name: startup-competitive-analysis description: Deep competitive intelligence, market mapping, and strategic positioning analysis version: "1.0"

Startup Competitive Analysis

Systematic framework for understanding competitive landscapes, identifying positioning opportunities, and building sustainable competitive advantages.

Decision Tree: What Analysis Do You Need?

COMPETITIVE QUESTION
    │
    ├─► "Who are my competitors?" ───────► Competitor Identification
    │                                       └─► Market mapping, categorization
    │
    ├─► "How do I differentiate?" ──────► Positioning Analysis
    │                                       └─► April Dunford framework
    │
    ├─► "What are their weaknesses?" ───► Weakness Mining
    │                                       └─► Review mining, gap analysis
    │
    ├─► "How do they make money?" ──────► Business Model Analysis
    │                                       └─► Revenue, pricing, unit economics
    │
    ├─► "What's their strategy?" ───────► Strategic Analysis
    │                                       └─► Moves, investments, trajectory
    │
    └─► "Full competitive audit" ───────► COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS
                                            └─► All dimensions

Competitor Identification

Market Map Framework

                    ENTERPRISE
                        │
    ┌───────────────────┼───────────────────┐
    │                   │                   │
SPECIALIZED ────────────┼──────────── HORIZONTAL
    │                   │                   │
    │    [Competitor    │   [Competitor     │
    │       A]          │      B]           │
    │                   │                   │
    ├───────────────────┼───────────────────┤
    │                   │                   │
    │    [Competitor    │   [Competitor     │
    │       C]          │      D]           │
    │                   │                   │
    └───────────────────┼───────────────────┘
                        │
                       SMB

Competitor Categories

Category	Definition	Examples
Direct	Same solution, same customer	Head-to-head competitors
Indirect	Different solution, same problem	Alternative approaches
Potential	Could enter market	Adjacent players, big tech
Substitute	Manual/DIY alternatives	Spreadsheets, agencies

Identification Sources

Source	What to Find	Signal Strength
G2/Capterra categories	Direct competitors	High
Crunchbase funding	Well-funded threats	High
ProductHunt launches	New entrants	Medium
LinkedIn job postings	Growing competitors	Medium
Patent filings	Technical movers	Low
Conference sponsors	Market leaders	Medium

Competitive Intelligence Dimensions

1. Product Analysis

Dimension	Questions	Data Sources
Features	What do they offer?	Website, demos, reviews
Pricing	How do they charge?	Pricing pages, sales calls
Technology	What's their stack?	BuiltWith, job postings
UX/Design	How good is experience?	Product trials, reviews
Integration	What do they connect to?	Integration pages, APIs

2. Business Analysis

Dimension	Questions	Data Sources
Revenue model	How do they monetize?	Pricing, investor decks
Customer segments	Who do they serve?	Case studies, reviews
GTM motion	How do they sell?	Marketing, sales process
Funding	How much runway?	Crunchbase, PitchBook
Team	Who's building it?	LinkedIn, about pages

3. Strategic Analysis

Dimension	Questions	Data Sources
Vision	Where are they going?	Blog, press, interviews
Positioning	How do they differentiate?	Messaging, website
Partnerships	Who are they allied with?	Press releases, integrations
Expansion	What's their roadmap?	Product updates, hiring
Vulnerabilities	Where are they weak?	Reviews, support forums

Positioning Framework (April Dunford)

5 Components of Positioning

1. COMPETITIVE ALTERNATIVES
   └─► What would customers do if you didn't exist?

2. UNIQUE ATTRIBUTES
   └─► What do you have that alternatives lack?

3. VALUE (and proof)
   └─► What value do those attributes enable?

4. TARGET CUSTOMER
   └─► Who cares a lot about that value?

5. MARKET CATEGORY
   └─► What context makes your value obvious?

Positioning Canvas

Component	Current State	Ideal State	Gap
Competitive Alternatives
Unique Attributes
Value Delivered
Target Customer
Market Category

Positioning Statement Template

For [TARGET CUSTOMER]
who [SITUATION/NEED],
[PRODUCT] is a [MARKET CATEGORY]
that [KEY BENEFIT].
Unlike [COMPETITIVE ALTERNATIVE],
[PRODUCT] [KEY DIFFERENTIATOR].

Weakness Mining (from Reviews)

Pain Dimension Analysis

Connect to startup-review-mining for systematic extraction:

Pain Dimension	What to Find	Opportunity
UI/UX	"confusing", "hard to use"	Better experience
Pricing	"expensive", "hidden fees"	Better value/transparency
Support	"slow response", "unhelpful"	Better service
Integration	"can't connect", "API broken"	Better ecosystem
Performance	"slow", "crashes"	Better reliability
Onboarding	"steep learning curve"	Better activation
Features	"wish it had", "missing"	Feature gaps

Competitor Weakness Matrix

Competitor	Top Weakness	Evidence	Our Opportunity
{{COMP_A}}	{{WEAKNESS}}	{{QUOTE}}	{{OPPORTUNITY}}
{{COMP_B}}	{{WEAKNESS}}	{{QUOTE}}	{{OPPORTUNITY}}
{{COMP_C}}	{{WEAKNESS}}	{{QUOTE}}	{{OPPORTUNITY}}

Universal Weaknesses (All Competitors)

If all competitors share a weakness = major opportunity:

Universal Weakness	Competitors Affected	Differentiation Play
{{WEAKNESS}}	All	{{HOW_TO_WIN}}

Competitive Moat Analysis

Moat Types (Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers)

Power	Definition	Durability	Build Time
Scale Economies	Cost per unit decreases with volume	High	Long
Network Effects	Product improves as users increase	Very High	Medium
Counter-Positioning	New model incumbents can't copy	Medium	Fast
Switching Costs	Customers locked in	High	Medium
Branding	Objective value from identity	High	Long
Cornered Resource	Exclusive access to asset	Very High	Varies
Process Power	Embedded company abilities	High	Long

Competitor Moat Assessment

Competitor	Primary Moat	Strength (1-10)	Vulnerability
{{COMP_A}}	{{MOAT_TYPE}}	{{SCORE}}	{{WEAKNESS}}
{{COMP_B}}	{{MOAT_TYPE}}	{{SCORE}}	{{WEAKNESS}}

Our Moat Strategy

Moat Type	Current (1-10)	Target (1-10)	Build Strategy
Network Effects
Switching Costs
Data Advantage
Brand/Trust
Process Power

Battlecard Framework

Quick Reference Battlecard

## vs {{COMPETITOR}}

### When We Win
- [Scenario 1]
- [Scenario 2]

### When We Lose
- [Scenario 1]
- [Scenario 2]

### Their Strengths
- [Strength 1]
- [Strength 2]

### Their Weaknesses
- [Weakness 1]
- [Weakness 2]

### Key Differentiators
| Area | Us | Them |
|------|-----|------|
| | | |

### Objection Handling
| Objection | Response |
|-----------|----------|
| "They're bigger" | |
| "They're cheaper" | |

### Landmines to Plant
- [Question to ask prospect that favors us]

Win/Loss Analysis

Win Analysis

Win Factor	Frequency	Pattern
{{FACTOR}}	{{%}}	{{INSIGHT}}

Loss Analysis

Loss Factor	Frequency	Competitor	Remediation
{{FACTOR}}	{{%}}	{{WHO}}	{{ACTION}}

Competitive Win Rate

Competitor	Wins	Losses	Win Rate	Trend
{{COMP_A}}			{{%}}	↑↓→
{{COMP_B}}			{{%}}	↑↓→

Resources

Resource	Purpose
competitor-deep-dive.md	Full competitor analysis framework
market-mapping-guide.md	Market map creation
positioning-playbook.md	April Dunford methodology

Templates

Template	Purpose
competitive-landscape.md	Full competitive overview
battlecard.md	Sales enablement
win-loss-analysis.md	Deal analysis

Data

File	Purpose
sources.json	Competitive intelligence sources

startup-competitive-analysis

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