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Even if you're solving 'NASA problems', competitors will come. It would have been better to give us some idea of WHY we need to know what scale of problems we'
by wccrawford 15y ago
Even if you're solving 'NASA problems', competitors will come.
It would have been better to give us some idea of WHY we need to know what scale of problems we're solving, and what kind of problems we'll have if we don't know.
- esk 15y agoIn fact, if you're solving "NASA problems", being the first solver even has some potentially crippling disadvantages—nimble competitors can learn from your public mistakes and build off your public successes, all for a lot less time and money than it took you. Solving a problem can be a lot easier the second time—what had been a tortuously long and painful process for you is often significantly easier for a competitor who had the benefit of watching. You'll also also have this issue if you're the first to solve an easy problem, but I believe it's less exaggerated.
- wccrawford 15y agoI totally agree. Just knowing that a problem -is- solvable is a huge advantage on a 'NASA problem.'
- sparsevector 15y agoThis is true for some things. For example, UI design can be a long and difficult process for the first mover but easy for competitors who can just lift the design. However, it's not so easy to lift, say, the design of a distributed file system from its public interface.
- eaurouge 15y agoCompetitors may come, but they'll likely have to overcome a higher barrier (to entry) than if your problem required a trivial solution. Think medical devices vs iphone apps. Problems in the medical field are not secret. But they typically require a novel solution, five or more years and a team of experts to implement. Potential competitors may well know exactly what you're doing but they'll have to overcome barriers on multiple levels: time, funds, patents (a big one), expertise, etc.
- nateberkopec 15y agoI smell a followup post!