Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Fundability

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11 pointsdanshapiro2 comments

A big plus about being an imitator, especially in a space where people pay (!) for goods or services, is that the questions "does anyone want it?" and "will anyone pay money for it?" have already been answered in the affirmative.

It's not a guarantee - they still might not want your stuff. But it's a great vote of confidence in that general category of goods or services.

In the case where the product is similar to the competitor I agree. It decreases the "market" risk, since you know the market's there, but it increases the "execution" risk, since you have to out-execute someone who's already in market with a proven solution.

In more abstract cases, though ("AirBnB for dogs") it just helps the listener to understand the company and doesn't really speak to market size.

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