opportunity.

And it’s happening RIGHT NOW.

Not the First Time

The reason I know? I’ve seen it before…

When Hewlett-Packard, Kodak and Xerox were flying high, all three were top-25 Fortune 500 companies. Now they’re fading fast.

Many other companies that were dominant 10 to 20 years ago have experienced similar fates.

Wang. Fairchild Semiconductor. SGI. Digital Equipment. Sun Microsystems. Atari.

They’re either on their way out or are completely gone.

There aren’t many exceptions. IBM  is one. It had to completely reinvent itself, pivoting from a manufacturer of “International Business Machines” to a consulting company.

Companies simply don’t last as long as they used to. In 1958, S&P 500 companies had a 61-year lifespan. Today, they’re dying off in less than 18.

What’s true for companies in general is particularly applicable to tech companies. Keeping up with technology advances is much harder than, for example, a retailer’s challenge of keeping up with fashion trends. (And let’s face it, scores of retailers have failed to meet that challenge.)