START UPS ARE A JOKE !!!

Last night it occured to me how much starting up a new product is like a joke.

I remember being on a playground as a child, and having a friend come up and tell me a new joke they learned.

“Why did the monkey fall out of the tree… It was dead”

I’d laugh, and they’d enjoy it.

But then, another friend would come up and tell me the joke again.

“Why did the monkey fall out of the tree… It was dead”

This time I wouldn’t really laugh and explain I’d already heard that one.

The value of being first to market with a joke is very high. Comedians thrive on telling new jokes. People can then go home, steal their material and share it with friends and family. The shelf life of a new joke is very short. Every friend who hears the joke is less likely to go see the comedian because they will have already heard the jokes.

Start ups place a lot of value in being “first to market”. In much the same way, the second person to market is like the friend who told the joke the second time. They might pick up a few more people who missed the joke the first time, but the thunder is already gone.

Instead, a second to market strategy has to put a twist on the first to market. This is easier than being an actual innovator, because it simply adds to the previous innovation.

“Why did the Squirrel fall out of the tree… it was stapled to the monkey”

One doesn’t need to invent the coffee grinder, simply make the coffe grinder better to be able to receive market share and enter into the market.

Now many third to market to market strategies involve adding features to already existing products. DVD R R+ R- R/W for example, each has some minor features that aren’t that different. In the end, it would be similar to:

“Why did the Bird/goat/frog fall out of the tree… it was stapled to the monkey”

Each might be funny in their own right, but also might not be large enough to capture a significant portion of the market to compete with the original joke.

Finally, a start up can run a disruptive technology. A disruptive technology is something that completely alters the playing field within a previous industry. The nintendo Wii is the most recent famous example. Video games are still video games, it is the controller that they altered with an emphasis on usability and playability.

“Why do pigmies always buy umbrellas… because of all the monkeys and squirrels falling out of the trees!”

When you are looking at your company, or thinking of creating a start up, consider carefully which kind of joke you are telling, make sure you tell it to the right audience, and be ready to innovate again, because no one likes a stale joke.

AUTHOR
-ANONYMOUS