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A friend recently told me he would no longer pursue his personal original ideas, but rather find a recent YC company whose idea he could get behind and create a
by jtagen 15y ago
A friend recently told me he would no longer pursue his personal original ideas, but rather find a recent YC company whose idea he could get behind and create a clone.
It feels a little dirty, but the idea of tackling a problem vetted by YC and closely watching to learn from their problems is fascinating.
- zach 15y agoI was talking with a friend about how, if we were just starting out, our best strategy would probably be to pounce on the market abandoned by an acquisition, particularly a talent acquisition. For example, after Fflick got bought by Google early this year, they closed their site up. But they clearly had decent traction, users and press interest. And if it's a straight-up talent acquisition, that's a reliable signal the opportunities in that field of technology are substantial. Doesn't it make sense to have another startup (a re-startup?) steal the ball and kick it down the field when it comes to something like Fflick? There are abandoned users who you can court right away. They've already paved the roads as far as publicity and how to sell the idea. And it's not like the game is over once Google buys a company. Finally, if Google turns this technology into a hit product, you know their competitors are going to be envious. It made me uneasy to say but couldn't find much fault with this line of thinking.
- wanorris 15y agoThis strikes me as a perfectly reasonable course. If people want something that isn't for sale, for heaven's sake, find a way to sell it to them! Edit: anyone ever see the movie Robots? "See a need... fill a need."
- wuster 15y agoMore often, I see an idea that I've had for a while, then some group with the same idea gets vetted by YC and other investors. In this case, I would feel a little conflicted about still going forward with it due to possible "follower" perception issues, but I think two groups can honestly come up with similar solutions to the same problem.
- aganders3 15y agoI don't think you should ever let the "possible 'follower' perception" hold you back, especially if you have a legitimate claim to the idea and think you can execute well. Don't let yourself trip over the starting line!