Ok, so I got this dress at H&M. They had a million of them. So, what makes me different than the next woman who buys it and puts it on? Well, for starters, I paired it with a BCBG confetti bag and some Versace shades. Now, I have a completely different look and feel.

The same thing happens with business. There is no original idea, it's how you "dress it up", that makes it original. What makes my company, 7AM different from Masterclass.com? We both deal with celebrities who teach courses, but, I have a different target customer than they do. They are after people who are interested in skill share, where as we are after people who are interested in improving their personal lives. It doesn't make either right or wrong, it just makes them different.

When starting a company, figure out how to differentiate yourself from the competition. If there are already five pillow companies who do custom embroidery, the world probably doesn't need another pillow company that sells custom embroidered pillows however, the world may want a pillow company that focuses on pillows that showcase 3D pop-up designs. What is your unique value proposition and competitive advantage?

So now that that's out of the way, how do you know customers ever want your new, edgy product to begin with? First, you want to create a hypothesis. Based on your hypothesis, you have made the assumption that they do. Next, you want to find your target customer - your community or tribe that resonates with your idea, and validate your product. Literally, build your concept around them. If they are excited about it, using it and paying for it, you have struck gold. This is called finding, Product-Market-Fit and don't fret, this usually takes a bit of time.

Recap: you will always find that there are competitors in the market. If you don't, BE AFRAID. BE VERY, VERY AFRAID. Normally that means, that for one reason or another, no one is interested in your product. Once you understand your competitive landscape, figure out what you are doing differently and run with it 120%.