
First, second, or third is great--anything else and you have problems - mattculbreth
http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/2007/04/1st_2nd_or_3rd_.html
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jkush
I know this is way off topic but every time I see that pic on his blog, I
become unnerved. I'm not sure he's a real person. He's kind of plastic
looking. It's almost like he's Steve Ballmer's avatar.

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create_account
He thinks you're a sharp looking guy, too

:D

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jkush
I suspect you might actually be Don Dodge. Is that true? Judging by your
comments, you don't seem to be a very big fan of YC.

:D

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create_account
In general, the YC idea of small seed amounts is a good one.

I'm also an entrepreneur myself.

It's just when the bubble mentality starts creeping back, I feel the need to
call bullshit.

Just think of me as the proverbial grain of salt.

EDIT: No, I'm not Dodge. That creepy guy can write his own comments.

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far33d
Funny... GE's policy was that they wouldn't be in any business they couldn't
be first or second in.

But suddenly, we've added third. Because MSFT is 3rd in search. hah.

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nostrademons
It depends on the market - some markets seem to support 3 major players, while
others only support two. Think GM, Ford, and Chrysler for the U.S. car market;
Toyota; Honda, and Nissan for the Japanese car market; ExxonMobil,
ChevronTexaco, and ConocoPhillips for the domestic oil market; Apple,
Commodore, and Tandy for the 1970s PC market; and Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung
for the cell phone market.

Oftentimes that equilibrium is unstable, too. Chrysler got bought up by
Daimler-Benz, Nissan seems to have disappeared, _all_ the 1970s PC
manufacturers ended up as bit-players when IBM and clones took over the
market, and ConocoPhillips is clearly doing its best to become the #2 U.S. oil
company instead of the #3. So they're both right, it just depends on what time
horizon you're looking at.

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ced
I had a flash from biology while reading this: they say that two specie can
never occupy the exact same biological niche. One of them will always have a
higher growth rate, which will drive the other to extinction. If that applies
to business, being consistently second would be leading to bankruptcy...

