DISQUS

Instigator Blog: The Copycat Benefit for Startups

  • TigerTom · 1 year 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.
  • SalineVance · 1 year 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."
  • Bonnie · 1 year ago
    It's nice to have original ideas but copycatting is called free enterprise. Maybe it encourages good competition after all.
  • Petitehye · 1 year 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.
  • rich · 1 year ago
    Capitalism guarantees this kind of entrepreneurial exploitation.. though I confess you make a lot of points I hadn't considered regarding "copycats"
  • Loic · 1 year 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!
  • Kris Washer · 1 year ago
    It's easy to copy the leader of a good innovation as it lowers your cost to break into a new market.
  • Mehdi Akiki · 1 year ago
    In my opinion, the best product wins.
  • Rebecca Laffar-Smith · 1 year 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.