Being Copied (Paul Graham), Teery Gold , Bixee Blog

Being Copied (Paul Graham): ...a startup founder who worried about competitors copying his idea. Was it worth starting a startup when competitors could easily copy him?

The answer in such cases is almost always yes. Startups worry far too much about people copying them.

First of all, it will take competitors a long time to realize that your idea is even a good thing to do. It seems obvious to you that your idea is good. You had it. Other people will take longer to see that.

Especially big companies-- as anyone can attest who has tried to convince a big company of something obvious. Often big companies don't want to see that an idea is good, because they already have a lot invested in some other plan.

Even when competitors realize your idea is good, (a) it will take them a long time to implement and (b) they'll probably screw up critical things.

And finally, working on your ideas will lead you on to new ideas. So you'll be a moving target; by the time competitors copy what you're doing now, you'll be doing more.

As a rule, startups shouldn't worry so much about competitors, especially big companies. Competitors are a second-order problem. Startups should worry more about making something worth copying and less about whether someone will.

Worry most about how to make something people want. If you're building anything good enough to copy, you're way ahead."

terrygold.com: Entrepreneurship: "The real fear doesn't come from starting your company. It comes later when you are running your company."

Well said there ,by the multi faceted Terry Gold ,nice to go through his post on entrepreneurship faqs ,and the stories regarding his own startup .

Bixee Blog » Seed funding is pointless?: "Thinking about all this, I dont see why there are not many times more “college entrepreneurs” targeting the internet space from India than from the US. Actually, who knows, college grads from the US might start coming to India to setup companies because it is much cheaper here.

The only reason I can see for seed funding for an internet company is if the equipment or bandwidth costs are very high. This holds if you are doing something like Google or Meebo. There are two other caveats I have heard from folks"

Focus on Fundamentals - FoF

FoF ( Focus on Fundamentals) thats what i read from webvapors » FoF, where the Vaibhav Domkundwar believe's is really key to the success of startup businesses anywhere in the world, in any market segment any time of the day or night. He also goes on to say :

"All along, the only thing I would say made the biggest difference for me was the Focus on Fundamentals - a few simple questions that, I believe, can help every startup to think through the challenges and really work towards revenues, revenues, and revenues!

1. Do you know your exact target market and your target buyers?
2. Does your target buyer experience a pain point that is not solved right now? Or not solved optimally right now.
3. What do you think the customer will pay for your service? Is that enough to build your company and be profitable?
4. Do you know your competitors? Can they be your partners? How do you differentiate from them?
5. Do you have the right team in place? Do you know how best to build a team to deliver your product or service?"

Are Software Patents Evil?

When Paul Graham speaks , you listen ! He wrties in Are Software Patents Evil?:

"We do advise the companies we fund to apply for patents, but not so they can sue competitors. Successful startups either get bought or grow into big companies. If a startup wants to grow into a big company, they should apply for patents to build up the patent portfolio they'll need to maintain an armed truce with other big companies. If they want to get bought, they should apply for patents because patents are part of the mating dance with acquirers.

Most startups that succeed do it by getting bought, and most acquirers care about patents. Startup acquisitions are usually a build-vs-buy decision for the acquirer. Should we buy this little startup or build our own? And two things, especially, make them decide not to build their own: if you already have a large and rapidly growing user base, and if you have a fairly solid patent application on critical parts of your software."

A nice article on the way patents and american companies view them .

fDi Magazine: ASIAN CITIES & REGIONS OF THE FUTURE 2005/06

fDi Magazine: ASIAN CITIES & REGIONS OF THE FUTURE 2005/06: "ASIAN REGION OF THE FUTURE:

Winner: Tamil Nadu, India

Competition was closer and the playing field more level in the regions section of fDi’s contest, with the Indian state of Tamil Nadu edging ahead of Australia’s New South Wales to claim the title Asian Region of the Future 2005/06. Tamil Nadu took first place in the all-important category of best FDI potential.

As investors such as Ford, Hyundai, Nokia and, most recently, BMW have discovered to their delight, Tamil Nadu has managed to avoid or mitigate problems that dog other locations in India, such as infrastructure and energy failings. Through pro-active and business friendly government policies, the state has harmonious industrial relations, a matured business culture and abundant skilled manpower.

Things should only get better: several new fly-overs and by-passes are under construction that will ease traffic congestion in heaving Chennai, and an ‘IT Expressway’ project will widen the main access road to that city’s thriving software cluster. This hints at Tamil Nadu’s real secret weapon: Chennai’s IT corridor employs nearly 50,000 people, and this number is set to increase to as much as 90,000 when some of the major IT companies investing there get their operations up and running."

Good to see some international exposure on TN,and with its inherent infrastructural advantages over bangalore and other cities in the south of india,there's no surprise that you might find a lot more focus towards further investment and expansion plans in this region.