Conventional wisdom has us believe that the modern tech entrepreneur sees some problem, builds a cool gadget or other and then magically rises to fame and incredible wealth.

I disagree with this notion.

Being an entrepreneur is about selling something. This does not have to be a solution - you can sell flower bouquets or energy drinks. This does not have to be a product - you can charge money for playing guitar at a birthday party. This does not even have to be anything tangible at all - you could simply be a bank or insurance provider.

Of course, having something to sell makes the world a lot simpler. Having a strong differentiating products makes it easier for you to sell over your competition. And VCs are suckers for quasi-monopolies, hence the focus on markets with little competition, hence the focus on building something new.

Do not let this take on entrepreneurship deter you. The failure rate among startups is notorious. As is the failure rate among other new businesses. However, conventional businesses have a powerful advantage: you can be reasonably sure of your product market fit. This is something that many startups struggle to achieve. Instead of focusing on operational excellence - having world-class service, strong marketing and a solid take of their finances - they must pour most of their resources into product development. There is a potentially enormous upside to this - a new market with little competition is what unicorns are born from. But the risks are immense.