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When pitching an idea, one question you will inevitably run into is, “who else has already done that”? It’s easy to become defensive or flustered by this question, but if you can explain how you’re better than the competition and why creating a quality product is more important than when you enter the market, you’ll win points with investors. Whether you’re creating a competitor to a product with substantial market share, or going against many small competitors, hopefully these articles will help back up your argument with confidence. And if you do happen to be first to market, don’t make the mistake of worrying more about being first than creating the right product for the right market.

• Being First Into A Market Brings Rewards But Also Risks - Talks about how first movers can have an advantage when they’re also innovative, but if a company “does not devote sufficient resources to keeping it; the following companies learn rapidly from the first-movers and erode their competitive advantage before they are able to consolidate it”.

• The Problem With Being First - “Rather than having a so-called “first-mover advantage,” start-ups that offer new products or operate in new markets often run into difficulties resulting from unknowns about the market and the costs associated with creating market awareness. Additionally, customers don’t give as much credence to the company that was first as they do to the company that has the right product or service. If your company is a first mover, remember that being first is not a sustainable advantage and you will encounter many challenges in developing a viable business”.

• First-Mover Advantage - Discusses why being a first mover doesn’t matter as much as previously believed, and how “a number of first-movers put more effort into marketing their innovations than in making sure their businesses actually worked”.

• Is There a First Mover Advantage” - Seth Godin believes being first can have it’s advantage if they are the first to target micromarkets, where “attention matters”.

• NSF Survey - The results of a survey conducted of 1100 companies on the importance of being first to market with new products.