There are so many phrases in start up world that are contradictory. For example people say that if you're doing something that has no competitors, it must mean that either you haven't done your market research, or you have no market (PJ King told me that).

Yet at the same time, people say that you need to do something remarkable (Seth Godin), and do the opposite of what everyone else is doing "Doing the Opposite of Everyone is Valuable" (Derek Sivers).

So if you are doing something remarkable, or the opposite of everyone, that means that no one has done it yet, so therefore you must have no competitors - but if you have no competitors, that means you have no market... so under that logic, you are sure to fail.

So, instead I have begun to interpret these bits of advice as the following:

WE NEED TO MAKE AN ASSUMPTION

Let's go from the starting point that you one of a kind. Your skill set, ideas up to this point, education, experience, call it what you will - is something no one can ever replicate, right? So you are unique.

Not only that, but the time you are living in, the technology available, your particular team, etc. absolutely everything coming together in this combination is completely unique.

Therefore, we can say that anything you apply yourself to will also be unique.

So whether you have the idea to create the next facebook, a blockbuster film, conduct research, or open a coffee shop, your execution of the idea will be unique.

But here's the downfall of this theory - unique doesn't necessarily mean better. Plus having a great idea is one thing, being able to execute it is a whole other matter.

So here's my theory - you have to ASSUME that being UNIQUE means being BETTER.

Ideas are fragile particles encased in the protective film of your imagination. Most die before they can adapt to the conditions, but other grow and feed from whatever fuel you fill your imagination with.

If they are too premature when you bring them into reality, they will easily be blown away by the stronger ideas of others, and killed by any in depth inspection of their potential. In order to enable the stronger ones to stand on their own two feet (or four feet), you need to support them.

The newborn idea will already be under pressure to prove that people need it, that it can be executed successfully, in a short period of time, to a huge eager audience literally waving money at it, and therefore reminding it of the 15 other competitors will only intimidate it, and consequently weaken its performance.

We tend to tackle this problem, or shall I say, ignore it, by making the assumption that there are no competitors, that "no one has ever done this before". This is a dangerous strategy, because if the idea is any good, it will, at some stage, have competitors; and if this is discovered at a stage where the idea is still not strong enough, the unearthing of a weak foundation built on lies can be enough to collapse the foundations and bury the idea alive.

So in order to give the idea strength and confidence, you need to remember that even if this idea has already been executed, you can be sure that it has never been done it YOUR WAY before - which is true, and to go one step further - that YOUR WAY is BETTER (which is a personal assumption that no one can disprove).

This enables you to have faith in your idea, and get started and excited. Once you have spent enough time cultivating an idea, you are so stuck in it, that your idea is strong enough to take a bit of a battering, and so the persistence of a close competitor is merely a sign that you need to adapt... and chances are you are so infected with the execution of the idea at this stage that you can see nothing but a future where it is your reality; and after having invested so much time, energy, and enthusiasm into it, you somehow, stubbornly, keep on driving forward, with this powerful assumption that your uniqueness makes you better.

This makes your execution of the idea remarkable, while still leaving room for competitors, so it satifies both Seth's and PJ's advice.

So get your assumptions ON - imagine that you were put on this earth to see your idea come to life, and go and do it. (I shall be taking my own advice on this one ;)