Why Won't Rob Snyder Buy a 100x Better Printer?

Rob Snyder will not buy a printer that is a hundred X better for his house, because he is not blocked. He puts the same test on a category of startup ideas that almost always do not work: going after a space where there is already a clear winner, with no theory of being different.

He keeps seeing founders notice a bootstrapped sales automation tool growing really fast, then set out to build the exact same thing or something very close. The first company has already won that category, or has already done that thing. The founder feels crazy, because it worked for them, and the usual answer is that the new version is better. It cannot just be a little bit better. Asked whether two times better would be enough, the advice is that it is probably not good enough. Buyers go with the option that is unblocking them and better than all the alternatives.

A hundred X better printer for the house still does not get bought when the buyer is not blocked.