Monday
Going After Established Competitors Isn’t Easy

Think there isn't enough competition?
Should this stop you from going after your dreams with your idea? No way. But, you’re going to have to try extra hard to differentiate your startup from that already huge one you’re trying to go up against.
People aren’t going to go with your idea just because it’s new, especially if you do the exact same thing as another already bigger startup. Here are a couple of tips on how you can switch up your game plan and try taking the competition by storm:
• Sub-niche your startup: Go after a section of the market that isn’t necessarily covered by the already established startup. For example, if you have an idea for a Social Network, make it so that it caters to a small group of people. You can try going after Facebook, but you’re going to have a tough time. So, what you should do is, for example, make a social network for doctors, or for startup owners. That way, you’ll get everyone in that niche talking about you, and from that, you can grow.
• Change Product Features: Add more features to your idea. Make sure those features are useful, and that they actually make a difference. For example, if your competitor offers the product for a price, make it free or really cheap. Add features that when people see them, they think “that should be on [name of your competitor]”.
• Be the Alternative: There’s two sides to every coin, and you should be the other side. Make your product appealing to the point that people say “if you don’t want A, you HAVE to go with B”: If you become the counter product, then you’ll be appealing to all those counter-culture freaks that want the same thing everyone has, but with a different name.
All entries filed under this archive
Comments - Posted 03.25.09
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="245" caption="Listening to a small fraction of users could be harmful"][/caption] Love him, hate him, or spit on him, you have to admit that Michael Arrington knows a thing or two about startups. He recently took back to writing on TechCrunch to express his beliefs into what he ...continue
Comments - Posted 03.06.09
[caption id="attachment_2797" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Why spend cash when you can get it free?"][/caption] If you’re like the average startup entrepreneur, then you’re strapped for cash. Do you need to get more money, in order to buy some long-needed publicity? If you do, then you’re going to love this post. Why pay for ...continue
Comments - Posted 02.24.09
Why the social web is here to stay (and what to do about it) View more presentations from dmje. (tags: web2.0 the social web) continue
Comments - Posted 01.16.09
Social Networking is still a hot trend. Facebook grows daily, about 600.000 people, and MySpace isn’t doing too bad. Does this mean you have to get into the game by building your own social network? Not necessarily, but you can start catering to them more. Here is an interesting graph: continue
Comments - Posted 01.15.09
[caption id="attachment_2207" align="alignright" width="300" caption="If only money grew on trees"][/caption] XConomy.com has an interesting article in which they interview some VCs, asking them what they think the actual investing environment is like today. The answers were pretty surprising. William Quigley, a managing director at Clearstone Venture Partners, thinks things are just the ...continue
Comments - Posted 01.14.09
[caption id="attachment_2180" align="alignright" width="255" caption="No money made?"][/caption] Facebook doesn’t make money, neither do Twitter and Digg, yet they’re very popular. Whenever I say this, people get mad and tell me “well, Google didn’t make money either”. Actually, in 2001, Google made money, and the whole advertising thing wasn’t even that advanced ...continue
Comments - Posted 01.08.09
[caption id="attachment_2089" align="alignright" width="200" caption="According to some, since I follow more people than those that follow me, I'm a Twitter poser. Possibly true."][/caption] Twitter is growing at a nice pace. It’s also become a great place for you to find people in your area of expertise sharing their thoughts and ideas ...continue
Comments - Posted 12.22.08
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="245" caption="Facebook is going to be huge next year"][/caption] Ryan Spoon just posted a list of predictions for Digital Media in 2009 and I think he might be on to something. We’ll check back next year and see if he was right: - Digital Media properties will be significantly ...continue
Comments - Posted 12.18.08
Yes, people in the startup world ten to over-work. It’s part of the lifestyle. You need to put in a lot of man-hours for things to work out. That’s why sometimes people think you’re a jerk. It happens to all of us. I get hate when I share things on ...continue








