Most every growth investor is looking for that small company today that brings massive returns. Such powerhouses do have to start from somewhere, after all -- Amazon and  once had market caps under $1 billion.

Recognizing those future winners when they are still in the small-cap phase is extremely challenging. However, they can be a bit easier to spot once they've become mid-cap stocks, with market caps in the $2 billion to $10 billion range. Obviously, nobody can guarantee any such company will lead its industry segment or become a multi-bagger. But in the views of three Motley Fool contributors, these three companies have forged paths that could take them to such a level.

Jake Lerch (Duolingo): OK, let me be clear: For language-learning platform Duolingo to deliver truly massive returns, it needs to grow -- a lot. Right now, Duolingo's (NASDAQ: DUOL) market cap is $6.5 billion. Even if it quadrupled its market cap to $26 billion, it would still be only about a tenth the size of a more established tech stock like .

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Source Fool.com