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With the number of buzzwords and conflicting information that gets thrown around regarding the sources of opportunities and how to cultivate them, it is worth looking at the answers to common questions concerning the nature of opportunities.

 Should I be looking for opportunities in growth industries?If your passion and skill set take you there, then yes. What makes the opportunity valuable is its ability to be executed, to provide value to customers, and to be accomplished in a strategic manner, all within the context of your entrepreneurial thumbprint. In that respect, the type of industry isn’t as crucial to the value of the opportunity. Seeking opportunity in a “hot” industry just to be in a hot industry will do more harm than good, especially if that industry is at odds with your entrepreneurial thumbprint.

 What about established markets that are dominated by entrenched competitors?Keep in mind that new ventures can almost never compete on price. A new market entrant simply can’t tackle an entrenched competitor head on. If there is a strategic position that your venture can occupy that allows you to compete indirectly with existing market players, then the opportunity might not be a bad one.

 Should I be looking for “disruptive” opportunities?“Disruption” is a buzzword that is popular in tech startups from Silicon Valley. The term originated from Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen in the late ’90s.³ He defined the concept of “disruptive innovation” as a principle whereby entrenched market players could be unseated by smaller rivals who offered simpler or less costly solutions. The popularity of the term’s use to sell Silicon Valley tech startups to investors has eroded the meaning of the term to the point that it is irrelevant to entrepreneurs at large. Don’t get me wrong—disruptive technologies are a real thing and have a profound effect on shaping industries over the long term. However, disruption is not a strategy, and it shouldn’t be a major consideration when assessing an opportunity.