โ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐งโ โ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ค
If youโre in the startup world, you might have heard someone say, โWe have no competition.โ
It sounds bold, maybe even visionary โ but hereโs the reality:
saying you have ๐ป๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ competitors is actually a ๐ฉ๐ถ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ. ๐ฉ
๐๐ก๐ฒ?
๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
Years ago, I attended a startup bootcamp at FAU Business School. By then, I had launched and sold several companies, including one to a multinational corporation. Yet, I was curious to learn from others who had also built businesses from the ground up. The instructors were experienced entrepreneurs sharing invaluable, practical insights. But one lesson stood out above the rest:
๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ โ๐ง๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ,โ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ๐ซ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ.
1๏ธโฃ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ:
Even if no one offers ๐ฆ๐น๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ญ๐บ what you do, your target audience is already spending money somewhere. Whether itโs a direct competitor or an alternative solution, someone else is aiming for their budget.
2๏ธโฃ ๐๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐ญ:
Finding competitors isnโt about finding clones of your product or service. Itโs about understanding who else is meeting your audienceโs needs โ even if their approach is different. Knowing this helps you define your value and position yourself effectively.
3๏ธโฃ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฒ:
When you understand who youโre up against, you can identify gaps and innovate better. This doesnโt weaken your brand โ it strengthens it by showing youโve considered the full market landscape and know where your unique strengths lie.
4๏ธโฃ ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐:
If youโre pitching to investors and say you have โno competition,โ theyโll likely see this as a lack of awareness or preparation. Investors want to back entrepreneurs who have a ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ๐ธ of the market, including competition.
๐ Ready to Level Up Your Pitch?
Next time youโre working on your pitch deck, highlight your competition โ not avoid it. Show potential investors that youโve researched the landscape, know your unique value, and have a plan to outshine the competition.
๐๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ต๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง (๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด) ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆโ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ โ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ, ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐บ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถโ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ต.
