“First the Worst”
Growing up, in elementary school, we had to line up between activities, and everyone would rush to be first in line. Eventually, since it was difficult to always be first, we began to shun the person who would always win. “First the worst, second the best, third the golden bird” goes the chant.
Likewise, everyone struggles to be first in business. They want to grab that first mover advantage, but is it really all that important? A classmate, Safira Nabila, discusses this issue in one of her blog posts. She uses the example of Apple, and how they were not really first in any of their products. This didn’t seem to be a barrier for Apple from becoming one of the most, if not the most, innovative technology companies of all time.
I completely agree with Safira on this one. Being the first in business is probably only very useful if you occupy a small niche and you sell something that is patented. Otherwise, being a close second is far more beneficial because you can learn from any mistakes that the first company made, and improve upon them.