Take a look at this: - Friendster - Myspace - orkut - Lycos - Altavista What is common with all these above ? They were one of the first if not THE first

Take a look at this: - Friendster - Myspace - orkut - Lycos - Altavista What is common with all these above ? They were one of the first if not THE first to enter the market and they were all destroyed ultimately by facebook and google. If there is one evidence like this, then you can conclude that being first in the market is not everything. Mind you, these companies were no minnows during their time. Let me say this. If your project fails, it will not be because you were second or last in the market. Most likely, it will be due to bad execution, unfit market, no validation, poor management, founder conflict, shitty product, no marketing and others.