TGR reflections: How to handle competition (like a boss)
Originally published on LinkedIn
Something that comes up a lot in The Green Room is how founders should handle the competitive analysis portion of the pitch. Often, there’s a tendency to downplay or disregard existing competitors or (even worse) not acknowledge them at all.
It can seem counterintuitive to spend a lot of time focusing on what your competitors are doing well, but you should assume that investors have already done their own analysis on how you stack up against others in the market, and what we’re looking for is an equal or better understanding from the founders we’re investing in. It gives us confidence when founders can articulate exactly who they consider competition and why, and even better, when they can clearly explain the advantages they have that can’t be easily copied.
One way to counterbalance this section is to emphasize your knowledge of the competitive landscape, but spend time focusing on how and why your value proposition stands above the rest. Investors talk a lot about ‘moats’ - what is it that protects your product or business from being copied? This is a great time to lean into IP, talent, product features or attributes that you think set you apart and build a layer of protection for you while you go to market.
And if there are areas where your competitors are outperforming you, don't ignore them! We just want to know you’ve got an accurate view of the landscape and are thinking of ways to strengthen your position. At such an early stage, we don’t expect companies to own the field - otherwise they wouldn’t need us(!) but we’re looking for players with a strategy to get there.
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