I wonder if anyone has niched down not into a vertical, but into a demographic. For example a lot of my clients are religious CEO's. And I'm contemplating just trying to niche into that demographic as opposed to an actual industry or vertical.
But it is a good idea I think if you can get into a large (enough) group of a certain demographic that doesn't bite (too much?) with your own beliefs and values.
you would have a level of rapport inherently with those people and can make those connections even easier.
So if your niche is for example custom IT security services for religious, well off business folks, if you don't align and empathize with that niche (e.g., you're an atheist), even if it's a monetary opportunity, you're going to feel dissonance.
At a broader level, this is why I think aligning with your company's mission helps when people can do that vs. taking a more agnostic approach to where you work.
"as opposed to" doesn't make sense as I don't think you can avoid "an actual industry"
There is definitely sub-differentiation within each industry that cater to religious principals. Look at ESG finance, which has existed and persisted in the pre-modern sense, e.g. plenty of money managers that claim differentiation by investing in firms that screen out obvious vices or work around lending restrictions in the Koran.