How to Think About Your Competition & Crush it
Something’s missing in how most of us think about competition. We’ll outwardly project that we’re not worried about it at all. “Oh, those guys? They’re targeting OLDER couples. We’re looking for 20-something couples.” Said as if we signed a secret agreement in the Hall of Trusty Founders that divvied up the market just that elegantly. I call these people the Great Pretenders — the liars. But we’ll get to that.
Inwardly, on the other hand — I’ve seen the total manic fear caused by competition drive otherwise competent founders near mad. I’ve seen founders try (and unfortunately succeed) to convince investors of their niche focus and how the product they’ve built is better or more specific for all the right reasons — when that niche didn’t exist until a competitor’s launch forced us into it one week prior. I’ve been that person, to my own dismay.
The truth about competition is that we only talk about it when it benefits us.
We weave the stories around the market and our competitors in a way that make us seem the most favorable and likely to succeed — because, after all — that’s what everyone wants to hear, from the investors down to the newest hire. They want what we say about the competition to make them feel safe. It’s an unfortunate lie that does more damage than good.
