Spoiler alert: you do have competition

Hello friends,

We are nearing the end of the Core 10 Pitch Framework!

Last week, we looked at one of the trickier slides in the pitch deck: Market Size. Your market size helps investors understand the scale of the revenue opportunity you’re going after.

Once you’ve made that case clearly, it’s time to focus on two topics that often get overlooked: competition and timing.

In my upcoming book, Fundraising for the Rest of Us, I have chapters dedicated to each of these, but this week’s newsletter will give you a sneak peek of both.

Before we dive in, two quick things:

1. I’m still conducting interviews for stories to feature in the book. In particular, I am looking for stories related to competition and market timing. If you’ve built or are building a startup and want to share your experience, reply to this email and we’ll set up some time to chat!
   

2. We’re continuing to welcome new beta readers! If you’d like to help shape the book and get early access to each chapter in full, you can apply here.

Know Thy Competition

Let’s get something out of the way: Your competition slide is NOT about proving you have no competition.

It’s about proving that you deeply understand the landscape and where your company fits.

Many founders make the mistake of thinking that showing “no competitors” makes their solution look unique. But to an investor, no competition is a giant red flag. It often means one of three things:

• There’s no actual market.

• You haven’t done your research.

• Customers aren’t paying to solve this problem yet.

Competition means the problem is real and people are paying to solve it; it validates the market. That’s a good thing! Your job is to show how you’re different and better.

Before creating your slides, start by answering these questions in your own words:

• What alternatives do customers use today?

• How do people currently solve this problem?

• Where do those solutions fall short?

• Why is now the right time for your solution to win?

Answering these will help you decide what competitors to show and which benefits to highlight. You’re not just comparing features, you’re positioning your company.

How It’s Different for the Rest of Us

If you’ve ever gotten a blank stare after explaining your product to someone unfamiliar with your customer base, you’re not alone. That disconnect is often a reflection of their limited exposure, where investors may not even realize your customers exist or that they spend money in the category you’re building for. Bridge that gap without apologizing for it. Helping an investor understand a market they aren’t familiar with isn’t pandering, it’s leadership.

If you're building a solution for a population that's been historically underserved or overlooked, you may need to:

• Educate investors about your segment’s behaviors, spending power, or unmet needs.

• Include non-obvious competitors, like outdated tools, piecemeal workarounds, or human processes.

• Emphasize what incumbents don’t offer that your target audience really needs, especially if it’s about cultural nuance, affordability, accessibility, or trust.

Example: “Our target customer doesn’t use the mainstream solution because it doesn’t account for X or it’s cost-prohibitive. We’re the only one solving that pain in a way that is inclusive and accessible.” This helps investors understand not just how you fit in the existing landscape, but why your company is a necessary addition to it.

After you’ve shown investors why your company stands out, it’s time to talk about why now. Timing is everything, so let’s dig into why the market is ready for your company to succeed.

Why Now? The Timing Question

“Why now” might not appear in every pitch deck framework, but it’s one of the most important questions early-stage investors are asking, whether they say it out loud or not. They want to know why this moment is the right time for your solution to exist, and why this stage is the right time to fund your company. This section often includes two slides.

Two Types of “Why Now”

There are two distinct lenses investors use when assessing timing:

1. Macro Timing: Why is the world ready now?
   What external forces, like technological advances, shifting consumer behavior, social movements, regulatory changes, or economic trends, are aligning to make this the moment for your solution?

2. Micro Timing: Why are YOU ready now?
   What traction or progress have you made that makes this the right time to infuse capital and take the business to the next level? 

Your “Why Now” section should speak to both. You want investors to feel confident that you’re not too early for the market, and not too early in your own journey to put their money to work.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Over-indexing on trends. If your solution only makes sense in a specific moment in time (think: “the Zoom for quarantine birthdays”), investors may worry the opportunity is fleeting. Show how macro timing accelerates the need for your solution without defining it.

• Skipping over traction. Even at pre-seed, investors want to see forward motion. If you don’t have customers or revenue yet, show pilots, interest, signups, waitlists - anything that says, “people want this.”

• Being vague about urgency. If investors don’t feel like they’ll miss out by waiting, they’ll wait.

This section is what creates FOMO. It’s where you show that your company is inevitable. The customers are ready. The traction is building. With capital, you’re about to hit the gas. You aren’t begging anyone to get on board because the train is leaving the station, and you’re already in the conductor’s seat. It’s now or never, investor.

How It’s Different for the Rest of Us

You might be riding a wave that investors haven’t noticed, or don’t yet know how to value. Timing arguments based on social change, inclusion, access, or community need are often real, but not always obvious. Use this section to build urgency and shift perception:

• Connect social trends to investable movement. If your audience or industry is finally getting visibility or dollars, show that surge, and then show your role in it.

• Highlight your efficiency. If you’ve made it this far on scrappy resources, make that a selling point. Their capital goes farther with you.

• Spell out the urgency. If they’re not living your customer’s reality, they won’t see the urgency unless you show it to them. Make it unmistakable.

Think of this section as your urgency engine. You’re showing investors that the world is ready, and so are you. If they don’t move now, they’ll miss it.

That’s it for this week. Thanks, as always, for reading and following my writing journey!

If you’re building a company (or aspiring to start one), I’d love to have you. join as a beta reader. As a bonus, you’ll get to join our startup Slack community, where we talk about the ups and downs of startup and fundraising life. Come join us!

-Allison