Understand your customers

What if my customers say they have no competitors, is that good or bad?

Almost always bad, because it usually means the job isn't painful enough to spend money or effort on. If nobody's built anything, ask what people cobble together today, the spreadsheet, the intern, the doing-nothing. 'No competitors' often means 'no market'.

Go deeper

2 resources, 2 link-checked.

▶️ Video
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

The single most-cited practical talk on scoping a first product, from the person who ran YC's accelerator. It cuts through the theory and shows what an MVP actually looks like using Airbnb, Twitch, and Stripe.

How to Plan an MVP

On Y Combinator (YouTube) by Michael Seibel (YC) ~13 min

How to Plan an MVP
  • Talk to users before you build anything.
  • Launch something lean in weeks, not months, the goal is to start the feedback loop.
  • Don't try to solve every problem for every user; ship narrow and ugly.
Watch on YouTube youtube.com →
📖 Book
✓ Link checked Paid Intermediate

The best book on positioning against competitors by understanding the alternatives customers actually consider. Directly turns competitive research into a market advantage.

Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It

From aprildunford.com by April Dunford ~200 pages

  • Your real competition is often the status quo, not another product
  • Start positioning from the competitive alternatives your buyers consider
  • Differentiated value comes from your unique capabilities vs those alternatives
  • Choose the market frame that makes your strengths obvious
Open aprildunford.com →

People also ask

How do I research my competitors properly? 2 → What tools should I use to track competitors and market landscape? 2 → How do I position against a bigger, better-funded competitor? 2 → How do I size the market and figure out if it's big enough? 2 → How do I understand the competitive landscape for an Indian market specifically? 2 → How do I do competitive research when my competitors are private and share almost no public numbers? 3 →

Also in How Founders Use AI

How founders actually use AI for this, over in Market Research.

How do founders validate a startup idea with AI in a weekend? 20 → How do I use AI to map competitors, pricing, and positioning? 24 →

Also in GTM

The same ground, over in Who you sell to, and why they care, our GTM track.

What is an ICP and how is it different from a persona? People use both words for the same thing. 4 → What is positioning in plain English, and why does everyone insist we have got it wrong? 3 →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →