Just figured out recently I'm in the cow path business.  

You create the cow path before you pave it.  

It's a bit like digging a hole so you can fill it up again. 

And when you're in the cow path business you unfortunately often step in cow shit. Occupational hazard.  

Looked it up on Google and found out that some people think you shouldn't pave cow paths. I think they need to take another look at how innovation actually happens, not how the would like to think it does. Imho, of course ymmv. (I don't really believe this, but..)