Ask HN: Cloning a US startup for a european country ?

#1

Post by al_ » Wed, Feb 17, 2010, 10:53 AM UTC

Hi everybody, I was wondering what do you guys think about cloning a US startup for a european market ?

There is this american startup that has a great product, but there isn't any equivalent in my country ( France ). I'm thinking about cloning it because I felt in love with the product and think it could be a success in my country. Originally I didn't want to "clone" any product, but seeing this one really made me want to develop it. Anyone has done it before ? What are the different things to consider before starting such a project ? Would it be viewed as "bad" to do such a thing ?

Re: Ask HN: Cloning a US startup for a european country ?

#2

Post by david927 » Wed, Feb 17, 2010, 10:57 AM UTC

It happens all the time and it's a great business model.

There have been a lot of successes with this. I'm shocked it doesn't happen more often.

There's no moral imperative saying it's "bad". In fact, quite the opposite. Just don't violate copyright.

Re: Ask HN: Cloning a US startup for a european country ?

#3

Post by medianama » Wed, Feb 17, 2010, 11:22 AM UTC

Go for it. Just make sure you are not violating the copyright.

Re: Ask HN: Cloning a US startup for a european country ?

#4

Post by jkaljundi » Wed, Feb 17, 2010, 11:25 AM UTC

Go for it, just do it! If it's an useful service, you'll make people in France happy. They are your customers. No reason to feel bad because the US services don't want to provide their services locally in European countries (and no, translation does not equal localization).

Re: Ask HN: Cloning a US startup for a european country ?

#5

Post by pkirk » Wed, Feb 17, 2010, 11:27 AM UTC

I often think about that many times. But I believe the best solution is to get in touch for a collaboration.

Re: Ask HN: Cloning a US startup for a european country ?

#6

Post by forcer » Wed, Feb 17, 2010, 11:29 AM UTC

It can work but you need to evaluate the local market and see the differences. I had a few projects were this strategy failed because the market was different and I ignored it because was so convinced it must work. Also, I have one project which I still think will work but will take time (maybe years) before it can start to be profitable as the market is not mature enough.

Re: Ask HN: Cloning a US startup for a european country ?

#7

Post by swombat » Wed, Feb 17, 2010, 11:34 AM UTC

forcer wrote: post #6

It can work but you need to evaluate the local market and see the differences. I had a few projects were this strategy failed because the market was different and I ignored it because was so convinced it must work. Also, I have one project which I still think will work but will take time (maybe years) before it can start to be profitable as the market is not mature enough.

Please don't sign your posts. It's against the guidelines. If people want to know more about you they can click on your username.

See: http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Please don't sign comments, especially with your url. They're already signed with your username. If other users want to learn more about you, they can click on it to see your profile.

Re: Ask HN: Cloning a US startup for a european country ?

#8

Post by 3KWA » Wed, Feb 17, 2010, 11:46 AM UTC

watch Fabrice Grinda at TedXParis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJK3_vpfoQc (in French) - implementing ideas taken from one country into another is what he does for a living.

Re: Ask HN: Cloning a US startup for a european country ?

#9

Post by revorad » Wed, Feb 17, 2010, 11:48 AM UTC

Please clone mint.com :-)

Re: Ask HN: Cloning a US startup for a european country ?

#10

Post by forcer » Wed, Feb 17, 2010, 12:08 PM UTC

swombat wrote: post #7

forcer wrote: post #6

It can work but you need to evaluate the local market and see the differences. I had a few projects were this strategy failed because the market was different and I ignored it because was so convinced it must work. Also, I have one project which I still think will work but will take time (maybe years) before it can start to be profitable as the market is not mature enough.

Please don't sign your posts. It's against the guidelines. If people want to know more about you they can click on your username. See: http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Please don't sign comments, especially with your url. They're already signed with your username. If other users want to learn more about you, they can click on it to see your profile.

Sorry, my bad. Signature removed.