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Upside: Profiting from the Profound Demographic Shifts Ahead
Demographics not only define who we are, where we live, and how our numbers change, but they open up hidden business opportunities that lie ahead.
What will happen when retiring Boomers free up jobs? How will Generation Y alter housing and transportation? Which states will have the most dynamic workforces when the Millennials settle into their careers? The next generational wave is shaking up the rank and file. How will it all affect you?
Demographer Kenneth Gronbach has put this powerful yet little-understood science to work finding the answers to all these questions and more. After synthesizing data to show how the different generations have impacted and will continue to impact markets and economies, Gronbach has provided you the lively and certainly surprising answers.
In Upside, you will find
What each age cohort is likely to buy both now and in the futureWhat sectors are likely to grow or lagHow profits dovetail with consumer numbersHow to make sense of the numbers to chart your own pathWhether you are an investor, marketer executive, or entrepreneur, the comprehensive data and findings in Upside will help you target promising trends, spot the potential for profits, and discover hidden business opportunities you would not have found previously.
What will happen when retiring Boomers free up jobs? How will Generation Y alter housing and transportation? Which states will have the most dynamic workforces when the Millennials settle into their careers? The next generational wave is shaking up the rank and file. How will it all affect you?
Demographer Kenneth Gronbach has put this powerful yet little-understood science to work finding the answers to all these questions and more. After synthesizing data to show how the different generations have impacted and will continue to impact markets and economies, Gronbach has provided you the lively and certainly surprising answers.
In Upside, you will find
What each age cohort is likely to buy both now and in the futureWhat sectors are likely to grow or lagHow profits dovetail with consumer numbersHow to make sense of the numbers to chart your own pathWhether you are an investor, marketer executive, or entrepreneur, the comprehensive data and findings in Upside will help you target promising trends, spot the potential for profits, and discover hidden business opportunities you would not have found previously.
- GenresNonfictionBusiness
263 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 13, 2017
100 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 23, 2018
This book is very well written and the author's style is interactive. It constantly engages the reader, though at times it is sluggish with its multiple questions a lot of which are repetitive and quite intuitive to figure out what the answer will be even before you would start reading it.
The structure of the book is very good. It gives an idea about the demographics in the United States both in terms of generations and in terms of the country's various regions.
I think the author is a little shallow in few situations though. For example, he praises population growths in general but doesn't touch upon the kinds of population growth. Not all population growths are created equal. The quality of such growth is of great importance: percentage of that population growth ending up college degrees (and what degrees) - he barely touched on that aspect.
I would also not necessarily agree with his assessment on our generation's being multi-taskers. Particularly I don't share his enthusiasm. Most of us are starting to have short attention spans and keep needing "distractions", while productivity is an issue discussed in numerous articles.
Great book!
The structure of the book is very good. It gives an idea about the demographics in the United States both in terms of generations and in terms of the country's various regions.
I think the author is a little shallow in few situations though. For example, he praises population growths in general but doesn't touch upon the kinds of population growth. Not all population growths are created equal. The quality of such growth is of great importance: percentage of that population growth ending up college degrees (and what degrees) - he barely touched on that aspect.
I would also not necessarily agree with his assessment on our generation's being multi-taskers. Particularly I don't share his enthusiasm. Most of us are starting to have short attention spans and keep needing "distractions", while productivity is an issue discussed in numerous articles.
Great book!
February 4, 2019
—-Summary—-
I really liked the idea of the first few chapters highlighting how industries may grow or shrink based on macro economics. Cars, clothing , etc all had amazing sales years after the baby boomer generation began consuming those goods and then shrank as the next generation was significantly smaller.
This concept made me think of how macro economics could effect my or any other business, whether that’s population, immigration, home sales, laws, etc.
That being said, after about chapter 7, the book got heavy into the weeds about topics like “what to call each generation” or “the inaccuracies of the different generations in 10 vs 7 vs 20 year cycles”. Honestly the author made me lose interest at this point.
—-Notes—-
I really liked the idea of the first few chapters highlighting how industries may grow or shrink based on macro economics. Cars, clothing , etc all had amazing sales years after the baby boomer generation began consuming those goods and then shrank as the next generation was significantly smaller.
This concept made me think of how macro economics could effect my or any other business, whether that’s population, immigration, home sales, laws, etc.
That being said, after about chapter 7, the book got heavy into the weeds about topics like “what to call each generation” or “the inaccuracies of the different generations in 10 vs 7 vs 20 year cycles”. Honestly the author made me lose interest at this point.
—-Notes—-
May 30, 2021
Demographics are a general boon to any analysis, and can be the driving force in large groups of people. However, the analysis in the back half of the book seemed rushed / not as concrete as I'd hoped, especially related on the international stage.
It discounted a bit on the technologic side other than that Gen Y and Gen Z will be forces to be reckoned with as we go further and they age into larger percentages of workplaces.
It's an interesting juxtaposition for some of the statistics cited from 2016 while reading in 2021, not yet out of the pandemic. That likely ruined a bit of 2020 numbers and some of the general trends discussed for the decade post-2016.
It discounted a bit on the technologic side other than that Gen Y and Gen Z will be forces to be reckoned with as we go further and they age into larger percentages of workplaces.
It's an interesting juxtaposition for some of the statistics cited from 2016 while reading in 2021, not yet out of the pandemic. That likely ruined a bit of 2020 numbers and some of the general trends discussed for the decade post-2016.
January 23, 2022
Overall, this book has some nice insights. The relationship between the number of people and supply and demand is an old proven concept, but the author provided relevant examples that have occurred within history. The data in the book is old at this point and some is irrelevant and even outdated, as the author references that his stats are from 2014/2015.
I found, at times, that I struggled listening to this on Audible. I would realize that my mind had drifted on to something else while listening to this. I felt the author could have used more examples to make his point. He threw out too many stats/numbers.
I found, at times, that I struggled listening to this on Audible. I would realize that my mind had drifted on to something else while listening to this. I felt the author could have used more examples to make his point. He threw out too many stats/numbers.
September 20, 2025
Explains the demographic “tsunami” well, and stylistically engaging, but one for a casual 2h read. Many parts feel repetitive, which is good for accessibility, but not conducive to be recognized as a classic and time-tested reading material. Stock picks are too shallow and don’t add much value to the book. Author feels like he’s tooting his own horn quite often, and especially when mentioning anecdotes of his friends and family.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2018
Pretty fascinating actually and a well written book that doesn't take itself too seriously. Would make sense that knowing how many people there are in certain age demographics that businesses one could predict the rise and fall of particular industries. Good stuff for thinking about the future of one's business.
March 16, 2023
Dated and USA
This book concentrates on the USA with a bit about the rest of the world at the end. It is also about 6 years old, with some data up to ten. That said it's an introduction to the general principles of demographics, the fact that the dataset is neither current nor local I overlooked.
This book concentrates on the USA with a bit about the rest of the world at the end. It is also about 6 years old, with some data up to ten. That said it's an introduction to the general principles of demographics, the fact that the dataset is neither current nor local I overlooked.
October 13, 2017
not born beyond my generation, reading this broad insight over multiple generations was definitely an abundant resource. Many generations think too much of other generations without looking at the specs, definitely.
February 27, 2019
Unreadable. The guy wrote a book vomiting a bunch of demographic plots about USA birth rates state by state and it’s impact on certain industries and mentioned but didn’t prove how one can profit investing on demographically driven businesses. Do not waste your time on this.
June 24, 2017
Really enjoyed this book. Understanding demographics - counting people, to use the author's phrase - is a powerful framework through which to understand the world. Glad to have read this book!
July 25, 2019
Interesting info that has significant relevance for any investor and/or entrepreneur.
October 21, 2019
Demographics is way more important than you think. Its the classic "long game" and needs to be considered.
November 25, 2021
Liked it! Interesting insights and angle of using “count the people” as the (by far) dominant form of explanation and prediction of economics and trends.
May 4, 2023
review
The book had many typos, the author rambles on about different subjects. Book could of been done in half the number of chapters.
The book had many typos, the author rambles on about different subjects. Book could of been done in half the number of chapters.
July 25, 2024
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November 18, 2017Good information, new ways at looking at things
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews