Another startup launches our idea

Have you ever found yourself working on a project or creating a business and at the time it’s going full throttle.. a competitor launches your idea. A competitor which has a 90% similar idea and has already established its self in the market. That happened to me today. They say great ideas are born at the same time all over the world. That’s probably true but is it those who are quickest to execute that take the market? We’ll see!

So what’s next?

First of all, there is no way I am going to give up on building this startup. It’s perseverance and flexibility that are factors of success, I am going to utilize them both. With a few small changes and some extra weeks in development I am going to add a new feature that tops the competition. I am going to have to reevaluate my strategy and put even more pressure behind going into private alpha.

Am I upset? Am I frustrated? Neither. In fact, I am loving it! Competition is just another driving force.

p.s. The fact that a relatively big competitor has just launched this technology can only be a verification that I am on the right track. And I’ve got some tricks (features) up my sleeve, they’ve never even thought about - I hope ;-).

Addition: I have received a lot of feedback on Twitter asking to reveal more details. I am waiting with this till we reach private alpha (which is most likely in a few weeks). Thank you for your patience.

Update: I’ve learned a great deal from a discussion based upon this post over at YC Hacker News, I encourage you to read it.

August 6, 2008 | Filed Under Startup Updates 

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    I'm glad to see you're putting a positive spin on this situation. Since this is relatively big competitor, they probably have a huge (over paid) marketing department that is utilizing brainstorming sessions, whiteboard meetings, etc. that you can benefit from just by staying in tune with. I'd keep a close eye on them to see in sudden shift in trends or features they add/delete. Let them be the research, you be the project. Eyes on the prize. Good luck!
 
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