While it seems in the DNA of entrepreneurship to strive to be original, not being the first to a party is sometimes the better strategy. You don’t necessarily have to be original. Think LivingSocial to Groupon. There are many reasons why this can be the case including:
The market may be big enough to feed other players.
There may be multiple potential acquirers eventually looking for an acquisition (Think Amazon and Google looking for group buying acquisitions).
Opportunity to concentrate on a different geography (Copycat social networks, search engines, and other models have been road to riches in markets outside the US.)
You may have a better team and can execute better.
You may have a twist on the idea that makes it more compelling.
