Stage 1 · Lesson 6 of 7
Competitors are evidence, not a stop sign
Finding competitors is usually good news. It shows that people already spend money on the problem. No competitors at all often means no demand.
Treat , not a stop sign. List five products people use today, including spreadsheets and agencies. Read their pricing pages, try their sign-up steps and pay special attention to their bad reviews.
You are looking for a group they serve badly. Maybe the product is too complex for people working alone, too expensive for a region, missing a local way to pay or poor on phones. That gap later becomes your , the reason your product exists.
Common trapeither giving up because a well-known product exists, or copying it feature by feature. Then you are racing a team that started years before you.
A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 1 cheat sheet entry come with the full roadmap. Unlock
Resources for this stage
Start with
- CourseFreeStartup School
Y Combinator · Beginner
Free lessons on how good ideas come from real problems; watch the ideas and talking to users sections first
Keep handy
Also worth your time
The classic essay on noticing problems instead of inventing ideas
- Product Manager Roadmap (roadmap.sh)Go deeper
A map of the non-coding product skills you will need, from research to pricing and metrics