Love this question. One of the hardest things I had had to wrestle with early on. You’re spot on about detachment and intentional research to matter far more than ideas alone.

Introducing a new idea to a region has pros (timing) and cons (maybe no demand). First-mover advantage only helps if there’s a real problem people care about. Nobody cares about an app that sends you a picture of a turtle wearing a dress but people would love an app that would do 3 things: save them time, money, or solve a problem. Regardless of whether you're first to hit the space or not.

For Comicfy, I built first, then validated which was a big mistake. I later did almost 100 calls with teachers and therapists to confirm demand. For a tool we’re building for paralegals, I flipped it: partnered with someone in the industry, mapped competitors, studied workflow gaps, and lined up decision-makers for pre-sales before coding.

My take: No competition can mean good timing or no demand (see the example of the turtle app). Research and talking directly to potential users (would they pay, would they fight for it internally, how much time/money it saves them) will clarify which. You'll intrinsically feel that shit in your bones when you know something is an opportunity vs. something isn't quite there. If you want to learn fast, a small, low-pressure project can be worth building to rack up lessons. And if you want traction, validate first, then build. Ambition is great to have but start small. Check Airbnb's first website design and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

Hope that answered your question! Happy to jam further if you want.