202 Your Real Competitor Isn't in Your Category

Your toughest competitor may not be another company. It may be a spreadsheet, a lawyer, an old internal tool, or the customer doing nothing.In episode 202, Chris Franks, Anthony Franco, and Stephanie Hays break down competitive analysis without the usual founder panic. They cover why competitors can be useful sources of information, why obsessing over them turns mission into ego, and how to spot the alternatives actually stealing your deals. The conversation moves from Pulley competing with lawyers' spreadsheets to school districts using the wrong software because it was already installed, then into pricing, positioning, referral partnerships, and why "we have no competitors" is a trap answer.If you're building a product, entering a crowded market, or trying to explain why buyers should switch, this episode gives you a cleaner way to map the field: start with the customer's pain, find the default behavior, then use competitors as data instead of drama.Keywords: competitive analysis, customer interviews, market positioning, founder strategy, startup competition, pricing strategy, customer alternatives, doing nothing, product positioning