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The Copycat Benefit for Startups

Started by Benjamin Yoskovitz · 3 months ago

A few people have told me that pitching the “first mover advantage” for a startup isn’t always the best thing. Being first doesn’t guarantee success. If anything, being first is fraught with more peril; since you don’t have anyone to co ... Continue reading »

9 comments

  • TigerTom

    4 months ago

    There's sense in this. It boils down to whether a. There's a demand for the product b. Whether a fat profit can be made from it and c. Whether you can do it a lot better than the originator.
    reply
  • SalineVance

    4 months ago

    Ben,

    Your article last week on the "Big Bang" generated some great discussion, as this post will likely do, too.

    In order to have that "first mover" advantage, you need to really embody the “Ready-Fire-Aim” approach, as I described previously. If an idea or product is so great, then somebody has got to go first, so why not me? If you hit the market first, and then have to update/improve, that's OK. That said, as I also described previously, you risk that consumers will tire of the boy who cried “Wolf!” too often, with all the iterative releases.

    As for me? I'd rather be "first-est with the most-est."
    reply
  • Bonnie

    4 months ago

    It's nice to have original ideas but copycatting is called free enterprise. Maybe it encourages good competition after all.
    reply
  • Petitehye

    4 months ago

    Hi Ben, you got your point. Sometimes the followers can be more successful than the first movers. However, not in every cases because there are most of the time the first movers never share their secrets.
    reply
  • rich

    4 months ago

    Capitalism guarantees this kind of entrepreneurial exploitation.. though I confess you make a lot of points I hadn't considered regarding "copycats"
    reply
  • Loic

    4 months ago

    It's true that "copycats" have the great advantage of choosing better paths to success by avoiding those of "first-movers" that didn't work. It's hard for me to admit this, being in the process of creating a first-mover business, but I guess you have to face the reality in order to do a better job in sustaining a market leadership. It's also true that if you want to be successful in the long-term, you have to keep innovating. That's why I am always writing down new features to add to the business later on. Executing those new features will be another challenge, but that's what makes entrepreneurship so thrilling :-). Once again, great post, Tks!
    reply
  • Kris Washer

    4 months ago

    It's easy to copy the leader of a good innovation as it lowers your cost to break into a new market.
    reply
  • Mehdi Akiki

    4 months ago

    In my opinion, the best product wins.
    reply
  • Rebecca Laffar-Smith

    3 months ago

    I think the important thing to remember is that balance breeds the greatest success. So often, the 'first-movers' are focused on the product! They're so tuned into the product and breakthrough that they forget other, vital elements of running a business.

    Those who follow up take that initiative but because they're not 'all-product' they've got a broader view and an eye on the consumer market.

    If someone with a unique idea kept a tap on every element of the business they'd have far more success.
    reply

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