

Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Fundability - danshapiro
http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2012/08/27/imitation-is-the-sincerest-form-of-fundability/

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theorique
A big plus about being an imitator, especially in a space where people pay (!)
for goods or services, is that the questions "does anyone want it?" and "will
anyone pay money for it?" have already been answered in the affirmative.

It's not a guarantee - they still might not want _your_ stuff. But it's a
great vote of confidence in that general category of goods or services.

~~~
danshapiro
In the case where the product is similar to the competitor I agree. It
decreases the "market" risk, since you know the market's there, but it
increases the "execution" risk, since you have to out-execute someone who's
already in market with a proven solution.

In more abstract cases, though ("AirBnB for dogs") it just helps the listener
to understand the company and doesn't really speak to market size.

