Credit: James Cridland
A recent clean-up of my inbox had me erasing invitations to nearly half a dozen social media sites, all promising that I could connect with friends and alumni in a thrilling environment or manage my online identity. (They also all had weird names as if the founders have been naming businesses based on only seven letter tiles they pulled from the Scrabble letter tile bag – but that’s another article for another time.)
The problem with the sites that I deleted without signing up is that they are identical to sites I’m already part of. I’m not interested in yet another LinkedIn clone when I’m already on LinkedIn. Realtors have this problem too — you’ve probably noticed that when you’ve interacted with one to buy or sell your home.
And it’s a real problem in startups, which Martin Zwillings, CEO & Founder of Startup Professionals, has found. In one of his posts, he rants about the maturity of the online dating industry and requests entrepreneurs to NOT pitch him on any more. [1]
From social media to Realtors to dating sites, these aren’t the only industries where sameness is a problem. The problem is, when one business does well as a popular first mover, there are many more that rush in. This was brilliantly parodied in Slate’s video about a service called “Flutter”:
What’s needed among startups is not a cloned service. And, as Zwillings points out, what’s needed is not a small twist on the same old story. What is needed is a game changer; innovation; brand new thinking.
Of course, you can start by demanding innovation from the entrepreneurs who pitch to you. Like Zwillings, you can politely request not to receive pitches in industry spaces that are mature or declining.
Or, if you’re an innovator yourself – and are as willing to roll up your sleeves and retool the business as you are putting some money into it – you can also see each opportunity as a base from which you can help the entrepreneur innovate.
Start by breaking the common thought pattern that follows first movers: “If they can do it, we can do it just a little better… and monetize it!” Instead, start by looking at the problems that exist in the marketplace and solving those. So an angel who is pitched yet another clone might consider how (or if) that startup can be modified to solve new problems in the market rather than replicate current solutions.
Playing “follow the leader” may have worked for children on the playground, but it has no place in your portfolio because it has no place in the market. Those emails get deleted from my inbox.
Note:
[1] Startups: Your Online Dating Site Will Fail
* For series, references are published in the last installment of the series.
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