

Ask HN: Microsoft launches competitor to my startup – should I pivot? - etewiah

I&#x27;ve been working for a while on a http:&#x2F;&#x2F;klavado.com, a site to make it super easy for groups of people to decide on where and when to do things - like a simplified meetup.com.<p>A few weeks ago I found out that Microsoft had launched tossup, an android and iOS app for doing exactly that.  While that can be seen as some sort of validation that I am working on something worthwhile, I can also see good reasons to pivot away from the original idea.  Whatever happens, Microsoft will get more publicity that I will.<p>I am thinking of changing the idea to focus on only helping people select places.  I feel it might be easier to sell that concept and its a bit more unique.<p>I would love to hear what others think. In particular, do people think focusing klavado on helping people pick places would be a good idea or should I stick to the original idea of creating super easy meetups?
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brudgers
Focus on your users. Make a product they love. Don't worry about the
competition right now. Just ship.

Good luck.

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etewiah
Thanks. Hard not to get distracted by Microsoft though ;)

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brudgers
Brontosaurii are vegan and move slow. The odds that an exit involves being
stepped on by one are probably lower than being bought by one.

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etewiah
;) Wonder what it would feel like to be bought by a dinosaur..

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HelloNurse
Who's going to consider Microsoft a brand name for an Android and iOS app? A
random dotcom has the advantage that people assume that you know what you are
doing and that you care about your only product. What users don't expect from
a dotcom is lasting as much as Microsoft, but a service like yours doesn't
require much commitment from its users and large companies shut down services
at whim anyway.

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etewiah
Thanks for your feedback. Yes, its strange that Microsoft decided to launch
for Android and iOS but not for Windows phone.

It is possible that its something they will not be fully committed to.

Of the 2 options (i- service to decide on places, ii- a service to decide on
places and date/times) which do you think would be more marketable?

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etewiah
Sorry, looking back at my question now, I realise I should have at least
included a link to Microsoft's tossup so people can see what its about:

[http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/06/microsofts-new-tossup-
app-l...](http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/06/microsofts-new-tossup-app-lets-you-
poll-your-friends-plan-events/#.18atlw:HtTc)

and here is a link to my site:

[http://klavado.com/welcome/when-and-where](http://klavado.com/welcome/when-
and-where)

I haven't been able to use Microsoft's app as its currently limited to the US
and Canada but from what I gather, the functionality is quite similar.

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a_lifters_life
As others have said - focus on your mission. MS has many avenues their trying
to pursue, if you focus on just your one area, I don't think you will have an
issue. Plus...its microsoft, not google.

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etewiah
Thanks for the feedback. Do you think there is a market for the product I'm
trying to build?

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pranavpiyush
i think there is. consumer apps are hard though and require a lot of scale...
i'd encourage you to treat this as a side project. still work on it, but don't
think of it as a "startup" or "company" until it actually starts getting
traction... see this -- [http://blog.samaltman.com/projects-and-
companies](http://blog.samaltman.com/projects-and-companies)

~~~
etewiah
That is a great post - thanks for pointing me to it.

