Like being able to time the stock market, there are a few people who seem to be able to get in on an idea before it hits big but it's the rare person who can do it consistently. And like trying to time the stock market, for most people, trying to determine the next bandwagon to jump on is just a waste of time and money. This is why VC's need the breadth of investments they do, because they are mainly playing a numbers game - if they really knew which ideas will take off they would only have to invest in probably one tenth of the companies they do now. Can the skill be learned? Perhaps, but do you want to spend the time, energy and money trying to find out?