I remember the exact moment I had a panic attack. Scrolling Product Hunt at 8a, double espresso in hand, when suddenly: there it was. Someone had launched our exact startup idea. They just raised $7M too. They even used the same shade of blue. My heart sank. Six months of work, countless whiteboard sessions, and endless customer interviews – all seemingly worthless in an instant. We’ve all been there as entrepreneurs. Looking back, that moment of panic was completely meaningless. Think about it: - Slack launched years after HipChat dominated workplace chat and sold for $27.7B - Figma appeared when Sketch owned design and became worth billions - Notion entered when Evernote was worth billions In 99% of cases, competitors launching doesn't matter at all. Here's why: The "same product" is never the same product. It's like thinking two restaurants are identical because they both serve pasta. Every founder has their own unique insight, their own special sauce. Your journey with customers takes you in directions you never imagined. The real tragedy isn't competitors launching. It's founders who quit because they think the race is over before it began. 1. Early competition validates your market without you spending a dime 2. Different founders talk to different customers, leading to completely different products 3. The first product is always wrong anyway – might as well learn from competitors' mistakes 4. Your "unique" idea probably has 10 competitors you don't even know about The more I keep building startups, the more I realize... While you're panicking about competitors, realistically, they're probably panicking about you. Keep shipping.

I'm doing a tagline clinic on the Product Hunt forums!