He started implementing my idea!!! But so what? ;)

By Rajat Chakraborty on February 1, 2015 7 Comments / 2608 views

Hi all,

4 months back I had a great idea. (Yes I know they are of least importance)
I evaluated it doing a brief market research and pitched it in two B-competitions.
I didn’t win those competitions but after those events I was sure to implement it within the next 5 years or so. Also, after extensive searching I could not find the same in market which means the model was unique.

But guess what – it’s not unique now! Yesterday I happened to come across a group implementing it
and I am pretty sure there will be more such groups in the coming years.

My question is,
let’s say I enter the market after 5 years or so. What can I do as of now which will make me a much better competitor and increase my chances of success? (Assume I have a great team)

Waiting for your valuable inputs.
Thanks.

P.S – I am not afraid of competition.

Comments

Rajat Chakraborty

7 Comments

Omkar Nisal February 12, 2015, 10:31 am
Good that you are not afraid of the competition! Cheers to you for that!

You can get really valuable lessons by observing competition.

The first to the market does have some advantages but the lessons others learns from pioneer far outweighs the first mover advantage. Of course this is assuming you are able to learn from them wisely and do better job than the pioneer(s). Facebook was NOT a pioneer.

As Derek Sivers says: Ideas are just a multiplier of execution

So, in short :
1. Observe and Learn from your direct and indirect competition very carefully.
2. Think: How you can be better than them at the game.
3. Execute : How can you very quickly capture the market. (both already tapped by them and untapped one) , before they learn and emulate you.
4. Focus on simple most core offering that market cant resist , when you launch.
5. Keeeeeeeeeep improving, all the time. Every single day.
Good Luck!

PS Why wait 5 years? Think of tiny isolated market to start nano sized.
Venkat Srinivasan February 12, 2015, 12:10 pm
Hi,

Why decide that you will wait 5 years? Of course, you may have personal factors that may prevent you from plunging in, etc. so I won’t delve into this question any further. Now, assuming that you MUST wait 5 years…

I’m rather simple-minded. For my company (and for most of those run by my friends), 5 years is an extremely long time. Right now, after running my company for 4 years, I have just acquired the confidence to forecast for one year. I really can’t advise how one may prepare himself for 5 years in the future in a startup scenario. A lot can & will change.

My suspicion is that if you do wait 5 years, you might as well not stay married to your idea in its present form. These possibilities present themselves to me:
1. Your competitors (who have already started work) may do a heck of a job, leaving you no place in the market. This is an evaluation you would have to make at that future juncture, being mentally prepared to move on from your idea if required.
2. Your competitors may establish themselves, but not stoutly enough, so that you’re able to find niches to grow your business within (eg. geographical niches, things that your competitors are not doing very well etc.) In this case, you may have to retool your idea to suit that point in time and begin execution
3. Your competitors may fail due to their own faults. Well, learn from their mistakes and jump right in I guess
4. The market may prove your competitors wrong. Your idea may not be financially viable. If this is the case, move on.
Then perhaps, the one practical thing you could do in the intervening 5 years is to maintain a close eye on your competitors, so that you can make a solid evaluation on the four points above when you’re ready.

One more comment from my side: You said, ‘Assume I have a great team’. That in itself may not be a very wise assumption, unless:
- you already have a nucleus of people in mind and are confident you will all stay together for 5 years.
- you plan on starting off with a s***load of money to hire a great team (of course, a s***load of money does not guarantee a great team)
If neither of these are applicable, you’re better off assuming that you will have to struggle mightily to assemble a half-decent team with your shoestring budget.

Don’t know if that helps at all. My 2 paise I guess…
Rajat Chakraborty February 12, 2015, 12:51 pm

Hello Venkat Sir,
5 years because –
a.) I have one more year to go, to finish engineering.
b.) I want to pursue MBA from a foreign university after writing GMAT primarily because I believe lots of students will appear there with lots of industry knowledge and expertise. I would love to hear the challenges faced and how they overcame. This will be a good way to exchange ideas, thoughts and industry challenges. I will also be technically aware of the subjects in dept and that too after having some amount of industry exposure(because they accept students only after atleast 3 years of industry exposure)

All your points are pretty logical and clear. Well i am witnessing them fail right now.

And yes I said that point because I do have a nucleus of people in mind. I have worked with them in several aspects 🙂
Another reason why I said that point was, I have a way with people and I am fully confident that I will be able to assemble a great team but before that I will have to be fully sure on the execution and stuff.
(Don”t have sh** loads of money. My dad is not Ratan tata or something :p I believe in working hard and love starting things from scratch )

Thanks for your valuable comment. Really appreciate 🙂
Rajat Chakraborty February 12, 2015, 12:56 pm

Hello Omkar Sir,
5 years because –
a.) I have one more year to go, to finish engineering.
b.) I want to pursue MBA from a foreign university after writing GMAT primarily because I believe lots of students will appear there with lots of industry knowledge and expertise. I would love to hear the challenges faced and how they overcame. This will be a good way to exchange ideas, thoughts and industry challenges. I will also be technically aware of the subjects in dept and that too after having some amount of industry exposure(because they accept students only after atleast 3 years of industry exposure)

Cool, thanks a lot for everything that you have mentioned. Will definitely keep in mind. 🙂

Really appreciate your feedback. Thanks a ton ^_^

Though, I could have elaborated my question in this way (by providing the following case study)

Energizer have been in the industry for years – way long before Duracell but Duracell proved to be an excellent competitor. How does this happen?
What kind of strategies are used to make this happen?

You have anyway understood what I meant and gave some amazing advises! Cheers to you for that 🙂
asha chaudhry February 13, 2015, 5:38 am

rajat, like i suggested, pls edit your post asap and elaborate on it. it helps people give you a better response.
Rajat Chakraborty February 13, 2015, 5:52 am

Surely Ma’am, actually I did not expect this post to go live. Was not ready for it 🙂 But will do the changes you asked for by today
asha chaudhry February 13, 2015, 5:54 am

dude i can’t have content awaiting approvals for so long. a lot of content comes through.