Comment by datenwolf on 100 Tips for a Better Life · 2020-12-23T23:29:56.206Z · LW · GW

With respect to (25) first to market: I have to disagree strongly. It's actually very rare for the business that first reaches the market with a product will be the one most successful with it, or associated. Often it's not even the 2nd or 3rd.

And there's a simple reason for that: Whoever reaches the market first can not from the mistakes of whoever came before, or get inspiration and/or ideas and/or customer reviews to take into account.

A few examples:

• Automobiles: The household names are Ford, Chrysler, BMW. The first to market manufacturers either didn't survives, or are low/er volume high end or luxury brands.
• Aerospace: de Havilland Comet was the first commercial jet airliner. However the household names are Boeing with their 7x7 and Airbus.
• Internet Search Engines: AltaVista was first to market. Hardly anybody remembers it. Google came only much, much later.
• Social Networks: Who remembers MySpace? Geocities?
• Computer Peripherals: Adlib vs. SoundBlaster

The list goes on and on. In general it's often the companies that later arrive to the market that have success, for they can learn from the experiences of their "quicker" competitors, and no longer have to do the legwork of making potential customers want a product hitherto unknown.