Competitor Analysis

Overview

Find and analyze 5-10 competitors for a business idea. Produce a structured competitive landscape section with comparison tables and positioning insights.

Inputs

• run_id: Provided by idea-intake or the user (format: YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>-<hhmm>)
• Business brief: docs/business-briefs/<run_id>.md

Output

• File: docs/reports/<run_id>/02-competitor-analysis.md

Process

digraph competitor_analysis {
    "Verify run_id exists" [shape=box];
    "Read business brief" [shape=box];
    "Search for direct competitors" [shape=box];
    "Search for indirect competitors" [shape=box];
    "Analyze each competitor" [shape=box];
    "Build comparison matrix" [shape=box];
    "Identify gaps and opportunities" [shape=box];
    "Write 02-competitor-analysis.md" [shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#e8f5e9"];

    "Verify run_id exists" -> "Read business brief";
    "Read business brief" -> "Search for direct competitors";
    "Read business brief" -> "Search for indirect competitors";
    "Search for direct competitors" -> "Analyze each competitor";
    "Search for indirect competitors" -> "Analyze each competitor";
    "Analyze each competitor" -> "Build comparison matrix";
    "Build comparison matrix" -> "Identify gaps and opportunities";
    "Identify gaps and opportunities" -> "Write 02-competitor-analysis.md";
}

Step 1: Read the Business Brief

Extract the business idea, target audience, business model, and any known competitors listed by the user.

Step 2: Find Competitors

Use WebSearch with queries like:

• "[product category] competitors"
• "[product category] alternatives"
• "best [product type] for [target audience]"
• "top [industry] startups [year]"
• Known competitor names from the brief

Identify:

• Direct competitors (same problem, same audience)
• Indirect competitors (same problem, different approach OR different problem, same audience)

Step 3: Analyze Each Competitor

For each competitor (aim for 5-10), research:

• Product/service offering
• Pricing model and tiers
• Target market
• Key differentiators
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Estimated size/funding (if available)
• Online presence (website quality, social media)

Step 4: Write Output

Ensure the output directory exists: mkdir -p docs/reports/<run_id>

Save to docs/reports/<run_id>/02-competitor-analysis.md:

## Competitive Landscape

**Run ID:** <run_id>

### Direct Competitors

| Competitor | Product | Pricing | Target Market | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|------------|---------|---------|--------------|-----------|------------|
| [Name 1] | [desc] | [model] | [who] | [list] | [list] |

### Indirect Competitors

| Competitor | Product | How They Compete | Overlap |
|------------|---------|-----------------|---------|
| [Name] | [desc] | [explanation] | [High/Med/Low] |

### Competitive Positioning Map

| Feature / Dimension | Your Idea | Comp 1 | Comp 2 | Comp 3 |
|---------------------|-----------|--------|--------|--------|
| Price Point | [?] | [$] | [$] | [$] |
| Feature Richness | [?] | [1-5] | [1-5] | [1-5] |
| Market Focus | [?] | [who] | [who] | [who] |

### Market Gaps and Opportunities
- [Gap 1: description of unmet need]
- [Gap 2: description of underserved segment]

### Key Takeaways
- [Insight 1]
- [Insight 2]
- [Insight 3]

### Sources
- [Source 1](url)

Quality Standards

• Minimum 5 competitors analyzed
• Each competitor MUST have verifiable source (website URL)
• Distinguish facts from estimates
• Focus on actionable insights, not just data collection