Depending on your career background or personal interests, you often develop an intuition for recognizing which companies have real potential especially in the stock market. For example, as a software engineer, I'm naturally more familiar with the tech industry, so I can usually tell which tech companies are strong and which ones are likely to struggle. That kind of insight builds over time, but once you have it, it sticks with you.

Rule of thumb: stay away from biotech companies, automotive companies, and any company with 'Therapeutics' in its name, regardless of your experience in the field.