One of the drivers for the changes taking place in new product development is certainly the evolution of the consumer internet or the Web 2.0 world. YouTube, MySpace, Wikipedia, Flickr, Craigslist – the successes of these Web 2.0 products and services have spurred hundreds of competitors who aim to be the next big Web 2.0 success story.
Many of these consumer internet start-ups got started in garages with a fairly small team and had a beta version of the product out in a matter of 6 months – more or less.
While the success of some Web 2.0 start-ups can be attributed to early-mover advantage in identifying and filling an under-served niche, there are some underlying similarities behind the successful companies.
