
Supercomputer Porn - Letting your competitors do your market research for you - bhousel
http://steveblank.com/2009/10/12/ardent-3-supercomputer-porn/
======
biohacker42
I just realized why I like Steve Blank's writing so much. It's because he
writes about sales and marketing as if it were engineering. And I have a
feeling it's not just how he writes about it, but also how he approaches it.

~~~
nobody_nowhere
Well said. Engineers shouldn't be afraid of sales or marketing, and can often
do it as well or better than "business types". Treating it as a separate world
sets up an unhealthy dynamic.

~~~
rgrieselhuber
In my experience, this dynamic is more often than not created by the "business
types" who tend to think that if you can do engineering, you can't do sales &
marketing.

But I agree, the engineers who can do it are often many times more effective
than those without an engineering background. It all depends on the person.

~~~
gaius
_tend to think that if you can do engineering, you can't do sales &
marketing._

No, they know you can and are protecting their turf. That's a warning sign
that they aren't very good at what they do. Just as an engineer who blindly
disparages marketing is foolish - without those guys being on the ball your
chances of getting paid goes way down.

------
nobody_nowhere
_I spent the next few days building a table with three columns: markets,
applications, key customers_

+1. Critical exercise for anyone reading HN and thinking about
starting/joining/improving a startup.

~~~
notaddicted
Make that +2, it is very sensible. You need to understand the current
offerings to understand where the gaps are.

------
varikin
This reminds me about what I once heard about McDonalds and Burger King.
McDonalds was spend millions in finding the perfect spot for a new location.
Burger King would then open one up across the street.

I don't know how true this is, but a good little tidbit of possibly true
knowledge.

~~~
JoelSutherland
We spend far too much time trying to learn from market leaders. Places 2-n
would be a great success for many of us and often different strategies are
more effective when this is your goal.

This is why I am never upset to see something stupid/controversial from
37Signals make the rounds. If nothing else they are a rare voice from a
company that is aiming for midsize.

~~~
ovi256

      Places 2-n would be a great success for many of us
    

But there are markets where natural monopolies are ... natural. What that
means is that the winner will eat all the pie, and it will be difficult to
survive, nevertheless prosper, as number 2. The desktop OS market comes to
mind. There isn't and there will never be a second place commercial OS. The
market is structured like that. Note that Mac OS, even if superficially a
desktop OS, is actually in a different market segment, where it is actually
well protected and the segment leader. Conflating it with Windows is based on
technological similarity, not market similarity.

~~~
JoelSutherland
Hackers spend WAY too much time worrying about the desktop OS market
specifically.

