Name a company, and I can name the one that came before them. Google? Yahoo. Dropbox? Carbonite. Stripe? Authorize.net. They weren’t first. Don’t let competition stop you. Watch this video to overcome existing business challenges.
Love that simple logic - if competitors are doing well, it proves that there IS a market for your product/service. As the upstarts/disruptors, we're looking to chew off a small piece of that market and build from there.
Exactly. For example, if I wanted to get into the protein bar market - knowing there's a ton of them being sold ($1B+ market) is a great thing... now I just need to create something differentiated. I feel people in tech don't understand this ... it's about discovering a new product hook for the solution & competition. DM
Agreed about the tech sector. It's definitely worth digging deep for a new angle and turning that perceived weakness (an oversaturated market) into an advantage. And as you say, demonstrating that you care more about that specific solution than any of your competitors.
Thanks a lot! This topic is quite important! I think it has happened to many of us… We are working on an MVP, we love it… Then, surprise! You found exactly the same solution 😅 and it already exists
Does this apply to "online" businesses only? What if an idea is patented? is there a way around that? I've been in the trucking industry for 10 years now & had a concept idea development I thought would revolutionize the trucking industry, after further more research, I came to discover the idea is already out there & on the market. Would I be able to go forward with development of my own, even if the idea already out there & patented? I would greatly appreciate any insight you could offer me....
Yo dan thanks for this video My problem is the following: I want to create an online school basically helping young men take back control over their life’s trough coaching in mental and physical health and business Hamza Ahmed, a RU-vidr self improvement niche has already created this online school of his, Adonis school. His advantage is hieß huge follower amount on social media Idk if this is possible for me to compete with Having a mental blockage right now, can’t sleep and came to watch your video What is your opinion or advice for me Thanks so much
You are a freaking wizard. I am in the process of building a new approach to project management software and this video has instilled me with confidence.
I think I watched this video at least 10 times.. because almost all ideas exist somewhere from India to north america.. the goal is to bring something more.. something valuable
Exactly a topic worth watching! What do you think about online retail where we’re basically selling the same product (such as books), how do we differentiate and grow despite existing online competitor with significant market share?
I feel like I've honestly lost my passion for any innovative ideas.. I'm at a point where I'm just trying to execute in the deep mud of failure and it's really messy. Literally need a f***ing sale! I've been emailing tons of people for days and no one cares. I'm not 100% passionate about what I'm doing.. But I need to start somewhere, and the goal was to get cash flow to re-invest in "passion" ideas. On another note, I do see some demand in another email list I've started - affordable housing. My question here is... is my current suffering inevitable? Is entrepreneurship really always this horrible?
Cameron, it will always be hard but there's a fine line between being stubborn vs. listening to the market and iterating accordingly. I teach that you should set the parameters, run 3 test, and if you don't get the expected results it's probably a good reason to try something different (pivot or a restart). As for doing something that generates cash easy vs. following your passion, I don't sign up for that. I think that passion is required to build something incredible and lifes to short to be "getting ready" all the time vs. doing what you should actually do. There's no passion that I know of that you can't monetize from day one ... now, it may not be software initially, but it can be in the market - and from that point, you can find the problem and innovative solution accordingly. Hope that helps. I'll be covering this in my upcoming book - such an important discussion. DM
Thanks for the response Dan! The last comments are true! It seems like what we're really looking for is the intersection of "passion for problem" + "market demand". I do agree that if you can at least concierge the MVP "in the market", then software can come later. Will keep that in mind!
Hey Dan, So what if that business you probably will compete against have retained or built the required influence (lobbyist) to execute because the competitor out there who just got into the market raised 15 million and was able to hire industry experts to join their team to solve the market problem. I'm just anxious at how strong they become in a couple of months and are also backed by one of the American government organizations for it.
uzayrathlete dude, I had Google enter my market when I was building Clarity.fm with their product Helpouts - 12 months later they folded. Stay focused, work backwards from the customer and move fast. No excuses. It's never about the money.
When you say work backward, you mean talk to the customer 1st as you build the business? This business would be more B2B So Im trying to get hold of organizations. Quick question : When you were building flowtown did people around you discourage you? did they say there are many companies all ready doing it so don't attempt it?
Very very useful advice, we think of idea and if that product exist, we just start looking for new one. The thing is 2 products of same type can exist in competition. Otherwise we will only see one brand's car in market. You have just opened my mind. I find you very similar to Mark Cuban, he speaks and thinks similar to you. Great videos, keep going.
