Is competition heating up?

It’s possible that when you started your project, you were the only option for people who wanted to accomplish thing you do. But even if you were the first mover, there’s likely to be other companies entering the market. Some of them might have way more funding than you — life isn’t fair.

If you feel like the ecosystem you play in is getting increasingly crowded, and competition increasingly fierce, you absolutely need to know what differentiated value you bring to the table. If you know your USP, it’s easier to stay in your lane and avoid getting distracted / freaked out by the competition. It’s also easier focus your product, marketing and sales efforts on the functionality and campaigns that are most likely to drive growth. This is especially true if some of the players in the ecosystem have more funding than you do.

This is perhaps even more true if you have an open source company. Your focus is already split between open source and commercial product. If you’re an open source company competing in an increasingly cutthroat ecosystem, you need maximum focus and an understanding of why your project is adopted, why people buy your commercial product and what the relationship is between them.

Fierce competition is both a threat to your business and a mind game. Being absolutely clear on your USP will help both with your confidence (and your team’s confidence) and will also get you better business results.

Do you know a founder of an open source startup that’s in an increasingly crowded/cutthroat market who isn’t completely clear on their USPs (for project, product or both)? Put them in touch with me — I can help.