Being "Bleeding Edge" Sucks

I'm at a conference today - and was having a generic conversation about business/technology with someone - and thought about an interesting misconception about business and timing...

There is this thought process among entrepreneurs that if they are THE FIRST to think of something that success is largely correlated to that fact alone... I don't think anything could be farther from the truth. I think there are huge disadvantages to being FIRST these days. Business moves at such a fast pace, that "first mover advantage" is not what it once meant. It is now something other companies leverage to capitalize on what not to do vs. what to do.

Being first makes you the guinea pig. Being first means that the odds are way against you to get it right off the bat. Being first is expensive. Being first makes you an evangelist of a future competitors success. Bottom-line - this concept was learned when we were all 6 years old ... First is the worst -- Second is the best! ;)

Was the iPod the first MP3 player (or for that matter - was iTunes the first online music store/organizer)? Was Google the first Search Engine? Was Youtube the first video sharing site? Was Facebook the first social network? (I can go on and on) Oh, and by the way, The Snuggie wasn't the first (or definitely last) blanket with sleeves....

What you notice, though, is that all these example are from recent business successes. The gentleman I was speaking with earlier today is in the mobile space (and he's the one who said "being on the bleeding edge sucks") - a GREAT example of an industry that has a handful of people trying to figure it out - while others are waiting on the sideline because they know it's bound to explode -- they just want to gain the 2009 benefit of the "second mover advantage"

How do you protect against this? (I have no idea!) Patents take way too much time and are easily overcome with slight modifications ... Legal action is too expensive - and nothing entrepreneurs can sustain ...

What's my point in all of this? Am I trying to dissuade people from being cutting-edge with their thought processes ? Not at all -- I just thought it was an interesting shift and the alternative to perceived common sense. People should continue to follow their passions - because that will lead to success.

Whether or not you think of an original idea or innovate on someone else's -- Any successful business person I've heard from says - it comes down to passion (which insinuates "hard work" as well), met with timing met with luck ... And my point of this post is that the "timing" piece definitely doesn't have to be first, especially today...