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Fast Follower

Leveraging the mistakes and groundwork of pioneers to enter markets at the optimal time with improved execution.

"Exploiting fast follower advantage into uncharted spaces."

  • Simon Wardley

πŸ€” Explanation​

What is Fast Follower?​

A Fast Follower monitors pioneering efforts in a market, learns from their successes and failures of First Movers, and enters at the optimal time with a refined, more efficient offering. Instead of charting unknown territories, Fast Followers capitalise on clearer paths and proven demand.

Key characteristics include:

  • Observing and analysing pioneer activity.
  • Rapid iteration on proven concepts.
  • Focus on operational excellence and cost efficiency.

Why use Fast Follower?​

Employing the Fast Follower strategy reduces the uncertainty and risks of being first. By entering with improved features, lower costs, or better timing, Fast Followers can secure market share more effectively and outcompete pioneers.

How to use Fast Follower?​

  1. Map the market’s evolution and identify early movers.
  2. Assess pioneers’ pain points, unmet needs, and scaling challenges.
  3. Design a value proposition that addresses those gaps.
  4. Mobilise resources for rapid development, testing, and launch.

πŸ—ΊοΈ Real-World Examples​

Facebook News Feed​

Facebook adopted and enhanced the "news feed" concept, introducing algorithmic ranking and filtering to drive engagement and network growth.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)​

AWS improved upon early cloud services by offering developer-friendly APIs, flexible pricing, and a global infrastructure footprint, making cloud adoption accessible at scale.

AMD Processors​

AMD leveraged cost-performance advantages and manufacturing partnerships to challenge Intel, providing compelling alternatives for computing workloads.

Hypothetical: Retail Streaming​

A new streaming service observes licensing and delivery failures in early entrants, negotiates better content deals, optimises infrastructure, and launches with superior quality and pricing.

🚦 When to Use / When to Avoid​

🚦 Fast Follower Strategy Self-Assessment Tool

Find out the strategic fit and organisational readiness by marking each statement as Yes/Maybe/No based on your context. Strategy Assessment Guide.

Landscape and Climate

How well does the strategy fit your context?

  • Pioneers have validated market demand and begun scaling.
  • Core components are in the product stage, reducing technical risk.
  • Customer needs and usage patterns are well understood.
  • Pioneer’s execution or cost structure shows clear inefficiencies.
  • Competitive focus shifts from exploration to optimisation.

Organisational Readiness (Doctrine)

How capable is your organisation to execute the strategy?

  • We excel at operational execution and rapid iteration.
  • We can allocate resources quickly to scale proven ideas.
  • Our culture embraces continuous improvement and learning.
  • We possess market intelligence to identify and exploit missteps.
  • We have processes to integrate and support new offerings.

Assessment and Recommendation

Strategic Fit: Weak. Ability to Execute: Weak.

RECOMMENDATION
Consider alternative strategies or address significant gaps before proceeding.

LowHighStrategic FitHighLowAbility to Execute

🎯 Leadership​

Core challenge​

Balancing timing and risk: entering when the path is clear enough to succeed, yet early enough to secure advantage.

Key leadership skills required​

  • Strategic timing and market sensing.
  • Operational excellence and process optimisation.
  • Competitive analysis and learning culture.
  • Cross-functional coordination for rapid execution.

Ethical considerations​

Respecting intellectual property, ensuring innovation adds value, and avoiding exploitative imitation.

πŸ“‹ How to Execute​

  1. Continuously monitor pioneer activities and map market evolution.
  2. Conduct rapid competitive analysis to spot improvement areas.
  3. Prototype refined solutions and validate with pilot customers.
  4. Scale operations, marketing, and support iteratively.
  5. Iterate based on customer feedback and emerging signals.

πŸ“ˆ Measuring Success​

  • Time to market relative to pioneers.
  • Market share captured within the first product cycle.
  • Customer satisfaction and retention metrics.
  • Cost savings from operational efficiencies.
  • Revenue growth and margin expansion.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls and Warning Signs​

Mistimed entry​

Entering too early risks immature demand; entering too late forfeits differentiation.

Insufficient differentiation​

Failing to improve on pioneers leads to commoditisation without traction.

Scaling bottlenecks​

Rushing to scale without robust processes can damage quality and reputation.

Overlooking intellectual property considerations can result in disputes.

🧠 Strategic Insights​

Pioneers, Settlers and Town Planners​

Fast Followers can be seen as "Settlers" in the Wardley Mapping framework, who build upon the foundations laid by "Pioneers" while avoiding the risks of uncharted territories. An effective organisation will have their own Settlers who can quickly adapt and improve upon existing solutions. An ineffective organisation may struggle to learn from pioneers, leading to opportunities lost to more agile competitors.

Timing as leverage​

Market evolution maps enable precise entry points, turning visibility into competitive edge.

Operational advantage​

Superior processes, cost structures, and delivery models can overcome first-mover benefits.

❓ Key Questions to Ask​

  • Market validation: Have pioneers established sustainable demand?
  • Execution readiness: Do we have the processes to out-execute?
  • Value proposition: How will we differentiate and improve?
  • Entry timing: When is the optimal launch window?
  • Resource allocation: Can we commit sufficient capacity at speed?
  • Risk mitigation: Have we addressed key technical and legal risks?
  • First Mover – to claim early advantage before follow-on plays.

  • Land Grab – to secure critical infrastructure ahead of competition.

  • Weak Signal Horizon – to detect and act on market shifts.

  • Experimentation – to test new ideas on a small scale before wider deployment.

  • Procrastination - delaying broad adoption until market signals confirm a winning approach, reducing execution risk.

  • Innovate, Leverage, Commoditize (ILC) - applying the ILC cycle to systematically catch up with and commoditize pioneering innovations.

  • Co-opting - integrating successful external innovations into your offerings to accelerate product refinement.

  • Press Release Process - using strategic announcements to highlight enhanced iterations and build on first mover momentum.

β›… Relevant Climatic Patterns​

πŸ“š Further Reading & References​

Author

Dave Hulbert
Dave Hulbert
Builder and maintainer of Wardley Leadership Strategies