My random thoughts: Many people talk about "first mover advantage", although often times large companies like Microsoft, Google, etc., prove that there is a la

My random thoughts: Many people talk about "first mover advantage", although often times large companies like Microsoft, Google, etc., prove that there is a larger argument for second or third (or n) mover advantage. Not to be too harsh, but I doubt many (if any) of us here have ever had a truly unique idea. The fact that somebody else noticed the same hole in the market and attempted to architect a way to fill it is no more noteworthy than the sun rising. My personal opinion is that in most cases this neither validates or nullifies YOUR idea, it is simply one of many variables to take into consideration. It is very important to be aware of and monitor your competitors in any market. However, if you create a better solution, their existence will be less than a footnote to you. Keep an eye on your competitors, but don't obsess over watching them and worrying when they (or you) solve a particular part of the puzzle differently. My advice: go and build your solution IF you think it is whole and complete and solves a compelling and valuable problem. If your entire user market is worth only $5M (and I'm not saying that it is), it doesn't really matter if there are 1 or 100 competitors, NOBODY will make any money anyway :)