By the time of his refrigeration revelation in 2009, Stassopoulos had already gained a reputation for his maverick process: Where other investors typically relied on market data and forecasts from big consumer-products companies to deduce what people in, say, India might start purchasing in the future, Stassopoulos spent days traveling around the country, asking them himself.
Stassopoulos asks Aminah to imagine herself in 10 years’ time and describe what would be in her fridge. “Well, the refrigerator itself is going to be different, and it’s going to be double doors, maybe,” she said, looking into the distance wistfully. “And there’s going to be a bunch of snacks in there. In the freezer, there would be the ice cream my child likes.