Better to come second.(success for second comers who try to take advantage of a first mover)

There are many examples where the innovators of a new product saw the profits from their idea go to another company. This is because the skills needed for innovation are not always the same skills as those needed for scaling up, distribution, marketing and category consolidation. While the excitement is certainly in discovery, the real rewards often go to the second comer.

Second comers are usually successful for five reasons. They focus on the price/ performance trade off, rather than on the technical details (often overdone by engineers) to create a "good enough" product. They get the bandwagon rolling by using alliance strategies, merging with a major rival, or by …