Demand-driven innovations can, at best, develop and extend existing markets incrementally. These innovations usually come in the form of product extensions or process innovations. While valuable, they do not create disruptive new markets. Evidence shows that disruptive new markets are actually created in a haphazard manner when a new technology gets pushed onto a market. This kind of innovation process is called "supply push" by economists, and it has a peculiar property: Since innovation leads demand, inventors have to aim at a very imprecise target. The individuals or companies that create radically new markets are not necessarily the ones that scale them into mass markets. This paper examines the characteristics of colonizers and consolidators and explains the market role of each one. [BNET Annotation]

How to turn someone else's idea into a big business.