You know the drill: sometimes it’s all too easy to see only those products that look like yours and call them competitors. But early-stage founders, listen I’ve realized real competition is much sneakier than that. It’s not just products with the same color palette or feature set. It can be adjacent solutions, DIY workarounds, or even outdated habits people don’t want to break. Let’s unpack this, casually, with a few rabbit trails (because yes, that’s peer-to-peer conversation style).
Why Broadening Your View Matters
If you think only of “similar products” as your competitors, you miss the full picture. In reality, customers often resist switching not because your features aren’t strong, but because switching costs outweigh perceived benefits. Maybe they’re procrastinating on downloading your app, or maybe they stick with a spreadsheet because “that’s just what we always use.”
That mindset is market friction, not a broken product. It’s a competitor. Researcher insights confirm that competitive maps that only show direct rivals offer a skewed perspective. You need to think broader.
Mapping Competitors Step by Step
- Define Your Real “Battlefield”
Start by drawing your company at the center. Around it, sketch related market segments, alternatives, and non-obvious solutions targeting the same problem. This is the petal diagram, and it helps shift your focus away from product-only comparisons. - Identify Both Direct and Indirect Competition
Direct competitors are easy they offer a similar solution. But indirect ones The alternatives to your approach. Airbnb vs. hotels is obvious, but think also Couchsurfing, insular family visits, or just renting a guest room upstairs.
Entrepreneur.com reminds us that many startups incorrectly classify competitors simply because they serve the same customer, which can lead to missing strategic opportunities, some could even become potential partners.(pitchdeckcreators.com, entrepreneur.com)
- Use Tools and Insights to Stay Real
There are frameworks and tools that help. Competitors.app defines competition mapping as the practice of identifying, analyzing, and visualizing the competitive landscape to pinpoint where you stand and how you can strengthen your position.
Combine that with competitive intelligence pull insights not just from websites, but from analyst reports, supply-chain whispers, or even comments on LinkedIn or user forums. Wikipedia outlines a variety of sources for this, from primary (conferences, former employees) to secondary (articles, reports) intelligence.
- Build Better Visuals Beyond Magic Quadrants
Traditional competitive charts (like Magic Quadrants) are neat but often misleading. The Power Grid approach offers nuance placing competitors using metrics like pricing, features, or satisfaction to show your differentiation.(qubit.capital) Pitch Deck Creators emphasize mapping both direct and indirect competition and illuminating what sets you apart.
- Update the Map Regularly
Competitive landscapes shift. What felt like a distant rival yesterday might pivot quickly or launch a viral campaign today. Antler notes that competitor analysis should be ongoing, it has to evolve with your business and your market.
Bringing This Closer to Home A Casual Reflection
I remember sketching my own competitor petal diagram one night, sipping tea. It wasn’t just competitors I knew—there were the casual blog posts, older tools that dusty companies still cling to, and half-baked in-house hacks I included them all. It was messy, sure. But it made me realize how narrow my view had been.
That kind of awareness is vital. It nudges you toward empathy understanding not just that they chose another tool, but why. Maybe they thought your product was too complex, or maybe they just forget your name when they walk into work Monday morning. You can fix those things.
PitchPad Edge: Making This Easier Without Overwhelm
Here’s where PitchPad Edge could be a real help. Instead of manually scanning 12 UX blogs or monitoring random review forums, Edge delivers competitive insights in one place. It benchmarks your startup on features, pricing, market share, even customer sentiment and surfaces trends so you can see where you outperform and where you lag.
I’m not saying it’s a silver bullet. But when you’re early-stage and constantly juggling priorities, having a dashboard that shows not just similar products but highlights the broader competitive space—and helps you act—feels like having a good co-conspirator.
Quick Checklist Understanding Your Real Competition
- Draw the petal map around your startup—include alternatives, adjacent solutions, DIY fixes, behavior patterns.
- Identify adversaries direct, indirect, habits, workarounds.
- Tap into intelligence forums, reports, conversations, job hiring trends.
- Use smart visuals Power Grid, comparison tables, positioning maps beyond simple quadrants.
- Refresh your maps. Bi-quarterly Quarterly? Whatever matches your speed of pivoting.
- Use tools like PitchPad Edge to stay informed efficiently.
Final Thoughts (Still Thinking Out Loud)
Maybe you’re the founder who already sees competition this way—that’s great. If not, try sketching the petal map off to the side at your next strategy session. It doesn’t have to be elegant. Sometimes the messy maps teach you more than a polished slide ever could.
Real competition doesn’t always look like you. Sometimes it’s patience, old habits, or cheaper stop-gaps. Knowing your real competition helps you stand out where it counts not just in features, but in mindshare.
Want me to craft some visuals or templates for your blog to accompany this Just say the word—I’d be happy to sketch them (messily, of course).
