That approach is called the "fast follow" strategy in business vs. the "first mover" strategy. There are some advantages in fast follow vs. first mover but also some key disadvantages, especially in markets of winner-take-most, or when you need a large amount of capital and the early leaders generally take the haul.

That being said, for bootstrap projects, side hustles, and other projects, I've really come around to your way of thinking. For those projects where being another alternative does have good economics, "copy first, innovate later" is a solid strategy.

Maybe not clone… but I have suffered in the past by not using competitors products. One of the easiest UI/UX steps you can do is use a bunch of products solving similar problems and see what you like and don’t like. It’s insane how often I see people asking for UX tips and people tell them to hire a designer.