How do you approach competition?
On one of the founder's Google group that I am a part of includes some of the brightest minds from the Indian startup scene. One of the recent questions thrown out was how do you ensure pole position in the market and surpass your competitors? I think you need to know who your competition is but not get obsessed with always comparing yourself to them. Every startup is unique and hence what might work for them might not work for you etc. Every company should carve it's own niche in whatever way and just focus on making customers/users happy. The rest will automatically follow.
With so many apps out there (and many more getting released each day), it is getting harder to differentiate on just features, price, UI etc. I think what is important is a mix of all of these rolled up in an extremely positive experience that the user gets from your service, product, company and brand.
The brand is where the value has always been and is going to be. Your brand is going to be the 'long-term lover' for your users. Everything else is just a short-term fling...
