Over the past decade, the word ‘startup’ has become synonymous with quick success and often quick failure. It’s something many of us have considered at least once: quit your day job and build a startup! If only things were that simple. Like any other venture, startup building quickly stopped being a dream to be chased and turned into science. It’s not an exact one, but it’s something that can be replicated and as such, taught.

Why Do We Try?

Before dreamers with bright eyes and eager souls have their dreams crushed by the harsh reality, let’s get one thing out of the way: startup-building is a business. After hundreds of success stories where an idea turns into a product and said product supports the creator for the rest of their days, we can be sure that it’s no longer the goal. Not only because progress leaps faster and faster so yesterday’s cutting-edge idea will absolutely be surpassed tomorrow.

Because we’ve grown, and we see that sometimes it’s easier to create and sell than to create and support. Today, startup building is a business of launching and selling businesses. We earn from sales; not from operational income. That means there are people whose job it is to create potentially successful projects and make sure they are bought.

The obvious question is what makes one startup better than the other? An idea? No. An execution? Not exactly. The right place and the right time. That’s why we are going to talk about chasing that perfect billion-dollar approach.

The Agony Of Choice

Many startup builders search for an idea within their own minds. After days and hours of searching and thinking (there’s really a lot of just thinking involved), the idea arrives. But that’s when our brains usually play a cruel joke on us. One of the trickiest cognitive distortions makes us find millions of arguments in favor of whatever we come up with.

The idea is immediately exciting and we are ready to act yesterday with absolute determination and faith that success is the only option. We get blinded by the shiny perspective. Do I need to say more? We know the sad end to this story.

That’s why the most viable path is taking something that already exists and making it different. Or rather, different enough to be better.

When you see a functional and popular product, whether you use it yourself or just watch from the sidelines, you witness the ups and downs. Everything that normally would require months of research and thousands of dollars is already done. And if you are active in the community dedicated to said product, chances are, you know exactly what the users want.

Every controversial executive decision and every backfired attempt to improve a product would be visible and available to you. This is an actual way to learn from someone else’s mistakes and successes.

It’s always harder to be a pioneer since trial and error is the only path forward. When you follow a road already traveled, you know what to look out for. As long as you aren’t stepping into copyright infringement, everything is fair game.

Copycat products often become successful on their own. Such was a story with Kickstarter and Indiegogo. While the latter platform didn’t replace the original one, both have its share of frequent users.

Occasionally though, copycats outperform their predecessors specifically because they manage to change one crucial element that wasn’t considered in the original project.

This approach doesn’t just save money and time; it allows us to look past our own illusions of what an ideal product can and should be. It teaches us to follow the demands and dry statistics rather than dreams. And the business of selling businesses is more about facts than it is about fantasies.

Outside Influences

Great, now we know what to do. But what should we look for in a startup we’re planning to replicate? Contrary to popular belief, it’s nothing flashy. Focusing on the least entertaining but most relevant actual facts is the right way to go. Those include income, margin, investments, funding, and so on.

While attractive clickbait headlines that take online media by storm might seem more exciting, they don’t necessarily pave the road to success. In a highly competitive market, it’s vital to understand that choosing a startup is a process akin to trading. Those who approach this business emotionally tend to lose. Take it in your stride, research, and prepare.

Preaching To The Choir

It’s entirely possible that even with the intent of selling, you will still end up leading the project through its launch and first steps. This means you will have to attract users and prove that your startup is needed and wanted by the masses. When it comes to marketing a copycat project, your best bet is to approach the already interested audience. Think of it as being the headliner after a warmup act.

Make sure your campaign is clear and open, people need to know how your project differs from the original one and why it is better.

That small or big change you’ve made is what you build your campaign around. Instead of using buzzwords, make sure your product speaks for itself. The best analogy here is probably streaming platforms. We have more than a few, yet each one attracts the viewers with its own niche.

A controversial decision by Netflix to ban password sharing led to nearly all competitors chiming in and reminding of the advantages they can offer. Such is the way of the market.

Ultimately, the idea behind building a startup that would succeed and sell lies in distancing yourself from what you are creating. It works both as a metaphor for passing the reins over to the next project owner and for freeing the product from your own expectations. Those are the two issues that affect every startup creator the most and, as such, they are the ones we have the hardest time letting go of.

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