It's certainly not sufficient, but it's close to necessary for startups, because startups generally have to do something no one else is already doing.
Re:Tap Into Y Combinator's Contrarian Thinking
by tptacek on Thursday May 23, 2013 @07:38PM
(#5760278)
Counterpoint: Dropbox.
("Better" is obviously a form of "different", but I don't think that's the implication of your comment.)
I would say that the counterthinking was to insist on something that a lot of people (including some big players) were doing, without any real success.
But I admit there is some wishfull thinking there, as I am in this position. My startup is a private social network, a field with a lot of high profile players (Path and some YC companies), and still no one nailed it.
All it does say is that you can sometimes be successful by doing things other people are not doing... not exactly a breakthrough. :)
I'm not saying it's a bad thing -- in some, perhaps many, cases I'd say it's pretty useful -- just that it's not a necessary or sufficient thing for this kind of success.