10 First-to-Market Products That Lost - Business Insider

But being first-to-market is far from a guarantor of success. Many major markets are dominated by products and companies that came late to ... 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H M S Inthenews Closeicon Twocrossedlinesthatforman'X'.Itindicatesawaytocloseaninteraction,ordismissanotification. Chevronicon Itindicatesanexpandablesectionormenu,orsometimesprevious/nextnavigationoptions. HOMEPAGE Subscribe Subscribe Home Chevronicon Itindicatesanexpandablesectionormenu,orsometimesprevious/nextnavigationoptions. Strategy 10First-To-MarketProductsThatLost NickSaint 2009-12-01T20:30:00Z FacebookIcon TheletterF. Emailicon Anenvelope.Itindicatestheabilitytosendanemail. Twittericon Astylizedbirdwithanopenmouth,tweeting. Twitter LinkedInicon Theword"in". LinkedIn Fliboardicon AstylizedletterF. Flipboard Linkicon Animageofachainlink.Itsymobilizesawebsitelinkurl. CopyLink Downloadtheapp  Alotofemphasisisplacedontheimportanceforentrepreneursofinnovationandcreatingyourownmarket.Certainly,youarebetteroffcomingupwithsomethingnovelthanknockingoffanexistingproduct. Butbeingfirst-to-marketisfarfromaguarantorofsuccess.Manymajormarketsaredominatedbyproductsandcompaniesthatcamelatetotheparty--sometimesverylate.We'vemadealistoftenearlygiantsintheirfieldsthatcouldn'thold-offthelate-comers.Insomecases,theyweren'tliterallythefirsttodosomething--that'softenacontestedquestionanyway--butratherthefirsttocatchon.Eachwasonceontop.Today,theyarealleitherdeadorinsignificant.Don'tbelikethem.10first-to-marketlosers> Friendster Despitewhatyoumayhaveheard,Friendsterstillexists,andisincrediblypopular.ButonlyinAsia.Onceuponatime,Friendsterwasthemostexcitingwebsiteinthewesternhemispheretoo.Thefirstmajorsocialnetwork,Friendstercameroaringoutofthegate,pickingupthreemillionusersinitsfirstfewmonths.ItwasupandrunningayearbeforeMySpace,letaloneFacebook.Withsuchaheadstart,howdidFriendsterfail?ThefirstthingmostpeoplerememberaboutFriendster,afteritgotpopular,isthatitwasinfuriatinglyslowandunreliable.Friendstersimplywasn'treadyforitssuccessandwasn'tabletoscale.ThisprovidedalotofincentivetoitsuserstocheckoutMySpaceandFacebookwhentheycameonthescene.NowFacebookdominates.Butthelackofinfrastructurewasonlyonesymptomofalargerproblem.Friendstertookmoneyfromanumberoflargeventurecapitalfirmsveryearlyon.TheypromptlyfilledtheboardwithVCall-starswhohadgrandvisionsforFriendster'sfuture,butlittleconcernforthetechnicalproblemsofitspresent.Withinafewmonths,theyreplacedfounderJonathanAbramswithaseriesofapatheticCEOs. Palm Onceuponatime,'palmpilot'wasagenerictermforPDAs;suchwasPalm'searlydominanceofthefield.Today,Palmisstrugglingtoestablishitselfasthethird-orfourth-hottestnameinhandhelddevicesaftertheiPhoneandBlackBerry,andmaybeGoogleAndroid.Palmmadeanynumberofmistakes,butitsdecisivefailurewaslettinginnovationslipwhenitsbiggestgrowthmarket--smartphones--wasstartingtoexplode.Palm'sTreowasoneofthefirstmajorsmartphoneswithacolortouchscreen,Webbrowser,etc.Butitwasabeast.Andasrivalsmadetheirphonesslimmerandmoresophisticated,Palmcouldn'tkeepup.ThenAppleintroducedtherevolutionaryiPhonein2007,andtheTreowastoast.Thelesson:Evenwhenyou'reamarketleader,keepiteratingandimprovingyourproduct.Don'tjustmakeyournextproductbetterthanyourlastone,butdreambig,andmakeitbetterthananythingyourrivalscouldcomeupwith. Netscape TheriseofNetscapeandtheriseofthewebwereessentiallythesamething.Duringthemid90's,thebrowserhelddownwellover90%ofthebrowsermarket.By1998thatfigurewasunder70%,andplummetingfast.ThecompanysoldouttoAOLthatyear;Netscapehadallbutdisappearedbytheturnofthecentury.Thedamagewasdone,ofcourse,byMicrosoftandInternetExplorer.ItmightseemharshtoblameNetscapeforlosingouttothesoftwaregiant--Microsoft'stacticswerelaterruledtobeaviolationofantitrustlaw.ButNetscapediditselfnofavorsinthebrowserwars,goingtit-for-tatwithMicrosoftinanarmsracefornewfeatureswithoutworryingaboutwebstandardsorbasicfunctionality.Intheprocess,Netscapealienatedthetech-savvydemographicthatasmall-timecompanyneedstocompeteagainstagiantlikeMicrosoft.Ifsomeonebiggerandstrongerdecidestoenteryourmarket,youmayneedtoradicallyalteryourstrategy.Don'tpretendyoucanout-musclethem.Findyournicheandshoreitup.(disclosure:MarcAndreesenisaninvestorinTheBusinessInsider) WebCrawlerAndFriends WebCrawlerwasprobablythefirstproductthatwasbasicallythesamespeciesasthewebsearchenginesweknowtoday,butwecouldhavepickedanynumberofservices:Lycos,Excite,Infoseek.Alloftheselaunchedin1994,yearsbeforeGoogle'sfoundersevenstartedthinkingabouttheproblem.Severalbrieflylookedfairlydominant.Nobodyusesanyofthemnow.Thelessonhereisalmosttoosimpletobeworthmentioning.Googlethrashedallofthesesearchenginesbecauseitwasbetter.Beforetheamazingofficesandinsaneperks,GooglewassimplytwoguysatStanfordwhosawabetterwaytodosearch,andwroteagreatalgorithmtodoitthatway.PeoplewhouseditfoundalmostimmediatelythatGooglegotthemexactlywhattheywerelookingformorereliablythanthealternatives.WhetherGoogle'smethodsshouldhavebeenobviousorrepresentabrilliantinsightisupfordiscussion.Buteitherway,themoralisverystraightforward:alwaysbethinkingaboutwhetherthereisabetterwaytodowhatyoudo.Youcanbesuresomeoneelseis. Tivo TiVowastheearlykingofDVR,atechnologythatwas,is,andwillremainexcitingandpopular.AftertrouncingearlycompetitionfromReplayTV,TiVobecamesynonomouswiththeabilitytoautomaticallyrecordtelevisionandwatchiton-demand.Indeed,tothisdaymanypeopleuse"TiVoing"torefertodigitalrecording.Unfortunately,veryfewofthosepeopleownanyTiVoproducts,andTiVodoesn'tgetpaidtobefamous.TiVoestablisheditsearlysuccessmakingstandaloneDVRboxes.Itwasagreatidea,butcablecompaniessimplytookthetechnologyandbuiltitintotheirproprietarycableboxes.TiVohascapturedatinyportionofthatmarket,butthecompanyneverrecoveredfromtheirrelevanceofDVRboxes.Over30%ofcablesubscribersintheU.S.haveDVR,yetTiVohasfewerthan3.5millioncustomers.Ifyourproductispopular,butcouldveryeasilybemerelyafeatureofsomeoneelse's,youhaveaproblem.Findawaytostayrelevant,orconvincethemakersoftheuberproductthatthecheapestwaytoincorporateyourtechnologyistobuyyou. SaehanandRio Saehanstartedsellingthefirstwidely-availablemp3playerin1998;Riofollowedwithamoresuccessfulmodellaterthatyear.BythetimetheiPodwasintroducedin2001,themarketwasfloodedwithplayers.Threeyearslater,theiPodhadallbutatinyfractionofthemarkettoitself.UserslikedtheiPod'selegant,minimalistdesign,andsimplybeingasbigacompanyasApplewasahugehelp.Butmostimportantly,theiPodhadiTunes,andstartingin2003,theiTunesmusicstore.HoweverneataCreativeplayermighthavebeen,itwasn'tcompatiblewithiTunes.EvenforuserslookingforawaytoavoidAppleanditsnastyDRMsystem,owninganythingotherthananiPodwassimplyinconvenient.Ifyouaresellingaplatformforcontent,it'sincrediblydifficulttocompetewithsomeonewhocansellthatcontenttousersdirectly.Ifyoucan'tdothesame,getoutoftheway. Betamax Sony'sBetamaxhasbecomeaclicheforfailedtechnology.Morethananyotherproductinthislist--withthepossibleexceptionofFriendster--Betaisrememberedasapunchline.IthadalreadyestablisheditselfwhenVHSenteredthemarket,anditinitiallyofferedbetterpicturequalitythanitsrival.Unfortunately,consumersprovedtobemoreinterestedonrecordinglengththanresolution.Sonywasforcedtoabandonitsedgeinqualitytoincreasethecapacityofitscartridges.Worse,Sonydidn'tpredictthecentralimportanceofHollywoodmoviesandvideorental.Itsinitialtapelengthofone-hourwasunsuitedtomovies,andbythetimeithadgottenseriousaboutrentals,VHSalreadydominatedthemarket.Consumersmighthaveadifferentplanforyourproductthanyoudo.Adjustyourdesigntofittheirneeds,notyourideasaboutwhattheproductshouldbe. Atari Ataricanboastboththefirstvideogameanyonehaseverheardof(Pong)andthefirstvideogameconsoleanyoneeverbought(Atari2600).Bothweremassivesuccesses.The2600remainsoneofthebest-sellingconsolesofalltime,andcameoutsixyearsbeforethenextconsoleofnote(eightinNorthAmerica).TheNintendoEntertainmentSystemwasthefirsttotakethecrownaway,butitdidn'tkillAtari;Atarihadalreadycommittedsuicide.Throughoutthelate'70sandearly'80s,Ataripumpedoutgamesforthe2600,aswellasanupdatedconsolein1982.Noneofit,however,representedmuchforwardprogress.Thegamesdidn'tgetanybetter,andeventhenewconsolewasn'tmuchofanupgrade.Thoughtherewerecountlesssmalltimecompetingconsoles,therewasnothinglikethearmsraceforeverbetterqualitythathasmarkedthepasttwentyyearsofgaming.Instead,Atarisimplysatbackandreapedtheprofitsofwhatithadalreadyaccomplished.Keepinnovating.Especiallyifyouareinthe technologysector ,youcan'tkidyourselfthatyourproductwillstayappealingforever,orthatseriouscompetitorswillnevercomealong. EverQuest UltimaOnlinewasreallythefirstlargescalemassively-multiplayeronlineroleplayinggame(MMORPG),butEverQuestbroughtthephenomenontomainstreamattentionandtookacommandingholdoverthemarket.Whileitgenerallykeptitsexactfigurestoitself,atitspeakEverQuesthadover450,000subscribers,andwasthesubjectofmyriadnewsarticlesandevenacademicresearch.Thetrouble,however,wasthatEverQuestwasjusttoodamnhardandtimeconsumingforthemasses.BringinganEverQuestcharactertothehightestlevelstookamassiveamountofplayingtime.Asaresult,beingaseriousEverQuestplayerwasaseriouslifedecision,thesortofdecisionthatmostofhumanitysimplyisn'twillingtotake.WorldofWarcraft,ontheotherhand,isabreeze.Advancinginthenewgameisn'tnearlyastimeconsuming.EverQuestwasmodifiedtomakeiteasier,butslowly,kickingandscreaming.Meanwhile,usersfledtothemoreaccessibleWoW,whichwasalsowideningthemarketrapidly.Today,therearemorethan11millionWoWsubscribers.Sometimesyourcustomers'needswon'tsitwellwithyou;whattheywantjustisn'tthesortofproductyouwantedtomake.Ifyoucanaffordtofail,sticktoyourguns.Otherwise,getwiththeprogram. Kindle? Visionsof"thepaperlessoffice"havebeenaroundfordecades.Justabouteveryfutureworldeverdepictedinfictionisheavyonscreensandlightonbound,paperbooks.AndAmazonhashadthee-readermarketpracticallytoitselfforthepasttwoyears.Whyshouldn'ttheKindleprosperandthrive?Well,maybeitwill.MaybetheAppleTabletwillgothewayoftheCrunchPad,andnoseriouschallengerwillemerge.Butwesureareskeptical. SeeAlso: 10BusinessOpportunitiesThatAreBooming>11BestiPhoneAppsForBusinessTravelers> Dealicon Aniconintheshapeofalightningbolt. Keepreading Newsletter Getadailyselectionofourtopstoriesbasedonyourreadingpreferences. Loading Somethingisloading. Emailaddress Byclicking‘Signup’,youagreetoreceivemarketingemailsfromInsider aswellasotherpartneroffersandacceptour TermsofServiceand PrivacyPolicy. More: Strategy Startups Features Management Closeicon Twocrossedlinesthatforman'X'.Itindicatesawaytocloseaninteraction,ordismissanotification. RecommendedVideo