I've had a similar experience - it was pretty discouraging the first time but I soon realized I should still go for it and trust I could come up with a better solution.
Other startup got there before me. Stop or continue?
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Re: Other startup got there before me. Stop or continue?
#62Continue!!! If your idea/product/service has a market, then it is likely that competition will ensue anyways. Leaders in every field can reap huge profits from an early entrance. the case of now defunct FreeMarkets (aqcuired by its biggest competitor) in the procurement filed is one. Basically, FreeMarkets invented the concept of electronic reverse auction to buy goods and services using an internet based platform, back in 1999! Now, companies all across the globe such as Ivalua [http://www.ivalua.com] have developed this same technology and are selling on pennies to the dollar of what FreeMarkets use to charge 10 years ago. My point is to persevere and try to ride the normal product cycle.
Re: Other startup got there before me. Stop or continue?
#63Nobody should work for months on an iPhone app. The platform is not friendly to that style of app. Work for weeks, launch and test.
Agreed.
On the lighter side, there is a chance that Apple might release some other gadget and people will go after it if you are going to take months to release an app for iphone ;)
Re: Other startup got there before me. Stop or continue?
#64Keep going. Although, if your disposition is such that you get discouraged from a press release , you should stop and assess if you really have the personality and disposition for such a marketplace. Rarely ever do you see a successful marketplace with only enough room for a single product/solution. There is no free lunch, and an "overnight success" takes an average of 3 years to build. Along way will be many roadblo…
And anyway, in the worse case if after launching the app it doesn't become successful, you can always leverage it to get well paid consulting developing iphone apps. And consulting gigs are a great way to keep afloat while developing your next products :-)
Indeed! I made one iPhone app last year, gave it away for free, got a lot of exposure, and have been doing enough consulting to (finally) leave my day job @ Y! and focus on my own big (iPhone related) project.
Re: Other startup got there before me. Stop or continue?
#65Amazon was not the first bookstore. Google was not the first search engine. Did they give up?
I'm sure there's just as many failed startups that bone-headedly try to keep going.
I think the important thing is to keep evaluating based on user reactions and market size. You might find that there's a segment of users that want to do something slightly different. Even if you're the first mover, there will always be competition.
That said, I think Amazon knew that eCommerce was going to be a pretty big market, and the Google knew lots of people searched. Even if they didn't get most of the pie, some of the pie was still big enough. If he made an iPhone app to find recipes for star wars fans with allergies (or something with a niche market) without potential for enlarging of the market, it may be time to consider something else.
Re: Other startup got there before me. Stop or continue?
#66You are toast against a machine with funding and a 20-person team, unless that team is lead by incompetents or staffed with incompetents. Sorry. But that's one of the main reasons why getting venture is a good idea: part-timers or self-funders can't possibly bring the same resources.
wow, worst advice ever!
funding is not a guarantee of success. in fact, a funded team has a harder challenge than the non-funded team. as soon as you take funding, the window for liquidity shrinks dramatically. venture investors want their money to grow by 10-20x. if things don't ramp in the way expected, then the investors will walk away and the entrepreneur will be left with a business that can't sustain itself and has to shut down. the more money involved, the less risks that can be taken. chances are very good that this funded team will not exist in 2-3 years.
Re: Other startup got there before me. Stop or continue?
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
you have to believe that your way is the best way to solve the problem. I disagree. You have to believe that your way is Good Enough. Good Enough plus effective promotion equals sales. Best is a recipe for Duke Nukem Forever.
Sure, if Sales is your only goal. I'm not talking about being a perfectionist, but I'm talking about putting out the best product that you damn well can. Why aim for mediocre?
Good Enough isn't mediocre, it's good (enough).
If you're selling to NASA, Good Enough might mean you machine it to the thousandth of the inch, with the best possible materials.
If you're selling to Joe Schmoe, Good Enough might mean you machine it to the tenth of the inch, with materials purchased to trade off quality and price.
And both of those products might be just what their respective markets want, once you look at availability, price, etc.
Good Enough is Good Enough.
edit: Besides, has anybody ever seen a product where engineering didn't list ways to make it better, if given more time and money?
Re: Other startup got there before me. Stop or continue?
#68stop your project but try to build on that concept and improve it. And let them know
Re: Other startup got there before me. Stop or continue?
#69Be pragmatic and join them.
Re: Other startup got there before me. Stop or continue?
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem isn't the iPhone's specs, it's the distribution network.
It would be a grievous mistake to assume that the current limitations of the distribution network will remain in place forever.
So? We're talking about building iPhones apps today, not two years from now.