Am I just naive? Or is this type of stuff just 'par for the course'?

One of the things I really enjoy about the early stage technology scene is its collaborative nature. Companies routinely compete and co-operate and "frenemies" co-exist pretty happily.
Lots of people give freely of their time and expertise understanding that we are all part of a larger eco-system with many mutual dependencies.
There is a time to compete really strongly - and this is normally done by being faster and smarter.


I was shocked recently by the behaviour of one of MyBuilder's competitors - namely MyHammer.
This German company, with operations now in the UK has behaved in a way that is frankly very difficult to understand or justify.
[I need to declare a direct interest in this matter as a board member and investor in MyBuilder]
Firstly, MyHammer registered the MyBuilder trademark in the UK - back in June 2008, AFTER MyBuilder had launched their site in May 2008. Clearly this was an 'own goal' on MyBuilder's part and is a lesson to all startups to register your brand as soon as possible.


Then,recently, MyHammer initiated a PPC campaign / new affiliate site, my_builder.com (ie my underscore builder),  just when MyBuilder's TV advertising campaign launched. See screen grabs below - 

Following a strenuous complaint by MyBuilder, MyHammer agreed to take down the offending site - no doubt having hoovered up a decent number of potential customers. I would also hope that they would hand back to MyBuilder their brand registration and URL - the goodwill in which has been built by MyBuilder at considerable cost and over a number of years.


I'm interested in what people think about such practices and how widespread they are. Certainly there is no board that I sit on which would sanction such an approach to competition.


This is the TV commercial which is helping to build the MyBuilder brand:

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MyBuilder comes of age

No one who was present at Seedcamp 2007 when Ryan Notz, founder of MyBuilder, made his acceptance speech could have failed to be moved.
Without any of the "Oscar gushing" , Ryan very simply explained what his mission to build his marketplace for builders and consumers meant to him and his family.
Here was a guy with real passion and deep knowledge of his industry.
A stonemason turned internet entrepreneur was always going to be a great press story - and so it proved.

It wasn't all that obvious, however, that Ryan would also build a really good business.
This he has done - or certainly is in the process of doing. The company has been profitable for a number of months now and is growing strongly.

Marketplaces are notoriously difficult to build successfully. It takes time to build critical mass and before reaching this point, your utility to both buyers and sellers is pretty limited.
Bringing the giant Travis Perkins/Wicks on board as shareholders certainly helped. They have been outstandingly supportive, contributing meaningfully to board debate and providing access to the right parts of the organisation. The direct involvement of Geoff Cooper, CEO and John Carter, COO has been meaningful and a great example of how a corporate partnership can be made to work for a small web start-up.

Now, MyBuilder welcomes 4iP to the fold. See Techcrunch 21 Sept.
4iP is Channel 4's
Channel 4 have dominated the TV landscape in the field of Home Improvement with such programmes as Grand Designs; Location, Location, Location; The Home Show etc.

The 4iP investment will be used to accelerate growth and to build out the strong team that Ryan is assembling.

Note:

"4iP (4 Innovation for the Public) is a significant new initiative designed to stimulate public service digital media across the UK. The 4iP Fund aims to deliver publicly valuable content and services on digital media platforms – this means supporting great ideas for websites, games and mobile services which help people improve their lives."

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