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Ask HN: What it takes to make a competitor to an existing app / service?

3 points by s-stude ↗ HN
We all know, if there is a competition then the market is good and there are several players on it.

So here is the question - if there are so many competitors why don't we create another MailChimp, Trello, bug tracker, calendar, or any other product?

We can just have a small piece of an existing market and make money by delivering a little bit better version of an existing apps/services/etc...

What it will take is just to market our own app and make competitive pricing. No?

What are your thoughts on this?

3 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 18.1 ms ] thread
Cozumel
I think the number one factor in success for something like that is community. If you have a bunch of people loyal to you and your service you can't really go wrong.
s-stude
I'm not about "to be wrong". I'm more curious in next - there are so many services doing same things and earning money. Some earning more, some less. so we can make another copy w/ better UI / cheaper price and compete. no?
Wellacopia
Hello, it's true what you're saying. I think, however, that timing is key. So in this case, you have a better service but are too late to the scene and it will be hard to get your own audience. I don't think you can be just a little bit better. You need to stand out and differentiate from the crowd. You need to market what feature you have that no other competitor has. Otherwise, with just a marginally better product you might just get by but won't find massive success. You will have to hustle and teach the competitor's loyal customer what makes you better in order to draw them away. Unless, there is a serious flaw in competitor products that you have fixed. But basically, yes you can make a copy and compete for a very small slice of the pie. Our startup, Wellacopia, is a great example of this. There are other healthtech apps out there like Medici that streamline doctor-patient communication or like ZocDoc where you can look up a doctor easily. Wellacopia however, not only combines those two features but adds even more value by functioning as a personalized matching platform. No one else does this and we're banking on that. Wow, your question really made me reflect on our business. Sorry for the long comment. This also made me think of how we're gonna pitch to investors. Thank you for that.