The courage to copy

If you walk into a startup pitch competition in Dhaka, it often feels like going to a winter wedding. Everyone wears the same panjabi and waistcoat, and talks about disruption in the same polished accent they learned from a YouTube video. The judges, of course, sit with serious faces and ask their favourite question: "What is unique about your idea?" As if the fate of the nation depends on discovering the next flying rickshaw. Ironically, everyone in the room ends up chasing "uniqueness," while quietly presenting the same recycled models with new names and brighter slides.

Here is the uncomfortable truth that few like to admit. Winning in a messy and uncertain market does not always require being the first or the most original. More often, the winners are those who learn the fastest. Stanford's Kathy Eisenhardt and Rory McDonald from Virginia call this idea "parallel play." It is borrowed from how young children play in parks. They do not collaborate. They simply observe the clever moves of the child with the most exciting toy and quietly adapt.

In the business world, this means watching your competitors with care, borrowing what works, and improving it faster than they can. It is not theft. It is survival with a sharper mind.

The Bangladeshi startup ecosystem offers plenty of proof. The country now sits among the top fifty global startup ecosystems. But according to a 2023 BCG and Bangladesh Angels study, seven out of ten startups collapse before reaching their third year. Nearly half of those failures happen because founders burn their early cash trying to be "different" rather than building something that works. Meanwhile, companies like Pathao succeeded by adopting a proven global model and adapting it quickly to local realities. Here, good ideas often die young, not because they are bad, but because they are born into an ecosystem that offers little government backing, weak investor protection, and almost no clear exit path.

The story is no different abroad. When ride-sharing emerged, Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar did not become rivals by building three completely different inventions. They copied each other's smartest ideas. Sidecar tried peer-to-peer rides and in-app payments. The others observed and borrowed. Their real competition was not among themselves but with the taxi industry. Google, too, did not invent its advertising engine. It observed GoTo.com and applied the best idea in a smarter way.

For Bangladeshi founders, this lesson matters deeply. In a market where funding is scarce and regulations can change overnight, building something entirely new is often a luxury. What gives a fighting chance is the ability to observe and adapt faster than others. That requires humility, sharp eyes, and the courage to let go of ego.

Copying blindly is foolish. But copying wisely is a strategy. It is about learning through action, testing quickly, and adjusting to the market before others can even finish their second investor deck.

In the playground of innovation, the winner is not always the loudest dreamer. The winner is the quiet observer who learns from everyone else's mistakes and rides the wheel better than the one who invented it.

Bangladesh stands at a turning point. An innovative approach can unlock a massive untapped opportunity. If we stop worshipping "originality" as a divine gift and start rewarding strategic learning and adaptation, hundreds of new ventures could emerge stronger. With over two million young people entering the job market each year, a thriving startup ecosystem is not a luxury. It is a national necessity. By encouraging fast learners, building better investor protection, and enabling easier exits, we can turn startup failures into sustainable enterprises that create jobs, attract capital, and power the next wave of economic growth.

The writer is the president of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh and founder of BuildCon Consultancies Ltd