Should I focus on being faster or cheaper than competitors?

This is a classic question that anyone looking to start something of their own ponders. Let's chat about it, not as some business theory, but just like two old friends talking.

What kind of path is choosing "cheaper"?

Taking this path is like opening a Shaxian Delicacies restaurant. Your core competitiveness is "affordability." Customers come in, don't have to think much, order with their eyes closed, and a meal won't cost much.

• Pros: Low barrier to entry, easily attracts the first wave of price-sensitive customers. When people buy things, their first reaction is always to check the price; if you're cheap, people will naturally come.
• Cons: This is a "bloody road." If you're cheap, someone will always be cheaper. To cut costs, you have to pinch pennies everywhere – ingredients, labor, storefront... Profits will be razor-thin, like a knife's edge. Moreover, once you're labeled as "cheap," it's hard to raise prices later. Customers recognize you because you're cheap; if you're not cheap anymore, they'll turn around and leave, with no loyalty whatsoever.

For this path to work, you need unique abilities that others don't have, allowing you to push costs to the extreme. For example, having an exclusive supply chain or incredibly high production efficiency. For most ordinary entrepreneurs, especially IT engineers, competing on price from the start is basically a death sentence.

What kind of path is choosing "faster"?

Here, "fast" doesn't just mean speed; it represents "efficiency" and "being ahead."

• It could be "fast delivery": The same item that takes others three days, you deliver in one. Think of JD.com's next-day delivery – that's the value of "fast."
• It could be "fast innovation": You develop features others haven't even thought of yet. As soon as others start imitating, you've already iterated to a new version. You're always one step ahead, and users are willing to pay for your "new" and "good."
• It could be "fast service": When customers encounter problems, others take 24 hours to reply, but you have a dedicated person following up within 5 minutes. This kind of experience is valuable.

Taking this path is like opening a specialty restaurant, or a "viral" restaurant. You might have a secret recipe, or your serving speed and service experience are simply better than others.

• Pros: You can build your own "moat," making it harder for others to imitate. You can achieve good profits because you offer unique value, and customers are willing to pay for "better" and "faster." This also helps you build brand and reputation.
• Cons: You have to keep running, without stopping. It requires continuous investment in R&D, learning new technologies, and understanding user psychology. Once you slow down, competitors will quickly catch up.

My Advice to You

As an IT engineer, what are your strengths? It's technology, problem-solving ability, and the potential to create new things. Your advantage isn't in negotiating prices with factories or cutting logistics costs.

Therefore, my advice is: prioritize the "faster" path.

Don't immediately think, "I want to make free software that everyone can afford." Instead, think, "Which small group of people can I help solve a problem that's very troublesome for them and that they're willing to pay to fix?"

1. Find a small entry point: Don't always aim to build a platform or an ecosystem. Start by creating a small tool that can increase the efficiency of a specific task tenfold.
2. Pursue an ultimate experience: Make your product easy to use, stable, and with fast service response. This is your "fast."
3. Serve a small group of people well first: Make them indispensable to you, willing to pay for you, and even willing to promote you. At this point, you'll have profits and can survive.

Once you've established yourself with "fast" and "good," and gained scale, costs will naturally decrease. At that point, you might find that you are both "better" and "cheaper" than others.

To summarize: Use "fast" to enter, "good" to retain users, and after surviving, then consider how to become "cheaper" to expand the market. First, seek survival, then seek development. Trying to sweep the market with "cheap" from the start is basically cutting off your own path.