First-to-invent isn't guaranteed to succeed (your criticism) but "first to get it right" (your counter-truism) is also not a truism. After all, what is "right"

First-to-invent isn't guaranteed to succeed (your criticism) but "first to get it right" (your counter-truism) is also not a truism. After all, what is "right" and what is the "first" "right" in [anything]? Certainly there's no permanent guarantee to being first, but neither is being first-improver.