New industries pop up all the time, whether by accident – think of the popularity of mobile phone texting – or the mass commercialisation of a clever piece of science.
Less hi-tech triggers include new regulations, much maligned by the wider business community, but actually a tried and tested means of spurring entrepreneurs – and chancers – into action.
The problem is that regulations that provide incentives – whether barriers to entry, grants or subsidies – can vanish as swiftly as they appear: the recent fiasco over the renewable energy feed-in tariff (FIT) is just the latest high-profile example.
