I don’t think u should worry about competition because it’s everywhere. Michael Dell started his company when IBM, HP and Compaq were global mkt leaders. Starbucks is a global company when selling coffee has been around for over 100 years. There are so many examples out there u can draw inspiration from. What u need is find a niche that u can serve exceptionally well and build from there. U will have ur naysayers for sure but u need to believe in ur product. Otherwise ,u should just go get a day job.

I am building 2 startups that go after the big global players because they have already proven to me there is a problem customers are willing to pay for. I don’t need any market validation. I just need a product with better UX and unhappy customers.

A single differentiator is a really risky value prop. Thinking a short while in the future you’d need to ensure that this single value prop isn’t easily duplicated, in order to compete and stay competitive. This sounds like a really rough pitch to future investors.

Op… smh. Serious question that might help you come to terms with reality… here it is, try to answer this: for any startup that became wildly successful and provides massive value via network effects (a lot of people using it), how did they get there?

Show me your idea; I work on a startup in the parenting space and would like to see if there’s any way I can help.

The secret to success in business is to learn what you need to learn as quickly as possible. Best way to do it is through struggles and even failures. You’re young, I assume you don’t have a house or a family who need financial stability. You have little to lose. Go for it if you are still passionate about your idea.

Startups fail when they run out of money or the founders run out of motivation to continue. If you haven’t done either, you are default still in business. Up to you whether you want to keep going.

What if your competitors are also thinking about quitting? How would that change your decision? Focus on the customer, not the competition

You do the best, God do the rest. Forgive the back, Concentate your work, Never Give up!.

Have you tried talking to potential customers? You can ask them about their pain points. It might be that your service solves a much bigger pain point than the 50-person companies.

Either way, it’s good practice to get out there and get feedback. You might also discover a new pain point (+startup idea) in the process!

Reflecting on my journey with my side project, I’d encourage you to consider a similar approach to your project.
Testing and iterating are key. Even though the market seems crowded (as mine is), the unique aspect of your idea – helping parents find activities for their kids – is a clear differentiator (I’m a parent). Remember, established companies were once startups too, and they found their niche.
Your insight about offering the service for free could be a game-changer and might attract a significant user base. It’s worth exploring how this could be sustainable in the long run, perhaps through partnerships or alternative revenue models. I’m testing this myself. I’ve been trying to figure this out. On one side, my newsletter is free, but the content in the platform is something I’m trying to monetise. This was free in the past. I’m going to see how it goes. I can sustain the business like this for a while since I built it, and the costs are very low.
Set small, achievable goals and deadlines. This will help you measure progress and pivot as necessary. Engage with your target market early on. Their feedback can be invaluable and might even lead to refinements in your idea that you hadn’t considered.
Remember, every venture carries the risk of failure. However, the learning and experience you gain can outweigh the monetary investment. It’s about balancing risk and reward. You’re gaining real-world experience that a course might not provide. Just like with my tech event project, I’ve been reading, learning, testing, and speaking with other people doing the same, and I’m learning in a field not initially familiar to me. Your journey can lead to significant personal and professional growth, regardless of the outcome. Keep an open mind, be adaptable, and, most importantly, believe in your idea. Your passion and conviction can be the driving force that sets your product apart.

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Good luck!

2 years solo, several incumbent larger players. marketplace concept. - might be challenging for someone new to business.

basically, to make this work need to need the suppliers of kids ‘courses’ - this may be a challenge depending on where you are, if its a small town there may be only a few players, meaning not much value that you can add… you want this side of the market place to be extremely fragmented.

next, you have a location issue, ppl dont want to travel too far, so even if you have 1000s of vendors, people will only choose from the cluster around their vicinity, which could be extremely small, we can also assume that those local vendors will market directly in the local area.

you also need to factor segmentation for age, gender, interest which further narrows your supply pool.

lastly, the parents - in a given area at a given time, this number is likely to be quite flat, its not like year 1 theres 3 family and then suddenly a baby boom happens and you’ll have like 50 families appear - so this presents a growth problem in the business

finally, once the parent has settled on a selection of activities for the kid, they are unlikely to change for longer times

so these factors all need to be considered in terms of determining the adoption, and revenue potential of the business

Hi, A possible answer is: do market research. Generally speaking, if your idea is B2C you should create a survey and reach people who can fill it. If B2B, go and talk to people directly. By the way, if you are interested, my MVP is going to be released in a month and it is exactly about this. You upload a questionnaire and we find respondents, for free. Look for qmmunity.it in case

Have you launched? If no, what have you got to lose?

What is your aim? To provide you with a recurring income?

I launched a product up against the likes of DocuSign and adobe and now have a profitable startup, taking a decent salary. The internet is so vast, you CAN compete.

Launch. Iterate.

If it fails, you’ve learned a hell of a lot more than not launching.

Move your product to a different demographic, that may not have access to your competitors. I was worried about the competition as an online Coding Tutor until I realized my entire Apartment building was an untouched market for in person tutors.