Who or what will steal your customers?

Every venture has competition. Every venture. Your customers must be doing something right now to cope with the problem you solve. That "something" in your competitor.

According to Get Backed, the competition slide of a pitch deck should list competitors and describe how each competes in the market. Then, show what differentiates you from competitors and what advantage you have over them. Partnerships, technology expertise, intellectual property, simplicity, business processes, and networks can all be significant advantages. [1]

Many founders find it helpful to create a map of the competitive landscape, using important aspects of the other product as x and y axes. For example, if you have a product that is both priced affordably and is a great value, you could put "cost" on the x-axis and "value" on the y axis and place your product in the top-left quadrant (high value, low cost), with the rest of your competitors spread throughout the other quadrants. By doing this, you visually demonstrate how your product differentiates itself from the other players in the market. [1]

Demonstrate

• Industry knowledge. You should know your competitors and their unique advantages and disadvantages.

• Sober judgment. Entrepreneurs caught up in the brilliance of their own ideas might miss major warning signs. An investor wants to know whether or not you are underestimating the threat of competition.

• Differentiation. Is it clear that you are different enough to compete?

• Unique advantage. What is your specific advantage over your competitors?

Answers

• Who are your primary and secondary competitors and in what ways do they compete for your customers?

• Are there any unknown or potential competitors that would have a better advantage than you if they entered the market?

• Do you displace commonly used companies?

• How will you disrupt the current competitive landscape?

• Are you faster, cheaper, better?

• Why won't an incumbent rip your product off and roll it out faster than you can?

References

1. Get Backed, by Evan Baehr and Evan Loomis

Tags

• #get-backed (See: Get Backed)

• #index (See: #index)