Ask HN: Am I too late with my startup idea?

#1

Post by Justen » Sun, Sep 16, 2012, 8:19 PM UTC

My friend and I have been working on an idea that we believe has great potential. This was somewhat validated by hearing yesterday that a competitor is releasing their product at the end of the month which is very similar to ours. However, we've only been working on it for about 2 months and need maybe another 2-4 months to release.

One thing that's similar between both of our products is that users build up their profile with ranking/awards as they interact with the site, and since we're targeting the same group of users, we're worried that since we are going to be beat to the market, those users won't be interested in signing up with our product and building up their profile again.

What should we ask ourselves to see if we should abandon our project, or continue? Any other insight?

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late with my startup idea?

#2

Post by benologist » Sun, Sep 16, 2012, 8:24 PM UTC

Continue. Your only competitor is "nobody cares you exist" and the same goes for the other dudes. You'll both have beaten the odds if you reach the point where people are actually choosing between your products.

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late with my startup idea?

#3

Post by vesky » Sun, Sep 16, 2012, 8:26 PM UTC

I'm not a developer or a founder but I hope I can help.

My advice would be to look at the positive side of this. Watch carefully what works and what doesn't work in your competitors product.

See what problems they face and fix them through your own service. That way, when you release your product, even if it's a few months after, you're going to have all the problems they have fixed.

Long story short, you could use their product as your own "alpha testing" so you can make your own better than theirs. Hope it helps. Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late with my startup idea?

#4

Post by mtrimpe » Sun, Sep 16, 2012, 8:27 PM UTC

Will you be able to stay ahead of the competition in the long run? Do you feel that you have a longer term vision than them?

Our startup is in a very similar spot where around our launch date 5 other competitors launched; now there are over 40.

Most of our competitors though are stuck in the niche that for us was just the most obvious place to start. We're starting to expand to a much broader market and have a multi-year roadmap of features and functionality to add; which means that we're by no means out of the race yet.

In general, it's always a marathon. There are always others and there always will be. The real question is if you will be able to last longer and get farther than they will.

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late with my startup idea?

#5

Post by dylanhassinger » Sun, Sep 16, 2012, 8:42 PM UTC

Ignore the competition, it's just a distraction from finishing your product.

But that doesn't mean you don't need to pivot. For any startup, but especially a community-driven site like this, you need a Custom Acquisition strategy.

Why will people sign up for your app? If that's not practical, maybe you need to downsize your idea/pivot. Marketing is harder than building!

More here - http://startupbook.net

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late with my startup idea?

#6

Post by Justen » Sun, Sep 16, 2012, 9:30 PM UTC

mtrimpe wrote: post #4

Will you be able to stay ahead of the competition in the long run? Do you feel that you have a longer term vision than them? Our startup is in a very similar spot where around our launch date 5 other competitors launched; now there are over 40. Most of our competitors though are stuck in the niche that for us was just the most obvious place to start. We're starting to expand to a much broader market and have a multi-…

See that's the thing, I know what we eventually want to do after we release and some of them are very large ideas to integrate which will take a lot of time. I believe that our product idea is way better than anyone else's, but the fact is this competitor hasn't really shown off what their product is besides in a post outlying the general "obvious place to start" as you say.

There doesn't really exist a service that we have in mind currently, so it's hard to not see it as a race. Especially if they release first, then a couple months later, we release practically the same thing and then we start work on what makes us different. But what's to stop them from copying our extended features?

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late with my startup idea?

#7

Post by mikecane » Sun, Sep 16, 2012, 9:39 PM UTC

This story might help: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/07/15/vince-gilli...

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late with my startup idea?

#8

Post by cloanic » Sun, Sep 16, 2012, 10:44 PM UTC

In the end I'd recommend having a great UI. That alone could be the difference of either product "winning" so to speak.

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late with my startup idea?

#9

Post by OafTobark » Mon, Sep 17, 2012, 12:26 AM UTC

Keep going. You won't attract 100% of the same users even if your MVP are similar and the long term evolution of the product will change drastically

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late with my startup idea?

#10

Post by alid » Mon, Sep 17, 2012, 1:46 AM UTC

"The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time" - Henry Ford. I say stay on your vision. There are a lot of variables in your competitors' execution that could affect their traction. Execute well and focus on a kick-*ss value proposition, nail your brand and price-point, and add a bit of emotional design for good measure. You could then find that they fear you, not the other way around. Best of luck!