My standard is better than your standard

Here I'm referring to a communication standard, or a set of rules that define how a signal is composed and communicated.  Many exist, such as Blue-ray, IEEE 802.11n, USB 3.0, Bluetooth, etc.  These standards have been defined by a committee of persons, usually from several organizations, or sometimes by a large organization pushing its particular approach or IP.  Since every company has an opinion on the make-up of such standard, it will most likely not be optimal for any one case or for everyone.  The saying goes something like "A camel is a horse designed by committee."  And it can be a huge turf war between large companies, too, like VHS versus Betamax, CDMA versus GSM, and Blue-Ray versus HD-DVD.  So, why am I bringing this all up?  Well, this opens the door for a new company to define a "race horse"...a better, more streamlined standard that does the job better.  However, many have tried, and few have succeeded.  But the failure didn't come when defining the better standard...that's the easy part.  The tough part is getting it accepted in the industry.  Whether you try to get your better standard endorsed by a standards body such as IEEE, or by a potential customer/partner, the resounding questions from them will be "And who are you?  How big are you?  How do I know you'll be around next year?"  A true David-and-Goliath problem if you're a start-up.

So if you're considering defining the next wireless isochronous multimedia communication protocol, or the next DVD format, or the next Body-Area Net standard, and your company is made up of two guys and a dog, think twice about how you're going to market this standard to get it widely accepted and embraced by your partners and customers.  Like I said in a previous post, knowing the right people is a huge component of a successful start-up, and it is absolutely essential in this situation.