[5][6] MON was developed by German management researcher Marc Gruber and Israeli entrepreneurship specialist Sharon Tal[7] as a strategic framework to help firms identify and capitalize on promising market opportunities based on their studies of hundreds of startups.

[8] A study of 500 technology ventures showed that the number of identified market opportunities and the variance (distance) among them have a lasting impact on the growth potential of the firm over time and its likelihood of subsequent diversification.

In the book, Gruber and Tal present MON as a template and a framework tailored for entrepreneurs, technology transfer offices (TTOs), startups, established organizations, and educators.

[7] In Entrepreneurial Strategy: Starting, Managing, and Scaling New Ventures (Shepherd & Patzelt, 2021), MON is described as a critical tool for helping entrepreneurs identify and evaluate market opportunities during the startup process.

Specifically, MOP is recognized for its role in identifying and evaluating potential market opportunities, which aligns with the framework's goal of guiding entrepreneurs in the iterative process of developing and testing a venture.

Sarasvathy wrote: MON offers a wide lens perspective for entrepreneurs to come up with a portfolio of market ideas, and then helps them to choose the one with highest potential as the starting point for applying lean startup.

The startup utilized the tool to cull and prioritize its options, aiding in minimizing risk and optimizing resource allocation for its pre-clinical stage endeavors in tackling sarcopenia and muscle-wasting diseases.

[19] MON was used in conjunction with Roger's Diffusion of Innovations Theory and Porter's Diamond Model to analyze the market opportunities for a connected cardiotocography (CTG) telemonitoring solution.

This approach allowed for a comprehensive examination of various factors influencing adoption, such as industry readiness, regulatory considerations, and customer acceptance, eventually guiding strategic decision-making for market entry and product development.

MON plays a key role in the first phase, known as "value search," where impact entrepreneurs use the tool to identify and map out a wide array of stakeholders, including those affected by the societal challenge.

By doing so, the tool helps impact startups systematically explore where to focus their efforts, ensuring that their initiatives align with stakeholder needs and contribute meaningfully to solving grand challenges.