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“Is your startup idea taken?” and why we love X for Y startups

andrewchen.co

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Re: “Is your startup idea taken?” and why we love X for Y startups

#181

Post by perl4ever »

smilekzs wrote: post #140
im3w1l wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Cars I'm far from an enthusiast, but even for me there are cars on the market with engines so weak that I don't like it. Apart from the engine, there are some nice technological features on modern cars, like parking cameras or even automatic parking. Then there are hybrid and electrical cars. > Bottle water Do you include sparkling water in that? Because they can taste very different. > Computer monitor Size. Resol…

wrt. Cars, there's a whole can of worms which IMHO matters to every car shopper (whether they think they care about it or not): Ergonomics. Every driver may have their own preferences on where important controls (pedals, steering, AC temperature, volume, etc.) should be; every passenger (including the driver) may have preferences on the hip point, seating position, interior material, etc.. In reality these are (right…

People complaining about CVTs is a cliche. On the other hand, I generally like them, and really dislike any transmission that doesn't shift smoothly (although then I bought a car with one for other reasons).

One reason people may think cars are all the same is because auto journalism has atrophied. I think partly because good journalism is unhelpful in selling ads now, and partly because nobody cares about it for making buying decisions now anyway.

I remember when every single review of the Kia Niro said its transmission was atrocious. They don't say that anymore. But I test drove one, and I don't think anything's changed, probably they just are better at avoiding people who might give a bad review.

Re: “Is your startup idea taken?” and why we love X for Y startups

#182

Post by AceyMan »

beachy wrote: post #125
smogcutter wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely agreed, but I think part of what distorts this perspective for tech products is often the influence of VC. If you need to convince investors that you’re lined up for explosive growth, something like “we’re Tinder with branding that captures a different market segment” is probably a less compelling story than “we’re Tinder with an AI gimmick that will crush our competitors, burn their villages, and salt the…

To address your unrelated tangent, as a pedant (as I think many techy types are), I personally appreciate the extra effort put in to qualify the statements. Your "you’re 100% right that all bottled water is functionally identical" makes me bristle. I only drink tap at home, but I know that bottled water is drawn from very different sources, and certainly some has quite different taste and taste is certainly a functio…

> [...] because I know that bottled water is drawn from very different sources

Errrm, except that's not the case whatsoever.

Citation, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pepsi-say-aquafina-tap-wat...

/pedantry

Re: “Is your startup idea taken?” and why we love X for Y startups

#183

Post by unlinked_dll »

cabaalis wrote: post #13

Do I have any of these "realms" wrong? It seems the best startup idea would be one that adds a new "realm" rather than rinses and repeats for another direct object. Uber for = simplify a process that involves transporting or delivering something somewhere Tinder for = rate/advertise/connect some product nearby Birchbox for = periodically refill a perishable or consumable Airbnb for = locate and book some experience o…

I mean the way you make oodles money is taking market share (Uber) or creating new markets (AWS). Both are valid strategies - either take someone else’s customers or create a new way for people to spend money.

Re: “Is your startup idea taken?” and why we love X for Y startups

#184

Post by zaphirplane »

paggle wrote: post #131
dheera wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Knowing Subway's market cap now, would you invest in them as an angel investor? You'd be a billionaire right now. They didn't become big by differentiating product. Their sandwiches aren't that special. They became big by coming into existence where people wanted sandwiches.

No, Subway's biggest differentiator was and continues to be the low cost of building one, compared to a McDonalds. You can build out a Subway for $200,000 in some cases compared to $1-2 million for a McDonalds. That's why they're the most popular franchise restaurant.

That’s from the sellers point of view and doesn’t translate into consumer demand to keep the ventures profitable and have a competitive ROI.

A 100 cheese and tomato sandwich shops are even cheaper and would probably go broke or a paper airplane franchise ...etc I suppose there is a relationship between profits and the establishment cost however customer demand is king

Re: “Is your startup idea taken?” and why we love X for Y startups

#185

Post by zaphirplane »

baddox wrote: post #65
kristopolous wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's try it another way, "there can be more than one sandwich shop"

And how do you decide which sandwich shop to go to when you want a sandwich? You've just answered the question "how does a sandwich shop differentiate itself?"

I don’t think the answer is constant.

Taste, value for money, what I feel like, distance, change and my feelings about healthy eating that day. The shop can influence taste, value for money and change by specials

Re: “Is your startup idea taken?” and why we love X for Y startups

#186

Post by tybit »

MuffinFlavored wrote: post #161
robomartin wrote: post #56

Very often engineering types can only think of differentiation in technical terms. I think I can say that, in practice, at least in mature markets, differentiation is more about positioning and marketing rather than almost anything else. Easy examples: - Cars - Bottled water - Computer monitors The vast majority of automobiles produced today have reached a level of design and manufacturing maturity that makes them pr…

> How do they differentiate and sell you cars then? Branding, positioning, marketing. If I'm in the market for a BMW M3, it is because it is a stellar performance car. A Toyota Camry does not fill those roles.

> Sure, we can point at the extremes and find differences, but I am not talking about that, I am focusing on what the vast majority of consumers look for or need in a car.

Re: “Is your startup idea taken?” and why we love X for Y startups

#187

Post by swat535 »

jandrese wrote: post #24
dheera wrote: post #3

Besides the "X for Y" approach, I find it laughable that every time someone says they are doing just "X" that the usual Bay Area response is "How are you differentiating from your competitors?" Go ask how UPS differentiates themselves from FedEx. Or how Shell differentiates themselves from Chevron. In reality, while product differentiation is good, unless there already exists a monopoly that has eaten every inch of t…

A more direct question would be "Why should a potential customer choose you over $established_competitor_x?" If your best answer is "We are adding diversity to the marketplace", then you're probably doomed. If you aren't better in some way (faster, cheaper, better tech, etc...) then people are going to naturally gravitate towards the incumbent who has already shown some staying power and has infrastructure in place t…

How do you justify Coke vs Pepsi with this logic?

Re: “Is your startup idea taken?” and why we love X for Y startups

#188

Post by beachy »

AceyMan wrote: post #182
beachy wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To address your unrelated tangent, as a pedant (as I think many techy types are), I personally appreciate the extra effort put in to qualify the statements. Your "you’re 100% right that all bottled water is functionally identical" makes me bristle. I only drink tap at home, but I know that bottled water is drawn from very different sources, and certainly some has quite different taste and taste is certainly a functio…

> [...] because I know that bottled water is drawn from very different sources Errrm, except that's not the case whatsoever. Citation, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pepsi-say-aquafina-tap-wat... /pedantry

> Errrm, except that's not the case whatsoever.

It absolutely is often the case.

You have cited one article about Pepsi's bottled water coming from a tap.

That does not make it universally true at all. Bottle water around here is frequently drawn from springs, rivers etc. It is often the cause of bitter arguments about whether the companies are paying enough for it.

Re: “Is your startup idea taken?” and why we love X for Y startups

#189

Post by amit_m »

throwaway1777 wrote: post #179
MuffinFlavored wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How do they differentiate and sell you cars then? Branding, positioning, marketing. If I'm in the market for a BMW M3, it is because it is a stellar performance car. A Toyota Camry does not fill those roles.

That’s positioning and marketing too since you don’t really need the performance. For 99% of the time you use the car they’re about the same. If only life were all twisties and race tracks, but in reality it’s mostly traffic jams.

I happen to own a Toyota Camry and a BMW 5 series (not M5 or any other specialty model). Even for day-to-day errands, the BMW is a pleasure to drive. There is a lot of feedback and sharp responses from the steering wheel and throttle.

The Camry on the other hand is one of the least pleasing cars to drive. The suspension feels “floaty” and the steering wheel is completely dead. It also feels completely outdated and cheap and the UI is bad.

Re: “Is your startup idea taken?” and why we love X for Y startups

#190

Post by cable2600 »

autoexec wrote: post #133
PowerfulWizard wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the marketing differentiation works best when it is driven by factors that are hard to measure and control, but that are perceived as high value, like flavour and style. When buying bottled water, the water is free, you're buying the bottle, the refrigeration, then real-estate & inventory space, and you can compare it on those dimensions, but if you are sensitive to the taste that can override the other facto…

> but if you are sensitive to the taste that can override the other factors. I can taste the difference between certain bottled water brands and that really is the number one concern for me. The differences are much less apparent to me with spring water than in the filtered tap water brands like Dasani and Aquafina (who often add salt and other minerals). For spring water brands I try to buy ones that aren't owned by…

The real spring water isn't clear, it is muddy. They have to filter it just like the drinking water. They add salt and minerals for taste.

I have been told it is better to use tap water with a filter like Zero Water or a reverse osmosis filter on the water pipes.

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