It's not about who did it first...

[Schmidty]

As a beginning entrepreneur, I always find myself trying to find what's never been done...It's been a struggle because there are times when I think of something and get disappointed when I find out that it has already been done. Thought I'd share. Thanks!

http://elitedaily.com/money/entrepr...er-to-be-the-best-than-it-is-to-be-the-first/

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[BigRomeDawg]

I recently heard something funny about this. Something like "the first person through the door always gets shot. you want to be right behind them using them for cover"

 

[DennisD]

I hate when I tell somebody something that I'm doing and they reply with "________ is already doing something like that"

It makes me HAPPY when there is something out there like what I do. It means there's a growing market.

 

[Tommy92l]

On top of that, you can use them as an example to see the things that they could improve on, and implement it into your own product.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[DKNJ]

Yea it can be discouraging. You just have to do it better or different. Like in TMF , Mcdonals and Starbucks weren't the first to make burgers and coffee.

 

[Vigilante]

Sam's club will only locate in cities where there are nearby competitors. They want the comparison.

 

[3things]

Look at some of the largest companies out there - Apple [desktop pc era], facebook, google, amazon [general ecommerce & kindle/ebook] and as mentioned above Starbucks, Macdonalds etc etc etc - they weren't the first to do what they did, they took something that existed and improved upon it, did it better, added value to it and won.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[alexanderkjones]

If this is of any value I'd love to share my pain here. I've had the privilege to talk with two different entrepreneurs with net worth over $1M over the last two weeks as part of a mentorship program I'm participating in. Both built innovative tech companies, both started from bootstrapping. It's funny when you start talking with these folks they kind of skirt over the first years but as a pragmatist I'm always looking for the patterns between successful people. Here's what I found, 2 millionaires did the same thing:

Millionaire #1) Starts the first ISP in Maine with $45K after leaving Cambridge in the early 90's. How did he spend that $45K? He buys modems and connects them to the internet for people. He bought existing technology, assembled the parts, slapped a sticker on it, and sold it under his brand.

Millionaire #2) Starts a digital directory of national pharmaceutical businesses on floppy disks in the mid 90's. It was a $350 initial buy in and $150/year to get updated info. She took something existing, packaged it, and sold it for recurring cash.

Golden Rule: Don't build anything new your first time around, be innovative with something that already exists

This is a HUGE Lesson for every entrepreneur and it's not nearly promoted enough! You have to get traction before you can really build your business and your fastest path to traction is cut out the development time and just sell something. You'll learn so much more repackaging something that works and serving a market that needs it than you ever will toiling away in your garage trying to invent the next big thing.

Golden Rule #2: It doesn't matter if it's not new, as long as it's providing value!

Look, if you've got an idea that's actually valuable it doesn't need to be innovative. Is toothpaste innovative? No! Do you use it every day? Yes! I spend $5/tube for my hippy Tom's of Maine toothpaste and it keeps my pearly whites fresh without the fluoride. Just because it's not new doesn't mean I don't depend on it so that I don't have to get a $5K root canal at the dentist. $5/month vs $5k/year that's Value!

It's all about value, you've got to understand your value proposition to your client. Often that requires you to be innovative but more often than not you need to be innovative in marketing not product development. I challenge you to find your fastest way to cash by restricting yourself to only leveraging existing products and technologies to bring new value propositions to prospective clients!

 

[IAmTheJeff]

If this is of any value I'd love to share my pain here. I've had the privilege to talk with two different entrepreneurs with net worth over $1M over the last two weeks as part of a mentorship program I'm participating in. Both built innovative tech companies, both started from bootstrapping. It's funny when you start talking with these folks they kind of skirt over the first years but as a pragmatist I'm always looking for the patterns between successful people. Here's what I found, 2 millionaires did the same thing:

Millionaire #1) Starts the first ISP in Maine with $45K after leaving Cambridge in the early 90's. How did he spend that $45K? He buys modems and connects them to the internet for people. He bought existing technology, assembled the parts, slapped a sticker on it, and sold it under his brand.

Millionaire #2) Starts a digital directory of national pharmaceutical businesses on floppy disks in the mid 90's. It was a $350 initial buy in and $150/year to get updated info. She took something existing, packaged it, and sold it for recurring cash.

Golden Rule: Don't build anything new your first time around, be innovative with something that already exists

This is a HUGE Lesson for every entrepreneur and it's not nearly promoted enough! You have to get traction before you can really build your business and your fastest path to traction is cut out the development time and just sell something. You'll learn so much more repackaging something that works and serving a market that needs it than you ever will toiling away in your garage trying to invent the next big thing.

Golden Rule #2: It doesn't matter if it's not new, as long as it's providing value!

Look, if you've got an idea that's actually valuable it doesn't need to be innovative. Is toothpaste innovative? No! Do you use it every day? Yes! I spend $5/tube for my hippy Tom's of Maine toothpaste and it keeps my pearly whites fresh without the fluoride. Just because it's not new doesn't mean I don't depend on it so that I don't have to get a $5K root canal at the dentist. $5/month vs $5k/year that's Value!

It's all about value, you've got to understand your value proposition to your client. Often that requires you to be innovative but more often than not you need to be innovative in marketing not product development. I challenge you to find your fastest way to cash by restricting yourself to only leveraging existing products and technologies to bring new value propositions to prospective clients!

That's a challenge that I'm already undertaking, but awesome post. Rep $ for you!

 

[karmazon]

Andrew Carnagie, the second richest man in history, said that "pioneering doesn't pay."

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[RogueInnovation]

I always find myself trying to find what's never been done...It's been a struggle

Struggle is a good sign
Shows you are sane.

Innovation feels like this followed by this and then followed by this......

Its not the "never been done" part that is the problem, its the "this will be easy if I avoid their mistakes" attitude that is the problem. At least, in my experience that is the case. So I try to innovate close enough to the learning curves that I'm not unduly risking anything, and innovate as much as my appetite dares.

Think big, aim outside your comfort zone, work specific, see what you can get done, then do better. Thats my humble view.

 

[alexanderkjones]

Struggle is a good sign
Its not the "never been done" part that is the problem, its the "this will be easy if I avoid their mistakes" attitude that is the problem.

@RogueInnovation that is really interesting. I totally agree, great point. Can I ask though, how did you start? I'm actually looking for case studies of people who found their first traction as a business through innovation and not through bringing an existing technology to a new market. It seems to be a pattern to first play it safe and generate revenue to leverage towards innovation. Can you speak to that? What was your first sale and what was your method of generating capital for R&D?

 

[RogueInnovation]

I thought on this some more and figured something out;
Dream projects, where you make a difference, is like love. You only need it once, and you need to be patient and well controlled and not base everything off it or be dependant on it.
Inspecific money making challenges are like being an interesting and interested person, clean, simple, digestible, want some more? Sure why not, I always need some more.

When people see you rushing at love or innovation, there are a lot of doubts they are going to assosciate towards you, because so many people are disingenuine, and "obsess" about pointless things. But if you truly LOVE an idea, you are going to need to be willing to bite the bullets you would at any other time and in any other money making biz bite into if you want it to thrive.

(rant enclosed on innovation)

The higher your aspiration, THE MORE you need to pay attention to the fundamentals of business. Usually, if you love an idea in vain, there is a lot of "muck" to get through, and the journey will exhaust you.
But if you actually care about it, you will find a way to stop getting beaten up, and you will innevitably end up with focus points that drive success of THAT dream.

I think that most people just are not selective enough about what they love.
Elon musk, is pretty selective, "I wanted to do what would bring the world forward".
But most people are like "I love myself so much, that whatever my idea is, I can't ever fathom it not being enough for the masses. It must be their fault! They must hate me!".
That isn't innovation, it is DIVERSITY, and diversity is very important, but you have to learn to package it for those that WANT IT, when they want it, so you are not getting in the way of the process.

To make something innovative, it has to be more than just, effective or diverse, it has to be considered important BEYOND your inner control freak. You have to ask "is there better options out there?" and you have to be willing to say "ok, that is better, how can I help build it" if there are. Only when you are actually and genuinely sure that this innovative idea is more than a childish and immature ploy for attention, can you find the guts to car enough to broaden your skillset, and specialise in an untested field.

Imo, you have to be tough as nails. And smart enough, to know the difference between an itch, and what will take away from the world if you do not innovate.

I guess I'm alluding to a kind of innovative diligence.
The due diligence process is far longer, far more involved and requires reaching out to many more experts, many more beta groups, and many more colleagues grinding.
And the purpose of this innovative diligence is to, eradicate critical failures, and focus on accessibility.

Example:
Space
"We choose to go to the moon, not because it is easy, but because it is hard"
They DID it, and then they flopped down dead in the water.

If you are going to innovate, you can't do that. You have to think steps BEYOND the moon.
You have to think, "and where do we go after".
Because if YOU do not know, neither will anyone else.

You can't innovate half cocked and gun shy. Its gotta be unconditional, consistent, self fulfilling in a positive way.
And then like cars, it becomes part of the mundane. Traffic jams come up, issues with roads, and someone will see a better solution than yours.

Can you take that? Can you let mankind move on beyond yourself?
Can you do the diligence it requires, knowing the reward is small?
Can you do it knowing that, being smaller time, is almost exactly as fulfilling as innovating?
Can you outlast the gusto?
Does it REALLY matter.

You have to come to terms with that. Or the amount of time and investment and creativity it requires to innovate that deeply, is going to leech on everyone, maybe even hurt economies.

We all wanna be innovators. But lets be honest, most things do not need to be taken THAT far.
You just to take it far enough for you to realise you could have done it easier.
I don't think there is a huge market for innovators, as the amount of people that CARE are very small and extremely picky, but I think we can all relate to innovation, because at the heart of it all, we all wanna believe in love and purpose.

But we gotta learn to be a part of everything else too, otherwise we are innovating out of spite, and that is not how business works.
Focus on excentuating the diverse nature of your product edge, make it more accessible, make it sell, and you will feel good and be doing good for many people, without needing to reinvent the wheel or build a fortress for stick of gum (because its your gum its THAT important ).

There is a pragmatism to innovation, and I think you really need to work hard on forging a sense of graciousness and flexibility for it to really work out well.
Stick in the mud type thinking is NOT innovation, it is being a control freak, that sabotages processes because you can't handle the truth.
You can't be that type of person and innovate, you have to grow beyond it and do what the task actually requires, and in most cases, with or without genius, its gonna be tough, and "good results" are not garunteed to work out like you dreamed they would.

In the end, can you accept things for the way they will be.
If you can, then it is your job, along with other people, to challenge it, make it safer and make it the best it can be for the people that will use it.

Big tobacco was innovative, but it killed people.
You really can't just take it lightly. But you have to take in EVERY piece of actionable advice and expertise as you can. Because small oversights can become big failures eventually.

A/C electricity was probably one of the best inventions.
Edison wanted slower DC, which in the end would have had suffocating effects on development on already overly crampt city spaces. Tesla, worked with electricity his whole life, and yes its dangerous, and people die from it, but the value it has opened up, has lead to all kinds of innovation.

Agriculture: it is something we dismiss nowadays, but loooong ago, if you wanted to eat, tough luck, you had to migrate. No browsing the internet, you had to comb the woods. Sounds romantic, for a while... But if you are a lover of cities, they could not be here today without it (or irrigation etc).

Toilets and toilet paper: How much easier is that than squating in a can and using some make shift stuff to clean?
That wasn't invented long ago.

For every step, there are cascading steps there after. And innovation is often another word for "foundation". Because that is what it is, part of a grind, part of a process, part of the way we all work together.

Innovation doesn't make you exempt from going out and making stuff that works, it just means you have to be ten times more dedicated to the processes.
You have to love that process, that idea, that sense of enhancing availability, and not just because you would put your name on it, but because you'd like to have it happen in general, because it makes lives better.

Sorry for the kinda off topic rant, but yeah.
If you love it, you'll see that innovating is a process too, so don't be too ashamed of the everyday grind, because all those lucritive avenues etc, steak houses, nice brands, etc, that stuff matters a lot to people's lives too, and you shouldn't get in a habit of discounting it, because of a buzz word.

But yeah, innovation is more my cup of tea, because I hate seeing people "miss out" on things. So I try to bring together what I can to make sure they don't have to.
To do that, its all about CENTS, and humility, etc etc etc.

End rant

@alexanderkjones

I'm actually looking for case studies of people who found their first traction as a business through innovation and not through bringing an existing technology to a new market. It seems to be a pattern to first play it safe and generate revenue to leverage towards innovation. Can you speak to that? What was your first sale and what was your method of generating capital for R&D?

Traction is a bit vague for me to comment on, because it depends on how big your marketting reach is, before you can get conversion rates maximised, costs minimised, and product aspects streamlined for great word of mouth (and branding). I haven't yet launched an alpha product into a sample sized audience yet (am not far from that mind you, and am working on the details of what I need to test and put through its paces).
There is certainly a need I am fulfilling and a gut reaction amongst beta test groups with what I aim to do. But it isn't a new market. It is just a "wilder" approach to what is typically more conservative and requires great product to get people's hearts invested in the concepts and benefits.

My R&D budget consists of me eating ramen noodles, having a network of friends etc who help out, and the ability to hustle (I look for high return money making opportunities to maximise my time, and I do this by talking to people and addressing my mindset issues).

First sale was not an issue for my biz. Sales are easy enough. The trick is expanding the scale of the business, because there are roofs there that kill what I look to do.
So for me its about WHY we sell, and I'm reiterating that constantly.

I can sell a package to you, I have no doubt, because I have authority and can easily demonstrate use. But, getting sales to be self sustaining and without my assistance is how I develop that fastlane vehicle, and in my niche I'm not able to do that with a sales force (well I could, but its not my core aim).

My motto is "sometimes you gotta run before you can walk", so I'm not in sales right now, but beta test groups all pester me to finish, so its about brand standards, and making sure I hit a level that I believe can satisfy the market I am aiming for, whilst also having in place the measures that can grind sales if need be.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[TomTrepreneur]

If this is of any value I'd love to share my pain here. I've had the privilege to talk with two different entrepreneurs with net worth over $1M over the last two weeks as part of a mentorship program I'm participating in. Both built innovative tech companies, both started from bootstrapping. It's funny when you start talking with these folks they kind of skirt over the first years but as a pragmatist I'm always looking for the patterns between successful people. Here's what I found, 2 millionaires did the same thing:

Millionaire #1) Starts the first ISP in Maine with $45K after leaving Cambridge in the early 90's. How did he spend that $45K? He buys modems and connects them to the internet for people. He bought existing technology, assembled the parts, slapped a sticker on it, and sold it under his brand.

Millionaire #2) Starts a digital directory of national pharmaceutical businesses on floppy disks in the mid 90's. It was a $350 initial buy in and $150/year to get updated info. She took something existing, packaged it, and sold it for recurring cash.

Golden Rule: Don't build anything new your first time around, be innovative with something that already exists

This is a HUGE Lesson for every entrepreneur and it's not nearly promoted enough! You have to get traction before you can really build your business and your fastest path to traction is cut out the development time and just sell something. You'll learn so much more repackaging something that works and serving a market that needs it than you ever will toiling away in your garage trying to invent the next big thing.

Golden Rule #2: It doesn't matter if it's not new, as long as it's providing value!

Look, if you've got an idea that's actually valuable it doesn't need to be innovative. Is toothpaste innovative? No! Do you use it every day? Yes! I spend $5/tube for my hippy Tom's of Maine toothpaste and it keeps my pearly whites fresh without the fluoride. Just because it's not new doesn't mean I don't depend on it so that I don't have to get a $5K root canal at the dentist. $5/month vs $5k/year that's Value!

It's all about value, you've got to understand your value proposition to your client. Often that requires you to be innovative but more often than not you need to be innovative in marketing not product development. I challenge you to find your fastest way to cash by restricting yourself to only leveraging existing products and technologies to bring new value propositions to prospective clients!

I have heard of this been done before, sounds like a great idea. But how does it work? I mean do you buy unbranded goods and then put a brand on yourself? And when you say assembled them, do you mean buying different components from a few different companies and then putting them together to form a final product?
I don't understand much about unbranded goods to be honest. I'm guessing they must be unbranded if you want to use them as your own. And would it typically involve finding out what works well in another country and then bringing the concept to your own?

 

[Jimmyy]

I recently heard something funny about this. Something like "the first person through the door always gets shot. you want to be right behind them using them for cover"

 

[alexanderkjones]

@RogueInnovation AWESOME POST, I really enjoyed reading your rant it's very passionate and resonates with a lot of my own standards on life. That said, I think you and I are exceptions to the rule here in that we're willing and have the resources to take the time to bring innovation. I like to talk about outcomes, and I know for me and you our outcome is to change the world. For many, their outcome is to change their own lives and often I think we forget to help ourselves before saving the planet.

So, just for educational purposes. Can you share how long you've been working on your product, how you're bootstrapping it i.e. is it from another job, consulting, personal savings, or sales from a more conventional product and is it a software product or physical product?

I should make note to everyone here, if you're building software the rules are a little flexible. Because software is a tangible written thing you're able to build on existing frameworks meaning it's safer to be innovative because the time to market is so much faster. Not to downplay software they are both challenging.

@TomTrepreneur don't feel like you have to restrict yourself to licensing other products with your branding. It's expensive and the margins are very low. Focus on the value proposition, or example: You've seen a lot of project management software for software companies starting to get translated into other markets like real estate and home repair services. The idea is to not reinvent the wheel, find something anything that's providing value in a market and bring it to another market.

As for the modem example, yes he literally was building modems the same way gamers build their PC's today. He was just able to sell them because the market for home based internet was just starting. He saw a window of opportunity and he took it. Great advice there.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[RogueInnovation]

So, just for educational purposes. Can you share how long you've been working on your product, how you're bootstrapping it i.e. is it from another job, consulting, personal savings, or sales from a more conventional product and is it a software product or physical product?

Its an agile product. I'm not set on what product or service methodology I will be using yet. It quite literally could be anything. I started with foundations, incrementally building up certainties, and eventually defining product roles and needs.
Been doing that night and day for a year-ish.
I bootstrap with a consultant job in a similar field and personal hustles, and sometimes just selling some things one to one with people to make the bills (its highly situational).

For many, their outcome is to change their own lives and often I think we forget to help ourselves before saving the planet.

I don't believe that many people are just looking to change their life, I think they are trying to escape pressures. I from the start was highly aware that you don't run from the shark at your back, you lead it in circles and use it to improve your processes.
Its true that you have to look after yourself though, but for me that is about improving my perspective, so I see how my role relates to the bigger picture.
You can be crazy innovative, or you can be composed innovative. Crazy innovative certainly has a lot of issues, but if you work hard enough you can make all that gusto form into expertise and composure, and in doing so, make the "poor man" attitudes fall away, because no one expects poorness from you because you are so confident.

Implement revenue streams, good budgets, and automate some processes.
I believe the "getting rich" component is easier than one thinks, it is establishing order throughout the process that is the real challenge and ironically, great organisation makes sure you implement systems that will ensure you get rich from what you do.

I'm certainly not going to get rich from bootstrapping, but I know what its role is in the larger picture.
I certainly will get rich from the business I am working on, because that is how it is designed and there is no shortage in sales points and monetisation opportunities that I am set up for.

I believe it is easy to want to "jump the gun", and try to be rich whilst boot strapping. But if you are not careful, your own insecurities will push you towards models of business YOU KNOW do not work, in order to allieviate pains that are ACTUALLY meant to be there, because you are bootstrapping.

(ramble enclosed)

In essence, I know what bootstrapping is for. So I don't have envy, of slowlaners, or people with businesses that rakes in more cash than my bootstrap stuff.
I also know that guys that HAVE bootstrapped, sure as hell don't want to do it again. But to be honest. I'd do it again if I had to, I'm not bitter or afraid.

Tons of icecream out there
Sometimes positivity means, knowing that feeling like sh!t is all part of the plan

There are two ways to climb a mountain, stumble and fall, and scrape your knees rushing for the top. Or, you calm down, plan the route, climb some smaller mountains, get an idea of it, come prepared and then just do it. I prefer the second because I've succeeded and failed enough times in my life to know how this all works

Sometimes, being eager to get cash, scrape your knees etc, is just overkill. I can garuntee you that most successful guys, wish that if they had to redo their life, they wouldn't have been so scared by the prospect of taking a few risks and sacrifices when starting out.

Keep your eye on the prize and don't get distracted by "what should be happening".
you are meant to get a little bruised, its all part of the fun, just put some shades on, they'll cover up the bruises

In short; I have no illusion that "I am sacrificing in order to innovate", nope, I'm just doing business the way I find it to be most satisfying to me. Vapid stuff, makes me feel on edge, I'd prefer to get the pain outta the way upfront.

Its all good xD
I'm no better than anyone. I just have a passion for great product, and I know that translates to sales and happy customers. Kaching! Thats all there is too it

Ego (I am the only one) makes people flinch. Lose it, and be fearless.
Do what you wanna do, and don't point fingers at anything.
This is life, and its way better without blame, superiority and "scrambling" for some imaginary victory that has no payback in the real world.

Do the time, get the process down, get the honey pot.
Tbh, I really am enjoying my journey right now. Its great like a roller coaster.