
Ask HN: What to do when you realize your startup is a clone? - jhgaylor
I&#x27;ve been working on something for a few weeks and realizing that I essentially have to clone another service before I can provide my differentiating value.<p>Would you let that stop you? Would you do anything differently knowing that?
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Cozumel
Well if you didn't know this at the start then 1, you didn't do your homework
and 2, you came up with it independently. Which means other will too.

I wouldn't let it stop you, just because someone had an idea first doesn't
mean you can't do it better.

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smt88
Keep working. Almost every startup is a clone. Almost every mega-successful
large company (Coca-Cola, for example) was a clone -- we just haven't heard of
the original product that they cloned.

Figure out what makes users of the other product unhappy and fix it for them.

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geetfun
Definitely not.

Find your niche and solve the problem the other company isn't solving or
solving well.

Over time your product will differentiate where your customers tell you to go.

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mattbgates
Be unique. Be different in your approach. Learn about your competition --
become a customer and see what they are doing wrong. Is it the product? Is it
customer service? Is it the UI/UX? There is ALWAYS room for improvement. Where
they fail.. is where you can win. Everyone loves alternatives. I do it all the
time: I take a look at something and think: Can I create a similar clone of
this? How can this be improved? How can I create this very same product, offer
it for cheaper, yet still be able to profit off of it?

Is that mean of me? Because that is how capitalism (and globalism) works.
DuckDuckGo and Bing exist because Google is not perfect. Microsoft and Apple.
Yahoo and Google. YouTube has Vimeo. Microsoft Word and OpenOffice. Twilio and
Plivo. Internet Explorer and Maxthon and Chrome and Firefox. Xfinity and
DirecTV and Dish. T-Mobile and Verizon and AT&T and Sprint.

The list is endless for "clones" and "alternatives".

Most developers make this common mistake when they think about creating
something: "I want to make the next Facebook."

Horrible statement. Worst idea ever. You have already diminished your
potential by even thinking that. This is not to say that you shouldn't aim for
something _like_ Facebook, but don't try to become _the next Facebook_ when it
already has a history of being strong and persevering, especially when one of
the very top companies, Google, went against them and lost. That is a huge
lesson for all developers to learn and practice caution. Facebook has its
place in history and it will continue for many years. You will end up wasting
years of your life trying to be like Facebook. Google should have approached
Google Plus differently and instead of trying to be the clone, have provided a
more unique experience for using Google Plus. Facebook is good at a lot of
things, but they aren't good at everything. Focus on those things that
Facebook really can't be good at... or any company for that matter.

I am currently working on several web applications where there are dozens of
those same web platforms that already exist, and I have to remind myself of
why I continue: Because I am doing it differently. Because I am targeting a
different audience. Because I am different. For example, my competition mainly
focuses on small and large businesses. I prefer to focus on individuals,
startups, and small businesses. They might offer a sass while I might offer a
paygo system. There are so many things you can do that make you stand out and
be different from your competition.

If I were to acquire some big businesses or anyone looking for alternatives
and leaving my competition, than I'm glad I was there as that alternative
company they could turn to because they were upset with their normal service.
If they leave me, than I know I must improve my services.

Never let anyone stop you from doing you. Have confidence in yourself and your
work. Your personality is what helps make you unique and different and it is
what makes people want to try your product or use you as an alternative. The
one rule that most companies forget once they become big: Everyone wants to be
treated as a human being, not a number. The Zappos company can attest to that.

