The informational basis of entrepreneurial discovery

Scholars have identified four different roles played by entrepreneurs in the discovery of new venture opportunities. What each of these roles has in common is that the discovery process consists of the acquisition of specific, risk-reducing information. Uncertain returns from such investments deter some would-be entrepreneurs from making discoveries. This approach suggests that the vision to make entrepreneurial discoveries depends on making cost-effective informational investments, not on special talents possessed by only a few aspirants.