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The downside of keeping your day job is that you are slow. Recently another start-up lunched my idea as a beta. This really hurts, because I know I've thinking

The downside of keeping your day job is that you are slow. Recently another start-up lunched my idea as a beta. This really hurts, because I know I've thinking and hacking this similar product for over a year. And they've got some great press, which hurts twice as much.

dagw 17y ago
Look at the bright side. If you consider the history of computer software, the company that launches first is rarely the company that ends up dominating. Follow your competitor closely, learn from their mistakes, listen to their customer's gripes and try to find a point where they are weak and capitalize on that.
- EastSmith 17y ago
  Thanks, I am doing monitoring for that company and someone might mistake me as their media person: blogs, twitter, using backtype, google alerts and HN search. Lot's of feedback coming from there for sure - it's almost like I've launched on my own.
  - learnalist 17y ago
    Your "monitoring" of a competitor, is made a lot easier today in the "internet world". More so, now that any budding startup reads they need a blog, they need to twitter and they need feedback. They then jump on all the other little startups who are offering these services. Then you or I or anybody comes along and picks over their history. Scan over their twitter feeds, pick up bits and pieces. Dig thru their "open to the public" feedback with responses. All of a sudden, we are in possession of a lot of valuable data. eg. Unhappy customers. People wanting things which they arent able to get. Features you overlooked. Features you thought were good and without building are not so. Potential users to aim your product at. Woe them away ( might not be very ethical ) All this data will aid in the creation and moulding of your own startup. Its a little ironic. Yet at the same time. Its a completely new approach to competition I note that you havent mentioned your competition or "the idea". Do you think the competition would take you seriously? Serious enough to start making private ( Closed walled ) around the feedback from their users? Should they? Its all food for thought. Bottom line as already mentioned, dont give up! Im sure the internet has space for a few of the "same sort of web application". As I read earlier today, it is all about execution. ( I at least hope it is ) Post the url :)
  - TheEarlyShow 17y ago
    Couldn't have suggested a better approach myself. I've been side developing one of those "for me" projects for some time, there's 4 other competitors out there which leads me to conclude that it could be a "for them" project as well. and while I've been developing, I've been on a monitoring blitz, using their project, etc. looking for things that they're having issues with that either I can take care of, or make sure to leave out so I don't have the same headaches. To also add, since you're going through the whole media side of things with their product, you'll be well prepared to defend approaches/features/etc within yours since you had to critique it against them.

dagw 17y ago

Look at the bright side. If you consider the history of computer software, the company that launches first is rarely the company that ends up dominating. Follow your competitor closely, learn from their mistakes, listen to their customer's gripes and try to find a point where they are weak and capitalize on that.

EastSmith 17y ago
Thanks, I am doing monitoring for that company and someone might mistake me as their media person: blogs, twitter, using backtype, google alerts and HN search. Lot's of feedback coming from there for sure - it's almost like I've launched on my own.
- learnalist 17y ago
  Your "monitoring" of a competitor, is made a lot easier today in the "internet world". More so, now that any budding startup reads they need a blog, they need to twitter and they need feedback. They then jump on all the other little startups who are offering these services. Then you or I or anybody comes along and picks over their history. Scan over their twitter feeds, pick up bits and pieces. Dig thru their "open to the public" feedback with responses. All of a sudden, we are in possession of a lot of valuable data. eg. Unhappy customers. People wanting things which they arent able to get. Features you overlooked. Features you thought were good and without building are not so. Potential users to aim your product at. Woe them away ( might not be very ethical ) All this data will aid in the creation and moulding of your own startup. Its a little ironic. Yet at the same time. Its a completely new approach to competition I note that you havent mentioned your competition or "the idea". Do you think the competition would take you seriously? Serious enough to start making private ( Closed walled ) around the feedback from their users? Should they? Its all food for thought. Bottom line as already mentioned, dont give up! Im sure the internet has space for a few of the "same sort of web application". As I read earlier today, it is all about execution. ( I at least hope it is ) Post the url :)
- TheEarlyShow 17y ago
  Couldn't have suggested a better approach myself. I've been side developing one of those "for me" projects for some time, there's 4 other competitors out there which leads me to conclude that it could be a "for them" project as well. and while I've been developing, I've been on a monitoring blitz, using their project, etc. looking for things that they're having issues with that either I can take care of, or make sure to leave out so I don't have the same headaches. To also add, since you're going through the whole media side of things with their product, you'll be well prepared to defend approaches/features/etc within yours since you had to critique it against them.