Don't Focus on the Competition

This morning, I had to sign an online waiver from my gym in order to gain access to their facilities. Signing numerous documents with DocuSign, I was expecting that I’ll use DocuSign. When I opened the waiver, it said HelloSign and not DropBox.

I never heard of HelloSign before.

I did some quick research and found that HelloSign was the e-signature division of Dropbox. While reading, I found many other e-signature services out there. That’s when the thought came up: how is DocuSign beating these other companies despite providing the same solution?

When reading Zero to One by Peter Thiel, Thiel describes a similar dilemma but with mobile payment processors. Square first released the Square mobile payment processors in 2010 and then many other companies pursued the market with different shapes. While competitors like Intuit and PayPal were focused on beating their competitors, Square was focused on becoming a better business.

This can also apply to DocuSign. While Companies like Adobe and Dropbox are venturing and competing fiercely in the e-signature space, because DocuSign has a strong focus on e-signatures, I believe that DocuSign can continue to be a leader in the e-signature space.

For all the entrepreneurs venturing into uncontested markets, if your market starts becoming competitive, focus on your own business and not on the competition. That way, you can come out top and differentiate yourself from your competitors.