Startup idea but found three large companies already doing it

[voiduser]

In the back of my mind I am always thinking about startup ideas.

Last week I thought of an idea only to find three rather well established companies already have products in the market place. I would normally let this drop but I have been quite taken by the idea and now think maybe I can bring something new and improve on whats already in the market.

Whats the general view of creating a startup in a market which already has large well established companies? What are the early tell tell signs it might be a good move, or a bad move?

[ColinWright]

          Google was late to search.

    Facebook was late to social networking.

       Apple was late to the MP3 Player.

    Where would we be if they listened to
    everyone who said they were too late?

    It's never too late. Just do it better.

From:

http://cdn1.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/10/...

[canterburry]

I used to work at a company that among its many offerings, provided the capabilities of EasyPost.com to it's enterprise clients. They could have simply spun out a team of 5 devs and have a mature EasyPost on day one and probably attracted a larger customer base than they had. However, that was simply not their roadmap nor customer segment they targeted.

Just because a large company has a similar product doesn't mean you are their competition or they are yours. But, you have to do your research.

The very same company also runs the worlds largest black car service for the enterprise and didn't think Uber was a competitor since Uber didn't focus on the enterprise space. I am pretty sure Uber is eating their lunch now.

[thenomad]

That's a good sign. Established competition means that there's actually a real market need there for the thing you're thinking of building.

Now the question is if you can differentiate yourself from the competition enough to capture some of that market.

[jaoued]

Experience tells me that you will have an edge over them if and only you can execute well. Your idea seems awesome as the market is already been tested and served. Also, established companies mean slowness to turn around and be close to customers, well at least compared to your future startup. Don't waste anytime, its not having the idea that matters but making it happen while learning from those three that have already started and execute fast. Good luck.

[staunch]

"Even at a big company it still comes down to a small team." said Mike Markkula's to Steve Jobs when he worried about IBM. Markkula worked at Intel so he knew what it felt like to compete from inside a big company. It's not as empowering as you would naively think.

[taprun]

Even if three other companies are working on the same idea, it doesn't mean that they're going after the same customers.

Does Ferrari compete with Toyota? Does Levi Strauss compete with tailors creating bespoke suits? Does a mountain bike compete with a road bike?

[brudgers]

If you're passionate. you'll execute anyway.