
Ask the Wizard: Creating Competitors - brett
http://www.burningdoor.com/askthewizard/2007/03/creating_competitors.html
======
python_kiss
A strong antagonist makes a strong protagonist. Computer users wouldn't
support the open source movement so enthusiastically if Microsoft did not
exist. Genghis Khan, the prolific leader who conquered the world, learned
early on that by determining a common enemy he could unite the divided Mongol
tribes and unleash a force unheard of. Similarly, if it were not for IBM back
in the 80's, Steve Jobs would've never been able to build a cult around Apple.
Strategy, therefore, is not just the art of planning the line of attack; it is
also choosing whom to fight.

Some smart entrepreneurs tend to use their comeptition to validate their own
product. While the article is great (I mean it), it should be noted that it is
not always bad to have competition.

------
brett
3 interesting points.

I really like how he explains the lack of open APIs in terms of giving your
competitors, as opposed to your users, a chance to fill in gaps in your
service.

I can't say I have much experience with his advice on partnerships in not
strategic areas. How would a startup best spot a partnership with potential to
go sour as he describes?

~~~
jwecker
re: APIs. dBASE is the classic example of how to utilize this (and how to ruin
it later).

"Ed Esber, CEO of one-time database giant Ashton-Tate and makers of dBASE,
became the target of such enmity from the dBASE development community. Esber
owed his fortune to the developers of third-party dBASE products who took his
usability-deficient product and created applications that people could
actually operate. This didn't stop him embarking on an RIAA-style litigation
campaign. At a Software Publish Association conference, Esber declared to a
group of dBASE developers "Make my day!" while threatening to sue anybody who
dared build a dBASE-compatible product."

( <http://www.hacknot.info/hacknot/action/showEntry?eid=58> )

There was a time when there were dozens and dozens of companies who primarily
added functionality to Ashton Tate's product, rather than competing with
Ashton Tate.

