Redundant or not redundant? That is the question...

Khalid Belghiti
1 reply
I asked myself this question as I'm seeing so many redundant products (in producthunt and elsewhere)... All those survey/form that want to look like Typeform, all those email marketing platform that want to be the next mailchimp/activecampaign, all those chatbot app who want to look like... well any other chatbot app... and so on. I rarely found any USP/innovation in those solutions (except the cheaper price compared to their more established competitor). Do you think it's a good idea for innovation/Product development? Is it a good strategy for entrepreneur? "Just build something that exists, make it cheaper and hope for the best"?

Replies

Jan-Joachim Müller
Let's assume that those cheaper alternatives get a great amount of public attention and are able to become a noteable competitor for the well established companies. Isn't it just then that those established companies have to further invest in developing their own products? So this would drive innovation/research/development in general. Therefore I think it would be a good idea in general. On the other hand getting a 'great amount of public attention' can be rather hard depending on who your competitors are or depending on what it is that makes your product that much better than those available. With those aspects in mind I would argue that it could be a bad idea for entrepreneurs but it really depends on the market they are trying to conquer. So I do not think that one can answer your question in general, more like on a 'case by case' basis.