What would you think about copying ideas for commerce?

Is copying an idea for a company and producing a far better product ethical?

• I plead guilty to blatantly copying an idea of a company I used to work for (after the 1 year non-compete had expired). I however, went on to write and design the entire architectural stack from scratch and in a much better fashion using the best language/component for the job(because I knew what problems I'd face) and hence ended up with a much more stable and flexible product enabling 2x more features than what was possible with the earlier company's stack and architecture. We have around 100 customers and are profitable (but not to the extent of drawing decent salaries for ourselves). Also, investors won't touch us because the company I used to work for has been invested in by a big venture capital firm, and hasn't really produced any profits in the 6 years it's been in existence leading to the domain coming into question (even though the domain is fine - what sucks is their product as well as service ). Instead of feeling pride, I am plagued by the feeling that my achievement is hollow and I have worked my ass off for a ripoff idea which is never justified. Is this justified guilt or am I being too hard on myself? On the flip side, I would hate to see the domain languish to the level of their product and be dictated by their sluggish pace if I shut down, when it could be so much better and faster. I have no ideas for another product right now, so in case I decide to close this down, what are my options? (I had job offers from Microsoft and Amazon so I think I should be able to land one again with some effort.)

• Answer:

  Nicely done. :) Keep growing!