Competition

Does this sound familiar?

An investor asks who your competition is, and you say — proudly — “we don’t really have any.” The room goes cold.

“No competition” tells investors your market is small. And you always have competition: if your ICP is doing nothing about the problem, that is your competition — and it’s the hardest to beat.

The #1 thing investors care about is your market size

Southwest Airlines understood this: when they launched, their competition was not other airlines — it was trains, cars, and buses. They were solving “transportation between cities,” not “air travel.” That reframe changed everything.

Julie Angus proved the same principle — twice in two days. We helped Julie prep for the National Angel Capital Organization’s $100,000 pitch competition in Calgary. The day before, she pitched in a competition in Vancouver — and won $100,000. She then got on a plane to Calgary and won the NACO $100,000 too. Her winning comparison: her ocean-going drone wasn’t up against other drones — it was up against the $18,000/day cost of research ships solving the same data-gathering problem.

The strategic principle: The question is not “How do I beat my competitor?” It’s “How much does the problem cost the customer?” If your solution costs less than the problem itself, you win.