Sure, "execution" is a loaded word, but if you break it down, a successful startup is a magical combination of marketing, product, design, distribution, customer service, analytics, market knowledge, positioning, network effects etc. All of which, when executed well, strengthens and reinforces a brand that the end-consumer loves to rally around.
Your IP should be a means to this end, not the other way around.
It doesn't matter what coke tastes like right now.
It's all about marketing and feeding people the stories that make them fuzzy and warm inside, knowing every time they drink a coke they are that much closer to the gates of heaven.
The taste of the actual beverage may have been a factor in the early days, not now. not with mass acceptance and a giant marketing push that has been engraved into the product/company.
For every Coca-Cola, there has to be a Pepsi to supplement the non-believers. Same is true in every business, and in case of Gowalla and Foursquare.
There is room for both of the companies to be thriving side by side.
Actually, Coke's formula isn't patented. Many say it's the best kept trade secret in the world. They keep competitors from copying them by keeping their recipe a secret.
Is it really that difficult to reverse engineer Coke's "formula"? I find it hard to believe that, with the tools we have today, no company could create an exact duplicate. Maybe the the real issue is that they could, but then couldn't reproduce the brand.
Still, even if the recipe was known,there is a distinct Coca Cola experience that no competitor can copy. It's one of the most known brands in the world. If a competitor would sell his stuff which would taste exactly like Coca Cola the consumer still wouldn't get the status of drinking the real thing.
For startups I think the best advice is to stay relevant. Don't ever think you're done. Look at what happened to myspace.
Comments
What keeps Coke defensible from Pepsi?
Sure, "execution" is a loaded word, but if you break it down, a successful startup is a magical combination of marketing, product, design, distribution, customer service, analytics, market knowledge, positioning, network effects etc. All of which, when executed well, strengthens and reinforces a brand that the end-consumer loves to rally around.
Your IP should be a means to this end, not the other way around.
Coke vs Pepsi? Patents and copyrights on the secret formula that makes it taste non-crap.
But the rest of your points stand.
It doesn't matter what coke tastes like right now.
It's all about marketing and feeding people the stories that make them fuzzy and warm inside, knowing every time they drink a coke they are that much closer to the gates of heaven.
The taste of the actual beverage may have been a factor in the early days, not now. not with mass acceptance and a giant marketing push that has been engraved into the product/company.
For every Coca-Cola, there has to be a Pepsi to supplement the non-believers. Same is true in every business, and in case of Gowalla and Foursquare.
There is room for both of the companies to be thriving side by side.
Actually, Coke's formula isn't patented. Many say it's the best kept trade secret in the world. They keep competitors from copying them by keeping their recipe a secret.
Is it really that difficult to reverse engineer Coke's "formula"? I find it hard to believe that, with the tools we have today, no company could create an exact duplicate. Maybe the the real issue is that they could, but then couldn't reproduce the brand.
Still, even if the recipe was known,there is a distinct Coca Cola experience that no competitor can copy. It's one of the most known brands in the world. If a competitor would sell his stuff which would taste exactly like Coca Cola the consumer still wouldn't get the status of drinking the real thing.
For startups I think the best advice is to stay relevant. Don't ever think you're done. Look at what happened to myspace.