Analyze your competitors in 30 minutes

"We have no competitors" is the sentence that discredits a file the most. Here's a fast method to map who you're up against and where you fit.

Every project has competitors. If it truly has none, that's rarely a good sign: either the market doesn't exist, or you haven't looked. A funder knows this. Claiming there's no competition is shooting yourself in the foot. The goal isn't to prove you're alone, but that you know the ground and can position yourself on it.

1. Tell direct and indirect competitors apart

Direct competitors offer the same solution to the same target. Indirect competitors (or substitutes) meet the same need differently. A neighborhood restaurant's direct competitors are other restaurants, and its substitutes are delivery, supermarket ready meals, or simply "eating at home."

2. Build a simple comparison grid

List 3 to 5 competitors and compare them on a few criteria that matter to your customers: price, quality, location, speed, experience, reputation. A simple grid is enough. The point isn't to be exhaustive, but to surface where they're strong and where they leave a gap.

Where to find the information

In 30 minutes you find a lot: websites, Google listings, customer reviews, social media, posted prices. Your competitors' negative reviews are a gold mine: they tell you precisely what their customers fault them for — and so the space you can occupy.

3. Deduce your positioning

With the grid filled in, one question: what space is left open? Your positioning is the angle others don't occupy well — a price, a quality, a service, an experience. It's not "the same but better," it's finding the spot that's yours.