The Competitive Edge: Why Acknowledging Your Rivals is Your Strategic Advantage
Ignoring the competition is your biggest mistake, but here's how to reframe that view
If you’re a founder wrestling with whether to address your competitors in investment pitches or press interviews, you’re not alone. This hesitation is common among entrepreneurs reluctant to give even a slight nod to their competition.
I’ve witnessed this apprehension firsthand, from interviewing founders for stories and then training them for investor pitches and media interviews.
But you need to know this: understanding and then positioning yourself as being within the competitive landscape is a crucial step for long-term success.
Moving past your fear
For nearly three decades, as a business journalist and media trainer, I’ve encountered numerous founders who shy away from discussing their competition. However, avoiding this discussion only signals a lack of market awareness.
Consider the perspective of Steve Jobs, who famously advised other entrepreneurs to focus on the customer over competitors. At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in 1997, he said, “You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology... not be bogged down by what our competitors do.”
In other words, Jobs highlighted the importance of prioritizing customer needs over obsessing about what your competitors are up to. And, yes, I realize that this is a viewpoint that contradicts the Silicon Valley adage from Andrew Grove that only the paranoid survive. But what Jobs emphasized is the importance of understanding the market to innovate effectively.
Many founders fear that mentioning competitors might dilute their unique value proposition or inadvertently promote their rivals. This is a misconception.
Recognizing your competition establishes your market context and shows that you have a realistic grasp of the industry, cementing you and your company as a relevant and informed solution within a proven—and perhaps crowded—market.
Turning the competition into strategic leverage
Fred Campbell, an experienced entrepreneur and managing partner at venture firm TRAC.vc, shared his insights with me on addressing the competition during a recent podcast episode of The Venture Variety Show.
Fred said, “One of the biggest mistakes founders make is saying they don’t have any competition. You want to be able to point to the incredible success of companies doing something similar to you. The market has already spoken.”
From Fred’s perspective, acknowledging the competition is a strategic advantage. Because by doing so, you validate market demand and position your innovation as the next logical step, allowing you not just to compete but to lead.
Fred also highlighted a potent media strategy: “For example, with the company I took public, my business partner was really good at getting media... And he got us on the front page of the business section. I never had to call a VC. They were calling me.”
A robust media presence can thus draw investors to you, rather than requiring you to seek them out. And I promise that will make your competitors jealous.
🔶 Here’s a clip from the podcast with Fred Campbell from The Venture Variety Show. To watch the full podcast on Substack, click here.
Remember, your pitch is more than just a product demo. It’s a narrative that puts your company and its history into a proper context within the market. Showing that you have a clear understanding of your competitive landscape enhances your credibility with journalists, investors and partners.
So, reframe your view on competition. Acknowledge competitors is not a threat but a strategy to attract investors and customers. It’s a proven approach, grounded in market awareness, that builds confidence and fosters success.
Craft a compelling story that places your venture within the larger market narrative, where competition is not feared but strategically navigated.