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Startups often seem like clones (of Groupon or whatever) when you only get the one-sentence explanation of what they do. But there's always a much deeper differ
by tlb 15y ago
Startups often seem like clones (of Groupon or whatever) when you only get the one-sentence explanation of what they do. But there's always a much deeper difference in goals, strategy and tactics when you get to know them. I don't know any Groupon clones. Groupon's operation is complex and subtle, and there are lots of related things that are also promising.
- wheels 15y agoCityDeal was about as close as you can get to a full-on clone schlepped to another market. If the stories I've heard are to be believed, they actually sent people to become interns at Groupon to do reconnaissance. Granted, it was from the Samwers, who both are not Silicon Valley and are famous for cloning American startups. (They've done it with Airbnb now too.)
- phil 15y agoI think the Samwers are the exception that proves the rule, since their ventures seem explicitly designed as clones. The strategy is the same, it's just been translated into German.
- tlb 15y agoMaybe, in the same sense that Volkswagen is a clone of Ford. Adapting a successful idea to a new market is interesting and hard, and often results in new ideas.