How do you deal with paranoia about competition?

I’m working on a company that’s the first of its kind.  It’s a great idea and has the potential to become a multi-billion dollar idea.  However, I’m still building out the website so I haven’t launched it yet.

Every day, I check TechCrunch and other tech and business-related websites to make sure that no other company has launched with a similar idea.  I’m worried though that once I launch someone else will copy my idea and raise a ton of VC money, which will give them the edge.  

How do you deal with your own fears about competition?


  • I could have wrote this, minus the actually working on the website part. You’re ahead of me, good for you. I know it doesn’t help, but why not try to be that one who raises the VC money?

    • I’ll try to be, but first I think I have to gain traction. In Southern California, where I live, you don’t get investments unless you’re either a previously successful entrepreneur, or your company has good traction. A guy who just has an idea and hasn’t launched yet very rarely gets funding here; that’s more of a Silicon Valley thing.

      • Why don’t you try to look up for investors in other countries, there’s a lot of money in places like México. The rich people there don’t know where to invest their money in the country, so they just continuously buy real state and stuff like that, or just keep the money safe in Mexican Treasure Bonds.

        There’s nothing in Mexico that compares to what you guys are doing in the US, specially in Silicon Valley. I know a lot of risk investors who would love to hear some great ideas from the U.S. and they have a lot of cash.

  • I would focus all your energies into building out the product. If it is as great as you say it is; a VC will come knocking. Ideas only have value if you execute them well.

    You also have to consider when building the new wheel that hasn’t been built before; that said wheel is not worth building. But these are the risks you and others face.

    There will always be a bigger team with bigger resources. There was a time we didn’t need another search engine but that didn’t stop Google.

    Also, don’t get hung up on the Techcrunch thing as like other blogs they need to fill a daily quota. Your big moment may come at 10am on a Sunday morning then buried by Monday. This can also happen to your future competitors.

    If you are truly concerned I would pitch the idea to people you trust. Least you will know if your idea is truly a great one worth the effort for.

    Good luck.

    • Thanks for the response. I know it’s a good idea because it’s already something that’s being done in the real world, but no one so far has made it easy to do for people online.

      Think for instance about how Amazon. People were buying books before Amazon existed, but Amazon made it possible for them to order books from the comfort of their own home; so the founder/CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos did not need to re-invent the wheel; all he had to do is target an existing need for people but make it easier for them.

      My business does the same thing; makes it easier for people to do something that they’re already doing. I’ve gotten positive responses from the people I trust enough to share the idea with in real life; mainly family members, since I know that they won’t launch a competing product.

      I know that appearing on TechCrunch doesn’t guarantee that a company will succeed. However, often times a TechCrunch article has to do with a company raising a round of funding, which is what I’m really scared of; that I would start a new business and 6 months down the road I see that another company has launched with funding, targeting the same area. I’m removed from Silicon Valley, as I live in Southern California, so it’s not easy for me to raise money the way it is for people in the valley who have connections.

      Ultimately I think I just have to work harder than any potential competitor and hopefully that will mean I succeed in the end. I’d rather do that than to sit on my idea and watch someone else create the company that I should have created. Once again thanks for your response!

  • if you look around hard enough, I am sure you can already find a similar idea currently on the market or it’s in early stages, chances are you weren’t the first to think of something, this has happened to me multiple times and basically happens to everyone

  • A bit of paranoia is healthy and motivating. Too much is crippling. When you find yourself spending an inordinate amount of time worrying about what others are or may be doing, you’re only making your potential competitors lives easier.

    You can only control your actions. Worry about your own. Go faster if you can. Focus on the problem you’re trying to solve. If it’s a good problem competitors will emerge. That’s just economics.

    • Yes. It’s sort of like how after Groupon achieved initial success, tons of competitors emerged with the same type of daily deals business. It’s annoying that so many people are unoriginal; they can’t come up with an idea on their own; they just copy what they see is working. That irritates people like me who came up with the idea in the first place.

      But, since we live in a capitalist society, I can’t prevent competitors from emerging; all I can do is try to move faster than them and become the “it” company in my space, sort of how like Microsoft wasn’t the only software company but now they’re basically an unstoppable force with their Windows operating system, and most of their competitors are out of business.

  • I too had a “billion dollar idea” that many folks in the industry thought had immense potential. However sometimes these ideas are so big that many pieces have to happen in order for it to work. I was super paranoid and filed for patents on them. I not have those patents. But nobody has licensed my software. So I have “protection” but no money.

    That was 8 years ago. And nobody has copied me, or maybe they have but also failed, and I never heard about it.

    Today when I talk about my solution, industry folks still think its a “billion dollar idea”.

    Lesson. If its a billion dollar idea. Chances are your biggest competitors are not other startups… its market inertia.

    • Good point. I had come up with ideas like that before, where it seems brilliant on paper or theory but the market is either not ready for it, has no need for it, or it’s an idea that can only be implemented by a company that has millions or billions of dollars to spend.

      For instance, the Segway seemed like a brilliant idea to it’s founder and he raised tons of money, but only a few people wanted to buy one, so his company failed to live up to expectations.

      My business won’t be like that though since the barrier for entry is pretty low; I can do it with only a few hundred dollars at most; but this means that so can my competitors.

      That’s why when I launch I have to hit the ground running and become a huge company before competitors emerge. That’s why I won’t seek out any press, since that’ll only create competitors. I’ll try to grow quietly the way that Pinterest did.

  • If you have a good idea, you should assume that 2 or 3 other teams are working on the Sam idea right now.

    And that’s okay!

    As Dean Takahashi once said, the winner is usually not the first to come up with a product, but the first to reach scale.

    • That thought scares me. It’s why I check tech/business related sites every day to see if a competitor has emerged, but I can’t know if a competitor is working on the same idea in secret and either hasn’t launched or hasn’t sought press. You’re right though. It’s all about who grows the quickest.

      • Being first is overrated and very risky. I’d rather be a fast follower unless I was somehow able to get a patent on the business that holds up… that being said, patents are usually a waste of money because they often aren’t done right.

        Consider patenting your idea, but make sure you get a good attorney. It’ll be expensive but well worth it to protect your idea if you are going to make the plunge.

        • It’s not an idea that’s capable of being patented. Plus, the patent process would just waste my time as it takes years to get a patent usually, and by then competitors could already emerge. It’s better to just build now and move fast. Thanks for the response by the way.

    • You’re right my friend. So far I’ve appreciated all the responses in this post. Very helpful and you guys have enabled me to focus on what’s important. I can’t control what other people do, all I can do is try my best and see what happens. Thank you all.

  • There is only two things that drive people, fear and greed, neither in the negative sense. Some people are balanced others unbalanced. I am the type driven by fear. Maybe so are you. My recommendation build your fear!

    Second, if you believe you are not fast enough then maybe you are not. Workload ultimately is an issue and thus it would be best to find like-minded people who support you on your endeavor. Never forget, it is better a little of something than all of nothing.

    I wish you success!

  • Another option is to go the other way and to open-source the idea (if it’s not done already), and perhaps use the idea-spread that comes along with it to help build a large user-base. If you can’t patent it, and others can copy the idea, then giving back to the community with an open version could give you lots of goodwill and perhaps entry into other opportunities, partnerships, etc. Users may want to sign up for your service because you’re delivering good value and helping others do the same. Furthermore, if you’re pricing / business model is set right, the competition may not be able to compete.

    On that note, nurturing your users to develop customer loyalty is another strategy to employ.

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