𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫?

We tend to celebrate the first movers - the pioneers who enter new markets, launch new ideas, and take the biggest risks. And rightly so. Being first takes vision, courage, and conviction.

But being first and being successful are not always the same.

As Harvard Business Review once wrote:

“𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝑠, 𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑎 𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑦, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒. 𝑈𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑖𝑡.”

- 𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝐵𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤, “𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑀𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒” First-Mover Disadvantage

Followers, on the other hand, can learn from the mistakes and successes of pioneers - reducing both risk and investment requirements. They can often adopt newer, more efficient technologies and processes.

In the investment world, we often hear the question:

“𝐷𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡-𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡?”

But in our opinion the better question is:

“𝐷𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡-𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒?”

Innovation isn’t just about being early - it’s about learning fast, executing well, and turning timing into lasting success.

There are great examples of both paths - those who create entirely new markets and those who enter later, refine the concept, and turn it into sustainable success.

Even the most visionary pioneers thrive not just by being first, but by continuously improving, scaling, and adapting - effectively becoming their own best followers.