Is it a good idea to be the first and only player in a market? Intuitively one’s first reaction would be, “absolutely.” However, Steve Blank, serial entrepreneur, argues differently. Blank, also a Stanford Instructor, in a recent lecture at Stanford’s Entrepreneurial Thought Leader Lecture Series outlines a various reasons, including limited market opportunity, the expense of defining a new market, and the positioning risk involved in setting the market standard. He cautions that it may not be wise to be breaking new ground, and that safer terrain can be found in the footholds of the “first-fast-follower.” He draws on historical examples of this advantage such as Amazon, EBay, and Google. See his recorded lecture at Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner where he also covers a checklist of questions and analysis helpful to any new enterprise leader, and offers insight and case studies from industry giants and new technology alike.