A few years ago, I watched a founder pitch what was a great product (on paper). Same category as the market leader, cleaner UI, more features, and even cheaper pricing. He gave an almost faultless presentation with confidence in his product; and he ended the pitch by saying: “We’re basically doing what they do; but better.”
Guess what happened after? No one invested!
it took a while, but I figured that it wasn’t because the product was bad. But because no one could answer a simple question: “Why should the market care?”
That founder was competing on sheer comparison when value should be in the forefront. And as they say, comparison is a race you rarely win.
Competing on “Better”
Most founders usually fail because they build indistinguishable product. “Better” is a vague selling strategy. Better for who? Better in what context? or Better enough to change what behavior?
When you position yourself as “better,” you’re asking customers to do cognitive work, like:
Compare features
Compare pricing
Compare promises
And that usually leads to: Higher acquisition costs, pressure to underprice, short-lived wins, and long-term margin decay. What every founder should know is that unless you’re 10× better (which is rare), the market will almost definitely shrug. With that being said, the alternative is in thinking differently.
Differentiation Is a Strategic Decision
Standing out shouldn’t start and end with only UI, branding, or features. It should start with what you deliberately choose not to compete on. Founders who win in competitive markets usually ask the question: “How do we play a different game?”
Below are five strategic lenses to help you do exactly that.
1. Change the Monetization Model (Not Just the Price)
Monetization reshapes behavior on both sides of the market. And it’s never just how much you charge. It’s:
What you charge for
When you charge
Who you charge
How revenue scales with usage
A pricing change can unlock a new customer segment, filter out the wrong users, change how your product is perceived or even alter your growth mechanics entirely. A one-time fee vs. subscription. Usage-based vs. flat pricing. Charging the user vs. charging the beneficiary.
These choices can make two identical products feel like entirely different businesses. You should ask yourself:
What happens if we charge 10× more or half as much?
What if our core feature is free, but outcomes are paid?
Who else in the value chain could pay instead?
Monetization is strategy cosplaying and wearing a pricing mask.
2. Change the Target Audience
When you change the audience, the product must change, even if the core problem stays the same. Different audiences have different tolerances for complexity, value different outcomes, buy for different emotional reasons and discover products through different channels. An enterprise product and a creator product can share DNA but they don’t share incentives. Changing the audience forces some level of clarity: