[cpayne]

1) Yes, a couple of times. But in the long run, we were so much better for it.

(For me at least!) I overestimated how obvious my product idea was. You see this all the time! The marketing effort becomes two-fold. You have this pain point (or opportunity), and here's a product that solves that pain point.

By being 2nd / 3rd / etc. the 1st person has already educated the potential client

2) Pay real attention to what the 1st to market was doing well. Can you copy / replicate it? Be aware of your mindset. Is this really a "winner takes all" situation? Or is there room for the both of you?

3) Why are you doing this? Is it to make a bazillion dollars? Or something more satisfying? Plenty of businesses (Stackoverflow, 37 Signals) have a certain "quality of life" - clearly they enjoy doing what they do. Why are you doing this?

4) Are you really really sure this is a bad thing? How many businesses can you think of that did fantastic from Kickstarter?

Compare that to how many Kickstarters were... less than successful?