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Ask HN: What do you do when a product already exists?

3 pointsby break_the_bankalmost 5 years ago
How often has this happened to you?<p>You come up with an idea, you think about it. Come up with possible business models and implementations. Talk to your friends and get their views.<p>Eventually you&#x2F;friend start doing some Googling and you find a company that does what you wanted to do. Sometimes in addition to your idea, your business model &amp; implementation match as well.<p>What do you do?<p>1. Do you give up on the idea and look for another one?<p>2. Do you take this as validation and continue building it anyway?<p>3. Something else entirely<p>When do you go with 1 instead of 2? Or 2 over 1?<p>Maybe opinions and design set products apart and allow a lot of them to co-exist. There are probably more than 10 CIs on the Github market place and even more project management tools.

3 comments

polotealmost 5 years ago
An idea has not any value. Someone doing something similar with what you think doesn&#x27;t mean you can&#x27;t succeed. What is important is the execution.<p>Look at Uber, there is still companies lunching to be their competitor, some are succeeding, some not.<p>If you want to work on this idea, forget about the competition. Meet with customers, are they willing to buy your product ? if yes, then you can succeed.<p>What is important is building something, meet with the market and iterate
simonblackalmost 5 years ago
I have invented several things &#x27;in my head&#x27; but didn&#x27;t think to patent them.<p>Imagine my chagrin several years later when &#x27;my&#x27; inventions were reinvented, patented and marketed by other people.<p>This was one, released in 1984. I had invented it (so to speak) in 1979 when I built a house with a central indoor swimming pool. - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;vergola.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;vergola.com&#x2F;</a><p>I suppose you could say I acknowledged that as validation that I had been correct. Didn&#x27;t make me any richer, though. &lt;grin&gt;
satvikpendemalmost 5 years ago
How many pen companies are there? And yet, people still make pens. It&#x27;s the same with competition. Don&#x27;t worry about it as inevitably you&#x27;ll be making different choices throughout building and selling your product that won&#x27;t be replicated by others. Some customers will like your choices over other companies&#x27;, and that&#x27;s why they&#x27;ll stay your customers.