Who Woulda Thunk?
The guy who started eBay began the whole idea by selling a broken laser pointer, which, to his astonishment, someone actually bought from him. Surprised, he contacted the buyer directly and asked him, "You realize that the laser pointer is broken, right?"
"Sure," the buyer replied. "I collect broken laser pointers."
In hindsight, this strikes a person with the "Who Woulda Thunk?" syndrome. As it turns out, that can be a pretty good competitive advantage. I suspect that one of main reasons eBay got such a head start in the online auction market is because no potential competitors ever took the whole idea seriously until eBay had won the branding war and owned most of that market. In other words, until it was too late.
Following through on a "bad" idea or trying to sell something that "nobody" wants to buy might just work to your own advantage.
"Sure," the buyer replied. "I collect broken laser pointers."
In hindsight, this strikes a person with the "Who Woulda Thunk?" syndrome. As it turns out, that can be a pretty good competitive advantage. I suspect that one of main reasons eBay got such a head start in the online auction market is because no potential competitors ever took the whole idea seriously until eBay had won the branding war and owned most of that market. In other words, until it was too late.
Following through on a "bad" idea or trying to sell something that "nobody" wants to buy might just work to your own advantage.