Love your post Ryan “Wow, a DropSend clone! What a great idea! We can build it with our eyes closed and you will make millions. Please hire us! Please get in touch with me at ryan at dropsend d o t com”. Haha.

Apparently, we got awarded the job. LOL!

It needs to have all the same functions and a backend where the site can be admined.

That’s funny. As if he/she has even seen the backend of Dogster ;)

http://www.freelancersnet.net/listings/projects/clone_of_site_2

I need a clone of Dogster.com It needs to have all the same functions and a backend where the site can be admined. It also needs to have an original graphic design. It can be written in any programming language and can use any type of database.

However, if you see a successfull app that’s badly built and you believe in the idea in the first place, then I say go ahead and take their idea and improve upon it. “If you are the first one to have an idea for a company and no-one has done it yet - it’s probably because it’s a bad idea in the first place”.

You are right that execution is the key. You guys have done it better, for less than your competitors. Unless you completely drop the ball, you’re fine.

Thanks Jeff

You have to welcome it with open arms though.. In our case, I mean, if our “competitors” are operating on systems created for a few hundred dollars, then chances are it’ll just make us look that much better ;)

Alex - great point.

Honestly, I really do want to see one do just to see how badly a $1000 version of our site looks like.

Ted, thanks for chiming in. Glad to know we’re not alone in this!

So much of your strategic marketing comes in forms of your blog, your speaking engagements, your conferences. Even if they did build a clone they can’t buy that kind of exposure (well maybe they can, but not for peanuts).

I agree Ryan. We’re lucky that we have our conferences where we can expose DropSend to the right people.

Ryan, why not pitch in less than $1500 and deliver a dog pile of nonsense? Just a thought.

Gill and I got a good laugh out of that. We like your terminology. Thanks Garri :)

Didn’t dropsend start as a clone? Didn’t you also outsource the task of building the site? What is this person doing so far that is different to what you did?

However, the idea didn’t come from them. It was born out of FlightDeck, our first app. We decided to simplify the app and make it more affordable.

YouSendIt, Xdrive and Streamload were in this space when we launched. There’s been quite a few new ones since we launched.

Bottom line - if you tell someone that you’re making money doing whatever, that someone will also try doing that very same thing.

True :)

You’re probably right, so maybe the lesson is to be a bit more obscure regarding the figures. But then again, you do put this particular blog forwards as one regarding entrepreneurship, so maybe that’s an essential part of it? Who knows. Bottom line - if you tell someone that you’re making money doing whatever, that someone will also try doing that very same thing.

There are tons of these services, and I have to say most of them are much more popular than dropsend

As for a digg clone there’s already a free one called Pligg

Ryan, why not pitch in less than $1500 and deliver a dog pile of nonsense? Just a thought.