This is spot on. I've been vegetarian for a long time. I have seen a drastic change in the availability of vegetarian options at restaurants and grocery stores. It makes it easier for someone who isn't vegetarian to choose to have a vegetarian meal.

All the people that bought the original Tesla Roadster paved the way for the Model 3. The people that originally created a market for energy efficient bulbs enabled economies of scale to allow those bulbs to become mainstream.

I wouldn't diminish the role of early adopters in shaping culture and the economy.