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Ask HN: What to do if my in-development app just got launched by someone else?

by olssonm on 9/16/13, 10:02 PM with 11 comments

I've been working really hard on a web app for the past two-three months that I will soon launch into a private beta (for some co-workers, friends etc.).

About a week ago someone displayed their app here at HN that they just launched – an app that is more or less exactly like the one I am developing right now.

I really didn't think that I would care that much if I found an app similar to mine, but I really do. First of I am of course worried about competition, the potential market isn't really that big. But what bothers me more is that I am afraid of looking like an imitator, someone who stole someone else's great (yet simple) idea.

The (future) competitor has a really solid application, seems to have quickly grown quite the customer base.

Now, I know for a fact that my app have just a few more feature – and to be quite frank; looks better in most ways. But when I finally launch for the public I am afraid that people will just point fingers and say "Hey, he stole that idea straight from those poor guys and just added some features!".

What would you do in this situation? Work even more, and harder to have the application behave a bit different to try differentiate them more? Just launch and see which one of our applications will stick? Call it a day and take up another project?

Yes, I know that similar and almost identical apps already exists everywhere. But to have two of them launch at almost the same time for an extremely limited niche market? Thoughts?

  • by rodw on 9/16/13, 10:15 PM

    I can understand your angst, but at the end of the day you have two choices: keep going or stop.

    (Note I'm considering "pivot" under "keep going".)

    Not knowing what your market is, I'm still pretty confident about a few claims:

    1. Most of the target market hasn't heard of either you or your competitor.

    2. No customer cares who had the idea first.

    3. There's almost certainly room for two different takes on this product. You're not going to be 100% the same as the competitor (and even if you are, then you're competing on execution).

  • by shawnreilly on 9/16/13, 11:48 PM

    I've been in this exact situation and my advice is to keep going. Either keep building your product and compete with them, or contact them and attempt to merge. But don't give up just because someone else launched first. Only rarely (usually when the Product involves a 'Network Effect') does the order of who launches first matter. Usually, it does not matter who launched first, and the customers just want the best value for the price. The fact that someone else made something similar validates that the pain point you're solving (or capability you're providing) has value. Going further, the fact that they have been able to acquire customers so fast validates that there is a want / need / desire for the product, which is some great customer validation. So in this sense, you can just think of your competition as providing an additional set of customer validation data that you can use in conjunction with your own customer validation data. Theoretically, this should give you an upper hand (although I would say this is debatable). All things equal, even if the App's were exactly the same, the team that hustles the most, identifies with the customer the best, and implements the most effective strategies (be it Marketing or Business Monetization or whatever) will usually come out on top. So if there ever was a 'Go Time' this is it!

    Another thing to note; You may want to strongly consider if you have any valuable IP (Intellectual property) related to this Product. The change to "First to File" earlier this year relates to this exact situation you're in (two inventors release a new product at the same time). As the name implies, the First to File for a Patent has precedence. Good Luck!

  • by lutusp on 9/16/13, 10:22 PM

    Maybe you should visit the Android app store, see how may apps are nearly identical, serve the same audience in only slightly different ways. And how rarely one hears cries of "copycat!" (Not never, just rarely.)

    If you think negatively, you might say, "Oh, people will see me as a copycat." If you think positively, you might say, "I guess my idea wasn't so out of touch as I worried -- here's someone else trying to serve the same need. New let's see if I can do it better."

  • by rabidonrails on 9/17/13, 8:04 PM

    Remember, there's an inherent goal behind their app and yours. Within your markets (as niche as it may be) they may have a different vision and that will make a difference further down the line.

    Within a year, nobody is going to look back and call you a copycat -- unless your goal is specifically to build an identical version of that they're building.

    Overall, don't worry about it. Polish yours and get ready for launch. You want to find differences? That's what features/support/pricing/service/design is for.

  • by mknappen on 9/16/13, 10:37 PM

    Think about MySpace and Facebook. Often the first to market doesn't dominate a few years out. Figure out the problem you are solving and do it to the best of your ability. "Appropriate" your competitors' best ideas if they fit with your solution and ignore their bells and whistles if they don't. Even if you are not successful, there is no shame in failing well. Chalk it up to education and try again.

  • by jonaldomo on 9/16/13, 10:05 PM

    If the market your app is going after can not support two competitors, is it a market worth pursuing?

  • by TechpinesMary on 9/16/13, 10:36 PM

    Sounds like the other company is doing the hard work of marketing for you. Be thankful! Now you can focus your time on feature development, and if you come up with something good, they'll buy it or someone else will.

  • by gremlinsinc on 9/18/13, 3:23 PM

    I say keep going, simply because win or fail - experience counts, and if you fail, then you end up moving on to something else - at least you can say you're not a quitter.

  • by AznHisoka on 9/17/13, 6:10 PM

    What was the feedback like from HN for that app? Take that and see if you can improve on what that person showed.