On very rare occasions, an invention can form the basis of an entirely new industry. Edison's invention of means for generation and distribution of electricity (so that his company could sell light bulbs) is an example of such an invention. So is the Cohen-Boyer gene-splicing invention, the Chakrabarty invention of human-made microorganisms and the Mullis invention of the polymerase chain reaction. Because such inventions have extraordinary commercial potential, the first question that one should ask about an invention in assessing commercial potential is "Is this THE BIG ONE of an inventor's career?"
Consider whether the invention could become the core technology of a particular industrial segment or could radically transform a number of existing industrial segments and, if so, why you believe that to be the case. Some indicators of an invention's having block buster potential are as follows: it appears that an entire industry could be decimated, e.g., the buggy whip industry; sharp ethical questions are raised, e.g, the cloning of the sheep named Dolly; fears are expressed that large numbers of people will be put out of work, e.g., robotics, etcetera.