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Why your startup won't make it

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Re: Why your startup won't make it

#11

Post by jonpaul »

mattmanser wrote: post #8

So, you had an idea, your idea was validated because there are competitors and someone else just got funding to make that particular idea. And then, because you'd have competition, you gave up. And our startups won't make it because we'd give up if we found a competitor, which most people actually think of as a good thing? A very odd post. Feels more like an attempt to justify your decision.

Agreed. Competition validates a market. It's easy to get discourage by competition, but entrepreneurs need to let competition fuel them. Fuel them to work smarter, harder, and faster.

Re: Why your startup won't make it

#13

Post by healthyhippo »

I agree that competition validates a market, but as an entrepreneur I'm still hesitant to launch a competing product that I had an idea for. Here's why:

1. My competitors may be ahead of me. If something is just out there launched, that means that someone's been working on it for 3-6 months prior. I'm at month 0 and have catch-up to do.

2. Sometimes, competitors are just really good-- like their products are fully adequate for your specific needs, and probably pretty good for a bunch of other people as well. I have a hard time saying I should pursue something if I'm content using someone else's product.

The whole issue is that this leads to a conundrum. If my idea is fresh and new, then market validation becomes difficult because competing startups are in stealth mode. Only 6 months later do I say "Shit, that was actually an awesome idea". The only thing I can rely on are my own convictions and market tests that customer need exists.

Re: Why your startup won't make it

#14

Post by mattmanser »

Void_ wrote: post #10
mattmanser wrote: post #8

So, you had an idea, your idea was validated because there are competitors and someone else just got funding to make that particular idea. And then, because you'd have competition, you gave up. And our startups won't make it because we'd give up if we found a competitor, which most people actually think of as a good thing? A very odd post. Feels more like an attempt to justify your decision.

I'm sorry if it didn't make sense to you. I posted it, because I would find enjoyable reading it. Maybe you're just not kind of reader I tried to target, but I believe there are some.

The title is a bit inflammatory, that's all.

Re: Why your startup won't make it

#15

Post by wonster »

You need to think about the whole market size. What if the existing note taking applications like Simple Note are utilizied by only a tiny percentage of the possible market? Intead of just giving up, think of what other features you could introduce to beat Simple Note. Have you done any research to see how they are even doing? Don't be discouraged by competition. Google always pops up in my mind whenever I hear a story like this.

Re: Why your startup won't make it

#16

Post by orblivion »

mattmanser wrote: post #14
Void_ wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry if it didn't make sense to you. I posted it, because I would find enjoyable reading it. Maybe you're just not kind of reader I tried to target, but I believe there are some.

The title is a bit inflammatory, that's all.

It fits a certain attention-getting trend with these titles, really.

* Why [bad thing will happen to you]

* Why I gave up [popular service].

* Why [popular tool] sucks [optional], and how to fix it [/optional]

There are a few more but I can't think of them now.

Re: Why your startup won't make it

#17

Post by benatkin »

http://github.com/scrod/nv/blob/master/License.txt

You wanted a mac client and you wanted tags.

You settled on a web interface "replacement".

Somehow I think the itch will return soon.

When it does, you can just fork Notational Velocity, add books/tags/whatever, make it sync with a web app, and get back in business!

Re: Why your startup won't make it

#18

Post by guynamedloren »

I couldn't disagree more with the author of this post. When I think of entrepreneurship, I think of innovation. I think of creativity. I think of drive. The author expresses none of these qualities - especially drive. I'm all for knowing when to stop, but this is just pathetic.

Congrats - you're a quitter. The next time you feel like spreading your pessimism, keep it to yourself. I don't think your little rant is benefiting anybody.

“The only real failure in life is the failure to try.” Trying is what drives humanity - it's all we have. If nobody ever tried, we'd have nothing.

Re: Why your startup won't make it

#19

Post by sudafed »

benatkin wrote: post #17

http://github.com/scrod/nv/blob/master/License.txt You wanted a mac client and you wanted tags. You settled on a web interface "replacement". Somehow I think the itch will return soon. When it does, you can just fork Notational Velocity, add books/tags/whatever, make it sync with a web app, and get back in business!

>When it does, you can just fork Notational Velocity, add books/tags/whatever, make it sync with a web app, and get back in business!

Awesome! That should be easy then, because Notational Velocity already has tags, and it already syncs with Simplenote — very well, in fact:

http://scrod.posterous.com/interesting-facts-about-simplenot...

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