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I don't have statistics, but let's say a lot fail at step 1 or 2. Generally developers build something without validating it is worth building first. Plenty o

I don't have statistics, but let's say a lot fail at step 1 or 2. Generally developers build something without validating it is worth building first. Plenty of great ideas out there, but find a market before you build. If you find the market, you can then figure out monetization and decide if it is worth building, but usually, I'd say the vast majority fail between step 1 & 2 as you have listed them. Hardest part depends on who you are and what is happening. e.g. if you are a dev who is afraid to get in front of people then usually that is the hardest part and where you will fail. Gaining market share is about how you advertise and which niche you target first. Within all markets there exists niches you can exploit first, and then expand. The key is finding them and exploiting them. And there is a definite need to spend money on marketing and business development which is foreign to a lot of engineering mindsets at first. BTW -- not bashing on engineers/developers it is just where most people fail that come from engineering backgrounds IMO.

MuffinFlavored 8y ago
> without validating it is worth building first Is it safe to say if there is already existing competition, it is worth building based on the premise that there is obviously market longevity to be reached because other companies are already doing it? Or does the flip side of the "not worth it coin" become "they have all of the market share, therefore you will not get any and it will not be worth it" > And there is a definite need to spend money on marketing and business development which is foreign to a lot of engineering mindsets at first. It's probably because in engineering, there is usually a pre-determined list of possible solutions to a problem. Marketing seems like a black box. There's no one size fits all for even high level recommendations for budgeting, methods to acquire customers, etc.
- davismwfl 8y ago
  Competition in a space is actually usually a good sign, and might help validate the product is worth making. However, if you are a me to product, there is generally little value in that, you still need something original or unique to catch market share. So in that case, I'd validate that the unique concept is something people want to pay for, and if so then build away. Disrupting an existing market is far easier than creating a new one in a lot of ways. Primarily the market is already educated on the need and understands it. When you have to educate a market to the need the costs go up dramatically.

MuffinFlavored 8y ago

> without validating it is worth building first Is it safe to say if there is already existing competition, it is worth building based on the premise that there is obviously market longevity to be reached because other companies are already doing it? Or does the flip side of the "not worth it coin" become "they have all of the market share, therefore you will not get any and it will not be worth it" > And there is a definite need to spend money on marketing and business development which is foreign to a lot of engineering mindsets at first. It's probably because in engineering, there is usually a pre-determined list of possible solutions to a problem. Marketing seems like a black box. There's no one size fits all for even high level recommendations for budgeting, methods to acquire customers, etc.

davismwfl 8y ago
Competition in a space is actually usually a good sign, and might help validate the product is worth making. However, if you are a me to product, there is generally little value in that, you still need something original or unique to catch market share. So in that case, I'd validate that the unique concept is something people want to pay for, and if so then build away. Disrupting an existing market is far easier than creating a new one in a lot of ways. Primarily the market is already educated on the need and understands it. When you have to educate a market to the need the costs go up dramatically.