I was speaking to a guy today who has a really interesting idea for a project management tool (yes, another one!). Even though I've tried every tool under the sun I still thought that his concept sounded awesome. The way he intends to combine some of the best concepts out there with his own experience in the project-management space will definitely give him a unique product. Just one solid USP is all he really needs to differentiate. He won't beat all his competitors with lots of ticks in a classic competition matrix. What he will do is scratch an itch that he's had for 6 years and hopefully be able to get all the people he's met during that time (who have the same itch) to use his app to scratch it.
The phrase: "it's been done" Makes me shudder. The fact that there are lots of companies in a given market should invite, rather deter newcomers. The important point is to be different, unique, or superior in some way and that's what gives you an advantage.
Please have your friend try to sell to Verizon. I had the worst kind of experience when I was switching to FIOS. I put the order on December 21 for a January 3 installation. As soon as i put the new order, my existing phone line was cut off. I called them to point out the error and they had to put a new order for a conventional line. But then my FIOS order was auto cancelled. When I called back to get my new FIOS order, my installation date was fully booked and I had to wait until January 10.
In my long and multiple calls with customer support I could sense how frustrated the customer support people were with their project management software. I am sure a much better software can be written and probably already exists.
The phrase: "it's been done" Makes me shudder. The fact that there are lots of companies in a given market should invite, rather deter newcomers. The important point is to be different, unique, or superior in some way and that's what gives you an advantage.