From the time of trade ships and expeditions to flea markets and bazaars, innovation has always paid attention to expanding or creating new markets. The best innovators question whether they are in the right markets or can create new ones at the same time that they consider which platforms and products they’ll be creating. Markets ignored by traditional players have become fertile ground for new innovations by disruptive players.

For example, Dell tapped into under-met need for mail-order, custom computers. Tapping into their expertise across much of the innovation spectrum, using fierce price pressure and integrated customer service, manufacturing and distribution systems, Michael Dell went from a $1,000 startup to a global leader setting the bar for e-commerce and other systems. Pushback around quality for bottom-price internal components and customer service made Dell a prime example of the challenge of aggressive combinations of new markets, pricing and distribution systems.