When there are many fishes in the sea vying for the same thing, there's bound to be competition. It depends on you as a person on how you decide to tackle that competition. Whether you decide to take the competition as a positive or as a negative thing. It all totally depends on you.
And, when it comes to the startup world, the competition is fiercer than ever. Every now and then, we read news about an XYZ startup getting a funding of ABC amount from this and that investor. Such news pieces often leaves an entrepreneur wondering about where exactly is the future of his own startup headed to.
According to some market analysts, competition is good. Even if your competition gets funded an XYZ amount, don't get bogged down by this. In fact, take this as a positive sign of validation of your market sector. It helps in educating the people about why that particular sector is a promising one and ripe for disruption.
There are many live examples in the market where startups and entrepreneurs have been self-destructive by paying an unhealthy attention on their competitors and their leads and totally ignoring one's own customer and market opportunity. Always remember, your startup's competitors are the incumbent. Further, a Healthy competition is bound to keep you on your toes and deliver the best to the customer.
Sometimes, after seeing their competitors rise, companies and company owners end up making the following rookie mistakes. Make sure you don't repeat any.
- Don't try to copy each and every product release of your competitor
- Launching artificially in markets to compete on perceived "land grabs"
- Bad mouthing the competition in public
- Focussing more on the competition rather than on the customer
So, in the end, the question is, what should one do or how should one react when one of its competitors nets a big amount? Well, while there are no set guidelines or rules on how to react, following are some advices that one might consider.
- Focus on your own business, your own market and your own customers
- Reassure your company's employees that it’s healthy to have competitors.
- Reach out to your own investors and reassure them that you still feel good about your market positioning and your product.
- Start fixing your company's shortcomings, if there are any.
- Don't treat it as an emergency and rush into things that you might later repent.
So, Instead of taking your competitors success as a sign of your failure, take it as a positive sign for your market sector and remain optimistic that you might be next in line to receive that huge amount.
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