15 Cheap Stocks That Could Launch the 'Next Big Thing'

Identifying the "next big thing" before it takes off takes a lot of skill, a little luck, and a leap of faith. After all, if you wait until a new product or technology is flying off the shelves, investors' optimistic expectations of future growth are likely already reflected in the stock's price.

The Morningstar Exponential Technologies Index is a good place to start your search. This 200-stock index helps investors identify companies across sectors that are in the early stages of developing or using technologies that we believe will transform society. We define "exponential technologies" as advances that are likely to gain more widespread use and create outsize economic benefit for the companies that develop and use them. See the index's current holdings here.