Who This Helps
This is for founder-operators who feel stuck analyzing competitors. The Market Intelligence & Positioning course gives you a system to cut through the noise. You'll stop reacting and start making focused bets.
Mini Case
Zaid's team was debating three different product directions. They spent 2 weeks in circles. Then, he built a simple positioning grid. In 90 minutes, they saw one option had a clear 40% advantage on a key customer need. They killed the other two ideas and launched the winner.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Grab a whiteboard or a blank doc. Title it 'Our Next Bet'.
- List your top 3-5 competitor names across the top.
- Down the side, write 4-6 criteria your ideal customer cares about most. Be specific, like 'Ease of first setup' or 'Quality of support reports'.
- Score each competitor (and yourself) on each criteria. Use a simple 1-5 scale. No overthinking.
- Look for the biggest gap between what customers want and what competitors deliver. That's your wedge. That's your next experiment.
Avoid These Traps
- Don't use fluffy criteria like 'innovation' or 'best-in-class'. Get concrete.
- Don't score based on your gut. Use one piece of real evidence for each score, like a customer quote or a support ticket trend.
- Don't try to win on every axis. The goal is to find one strong wedge, not be perfect.
- Don't let the grid become a 50-row monster. If you have more than 6 criteria, you're probably analyzing, not deciding.
- Don't skip scoring yourself. You need to see your own blind spots.
Your Win by Friday
You'll have a one-page positioning grid. It will show the single, evidence-backed opportunity your team should tackle next. You'll walk into your next team sync and say, 'Here's where we're playing, and here's why.' No more debate. Just focused action. You got this.