It is good to be aware of competition but if you constantly compare yourself to others you will either be too good or not good enough, which leads to laziness and chasing the leader respectively.
Being first is nice but just the fact that there is competition is some validation that the service is needed. Better to compete early rather than when it is a commodity down the line. Being early but not first does have some advantages as it is market research. The "Google wasn't the first search engine" line of thought.
Comments
It is good to be aware of competition but if you constantly compare yourself to others you will either be too good or not good enough, which leads to laziness and chasing the leader respectively.
Being first is nice but just the fact that there is competition is some validation that the service is needed. Better to compete early rather than when it is a commodity down the line. Being early but not first does have some advantages as it is market research. The "Google wasn't the first search engine" line of thought.