Comments on: Entrepreneurial Strategies: Second Mover and Copy

By: jim steel

jim steel — Thu, 18 May 2006 16:05:14 +0000

Good point, and as you point out the real key to success is being able to copy it better than anyone else so they can not copy you and compete against you.

By: Estelle

Estelle — Thu, 18 May 2006 00:15:36 +0000

There is a book that covers this subject very thoroughly and is definite worthwhile read

Fast Second : How Smart Companies Bypass Radical Innovation to Enter and Dominate New Markets

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0787971545/qid=1147903821/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-3306320-3208131?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

By: TJ

TJ — Wed, 17 May 2006 20:47:58 +0000

Great post Rob – although the first mover/ copy cat issue is not that simple. As you see with pretty much all Nobel laureates there are often several teams working on a similiar solution all over the globe at the same time. Who gets to the finish line first is often pure luck. The same is true for launching a web based startup – a great and appealing product can suddenly be perceived a copy cat.

As for CoTC I always thought it would have helped to pre-set categories and make a TOP 20 or TOP 30 out of the huge submission list – at times I saw 120 submissions there – not really helpful for readers and the host.

But it’s not too late

By: laurence haughton

laurence haughton — Wed, 17 May 2006 20:44:43 +0000

History and research says be “first to be second.”

And every time someone brings that up someone else says “this time it’s different.”

Maybe… but it’s a bad bet.

BTW being first to be second isn’t a copycat strategy. It’s much more of a “learn from the experience of others” and a “faster, leaner, more value” strategy.

By: Mindy

Mindy — Wed, 17 May 2006 18:10:41 +0000

Great post! Reminds me of a Stephen Wright joke I read the other day:

“The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.”

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 17 May 2006 17:20:33 +0000

Good point. I am the one always complaining about too many web2.0 copycats, after all. But the strategy is still one to file away for potential use. Although I should have stressed the imporantance of business model differentiation.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 17 May 2006 17:12:48 +0000

Rob,

Great post and excellent points! Pure technology will only get people dying for it; experience will get the “sneezers” spreading the buzz to the rest of the world.

Mike

By: David G

David G — Wed, 17 May 2006 17:11:55 +0000

Great post Rob but in a Web2 world this advice feels a bit redundant – how many tagging apps do we really need? The ammount of copying going on in technology right now is outa-hand. “there are no original ideas”

Most Web2 2nd movers will turn out to be black holes for founders’
efforts and investors’ cash. Part of the problem is that 1st movers’ businesses start to look “shiny” when they catch buzz – not because there’s value there – 2nd movers should review their opportunities more critically.

2nd Movers must be convinced that they will deliver a better product from the users’ perspective – the distribution piece you cite is often secret sauce (skype). Would GOOG have launched if a GOOG-like search engine existed?