Founders Play Your Own Game

3 Scales of Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Fundable by VCs and many Angels

Main Street Entrepreneurship (Small Business / Lifestyle)

Mighty Middle (Mid-Potential)

Venture Scale (Unicorn Potential; Extreme Scale)

Hundreds of thousands; Very low millions ($10^6)

A few million to tens of millions ($10^7~$10^8)

Hundreds of millions (>=$10^9)

Potential value in 5-10 years Addressable Market Size in 5-10 years (including growth)

Blue Pond (Small region, small niche)

Blue Lake (National, international niche)

Blue Ocean (Large national, international market)

•Differentiation within city / neighborhood •Relationships with customers

•National differentiation •Moderate fixed costs (product design / refinement) •Brand / reputation for quality •Moderate learning curves

•Network effects •High fixed costs (product design / refinement) •Strong Patents •Strong learning curves

Common Sources of Competitive Advantage

Fast (<1 year)

Moderate (1-2 years)

Slow (5+ years)

Speed to Financial Self Sufficiency

Note: Scale potential is based on a combination of addressable market size, sources of competitive advantage, and multiples. It is a judgment and may vary across evaluators, be imperfect, and evolve.

Potential for High Returns for Entrepreneur

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Source: Ben Hallen and Ed Hallen, Re-Considering th e “Mighty Middle” of Entrepreneurship

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