The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese – Anonymous.
Whenever we have a path breaking idea, the first thing we would like to see is if anyone else has done it earlier and how the response has been. At times, it is good to let your competitor start and then you follow.
Let us go back into a little history. Remember the Apple iPod? Was it truly the Apple’s invention? Creative launched a portable MP3 player which failed in the market (I still own one of them). What Apple did was learned from its competition and with their superior quality and better user interface, they not only dominated the market, but set the standard.
Your launch strategy is very important, next to the ideation process. When you develop your idea into reality, you should be very aware of the surroundings.
Many people have the question, why did this idea become successful and why not the similar one? The biggest difference is the market adaption and how the startup has strategized their presence.
At times, it is better to let your competitor start before you do or build an idea on an existing idea with improvisations.