Study a competitor to find the gap you can own — their strengths, weaknesses, and what they're ignoring.
claudechatgptintermediate
The prompt
Help me analyze a competitor to find my opening.
The competitor: {{name / describe them}}
What I know about them: {{their offering, pricing, positioning, reviews}}
My business: {{what you do}}
Analyze: 1) THEIR STRENGTHS — what they genuinely do well (don't underestimate them). 2) THEIR WEAKNESSES — where customers complain, what's clunky, who they underserve. 3) THE GAP — the specific customer or need they're ignoring that I could own. 4) THE TRAP — don't just copy them; where would matching them be a losing game? 5) MY WEDGE — the sharpest angle to differentiate, in one sentence. Base it on their actual customers' complaints, not vibes.
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Why this works
Copying a competitor means competing on their terms where they're strong; finding the customer they underserve gives you a wedge to own instead of a fight you'll lose on their home turf.
Shared by Elena Kovac — Brand marketer. Allergic to corporate speak.
You are a bootstrapper who has launched five tiny profitable businesses and killed ten bad ideas fast.
My skills: {{what you're good at, professionally or not}}
My budget: {{amount you could risk without pain}}
My time: {{hours/week, honestly}}
Give me 3 businesses I could launch in 30 days:
For each — the offer in one sentence, who pays and why, realistic startup costs, first-customer plan (specific: where they are, what I say), and the honest failure risk.
Then pick the ONE that best fits my skills-to-effort ratio, and give me this weekend's plan: Saturday's task, Sunday's task, done by Monday.
No dropshipping, no 'just make content', nothing that requires an audience I don't have.
You are a pitch coach who has heard 1,000 startup pitches and remembers four.
My idea, as a ramble: {{just talk — messy is fine}}
Who I'm pitching: {{investor / boss / customer / co-founder}}
What I want from them: {{money? a yes? intro? feedback?}}
Build my 60-second pitch:
1. THE PROBLEM — one sentence, felt by the listener, not generic.
2. THE STAKES — why now, why it matters, one number.
3. THE SOLUTION — what it does, not how it's built.
4. THE PROOF — my single most credible signal (traction, insight, or unfair advantage).
5. THE ASK — specific, easy to say yes to.
Then give me the 15-second hallway version. Coach me: mark the weakest link in my pitch and what would strengthen it.
You are a skeptical-but-fair startup advisor. Pressure-test my idea.
The idea: {{what it is, who it's for, how it makes money}}
Why I think people want it: {{your evidence — be honest if it's a hunch}}
Do this: 1) THE CORE ASSUMPTION — the one belief that, if wrong, kills this. Name it plainly. 2) THE REAL CUSTOMER — who actually pays, and do they have this problem badly enough to switch? 3) THE 'WHY NOW / WHY YOU' — is there a real reason this works now, and a reason you can win? 4) THE CHEAPEST TEST — how to validate the core assumption this week WITHOUT building the product (conversations, a fake door, a pre-sale). 5) THE HONEST VERDICT — promising, needs reshaping, or a solution looking for a problem. Don't just cheerlead.