Actually, I think that being first in a new space is a bad place to be in. Being the first good entrant in a space is worth something, but almost all ideas are shitty when they're first dreamed up, and coming later gives you the ability to look at other people's failures - in some cases, lots of other people's failures - and see how you can make them better.
Google was not the first search engine. Microsoft was not the first microcomputer OS. Facebook was not the first social networking site. Netscape was not the first web browser. Flickr was not the first photo-sharing site. OKCupid was not the first online dating site. The Apple II was not the first microcomputer, the iPod was not the first MP3 player, and the iPhone was not the first smartphone.
Agreed. It may be a little better to be the Nth entrant, but still be fairly early, but just be way way way better (or have the luck of your market is perfectly timed for when a large gob of new consumers are ready and demanding your thing) than the first N-1 contenders.
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Actually, I think that being first in a new space is a bad place to be in. Being the first good entrant in a space is worth something, but almost all ideas are shitty when they're first dreamed up, and coming later gives you the ability to look at other people's failures - in some cases, lots of other people's failures - and see how you can make them better.
Google was not the first search engine. Microsoft was not the first microcomputer OS. Facebook was not the first social networking site. Netscape was not the first web browser. Flickr was not the first photo-sharing site. OKCupid was not the first online dating site. The Apple II was not the first microcomputer, the iPod was not the first MP3 player, and the iPhone was not the first smartphone.
Agreed. It may be a little better to be the Nth entrant, but still be fairly early, but just be way way way better (or have the luck of your market is perfectly timed for when a large gob of new consumers are ready and demanding your thing) than the first N-1 contenders.