I look for exactly your state of mind where opportunities are ripe. I like companies that have incredible technology, have taken a while to get close to success, and are about ripe for it, but are deeply depressed in value because it takes patience to get in. They don't all have to be as distressed as here, but most of them have tiny market caps. Market cap is not, despite AF's very bad theory of how the world works, the determining factor. There are many factors involved.
I also see that the most distressed, often are subject to attack, BECAUSE they potentially are revolutionary. Less revolutionary companies fly under the radar and are also often good buys. But companies that are particularly revolutionary, usually have incredible amounts of attacking and shorting, which I believe is a part of the attempt to cause deep dilution, stress and frustration, by larger players who hope to buy for cheap, once the technology and regulatory risk are squeezed out.
Some of the reasons BP seems so dumb and often has avoided really helping many of these companies are that 1) buy too early, and the drive for success is lost, and the technology often gets shelved with no payout; 2) buy late, and it could be too expensive, and, in fact, you've allowed a potential rival to come into being that might take over the entire space, with revolutionary technology.
So they feign disinterest, do the bare minimum where it could be useful to them later, and work in the murky background with third-parties who help them "manage risks".
