I compete with http://favstar.fm I think Tim is a pretty nice guy. I'd buy him a beer.
I honestly didn't get what favstar is trying to do. What's your site?
Ask HN: Do you hate your competitors?
11–17 of 17 posts
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate your competitors?
#12I compete with http://favstar.fm I think Tim is a pretty nice guy. I'd buy him a beer.
I honestly didn't get what favstar is trying to do. What's your site?
"We asked some of our users who've been coming here for a while. @wondroushippo summarized it well - 'A site tracking what you, your friends, and everyone else is favoriting on Twitter.'" @ http://favstar.fm/faq
According to this, they have to ask their users what they do. I find it hilarious.
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate your competitors?
#13Does Microsoft hate competitors? Yes.
Microsoft is not a monolithic entity. Might one of their famous executives hate certain competitors? Yes. Do their employees, on the whole, hate the competitors that exist in their myriad markets? Probably not.
So if Steve Ballmer = Microsoft, then sure, Microsoft hates their competitors. But if not, then no, they don't.
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate your competitors?
#14We decided to invite the competition over to have a few beers with us. Now we use the relationship with them to fuel our own competitive streak and to enhance team cohesion. Just so as long you keep focusing on your own customers, and solving problems your own way, it works.
"Now we use the relationship with them to fuel our own competitive streak and to enhance team cohesion."
It's human to feel threatened, to take offence, to mistrust, and misjudge. Even people who try to be noble tend to do it, however there seem to be great benefits for people (like yourselves) who can put themselves in a position to learn from their competition. Thanks for sharing.
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate your competitors?
#15I like my competitors. I don't think about them much (weird, and potentially dangerous, I know), and I would never link to them, but I do respect them.
I'm currently looking for a blue ocean strategy that will erase any competition, but regardless, I hope we all eat well.
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate your competitors?
#16I dont hate my competitors, without them it'd be like running a race all alone. You dont know if your running too fast or too slow cause you have nobody to compare yourself to, its just you running down the track by your lonesome.
Re: Ask HN: Do you hate your competitors?
#17On a lot of things I've worked on competitors were a great thing - you can see their mistakes and correct them ahead of time.
But when you first discover a new one who's doing a better job its always a downer. Founders can get really depressed when a better-funded competitor comes out of stealth one day. The lowest lows I've experienced on startup projects routinely stem from the first 24hrs after we've discovered a new competitor. Especially when the CEO gets spooked there can be crazy emails, spec changes, scared/angry all-hands meetings etc.