Last week, I told you why saying “we don’t have any competition” destroys your credibility.
This week, I want to keep my promise:
I’ll show you exactly how the strongest founders weave competition into their pitch, what to include, what to avoid, and what to leave for the Q&A.
Because here’s the reality:
Most founders don’t lose investor trust because of competition.
They lose it because of how they talk about competition.
And once you understand how to handle this section properly, your pitch suddenly feels sharper, more mature, and instantly more investable.
The Mistake Most Founders Make
Founders either:
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Try to hide competitors
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Or they attack them like enemies
Both approaches backfire.
When you hide competitors, you look inexperienced.
When you trash competitors, you look insecure.
But the strongest founders?
They treat competitors as context, not as threats.
And they use that context to talk about their uniqueness - not someone else’s weaknesses.
How to Show Competition (The Right Way)
Here’s exactly what I teach founders to do in the pitch:
1. Visualize as many competitors as possible - but never EVER say their names out loud.
Show the logos.
Fill the slide.
Make it clear you know the space.
Why?
Because the moment you start pronouncing competitor names, you are:
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Giving them free PR
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Inviting unnecessary comparison
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Losing control of the narrative
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Risking investor derailment
Logos = clarity
Names spoken out loud = distraction
And most importantly:
If you say their name, investors will start thinking about them.
Not you.
You never want that.
2. Never talk badly about competitors. Ever.
It leaves a bad taste.
It damages trust.
And it makes you look defensive.
Investors hate it.
Instead, do this:
Talk about what customers struggle with today - not what competitors fail at.
That subtle shift keeps you classy and keeps the spotlight on your solution.
3. Use competitors as a platform to highlight your uniqueness.
Competition isn’t the point.
Differentiation is.
So your competitor slide should not communicate:
“Here’s why the others are bad.”
It should communicate:
“Here’s why we’re different.”
Here are the strongest differentiators founders tend to use:
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A fundamentally different approach
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A workflow competitors don’t support
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A customer segment competitors ignore
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A business model competitors can’t adopt
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A technology others can’t replicate
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A speed or efficiency edge
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Simplicity where competitors are complex
Notice:
None of these attack competitors.
All of them elevate you.
4. Never compete on price.
This is a big one.
Competing on price is:
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Dangerous
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Short-term
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Easily crushable
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A sign you don’t understand value
Anyone with enough money can undercut you.
Anyone.
If your competitive edge is “we’re cheaper,” you’ve already lost.
Price can be an add-on, but it should never be one of your differentiating sweet spots.
Strong founders compete on value, speed, experience, results, insight, quality, trust - not on who can make the product the cheapest.
Where Founders Go Wrong
Most decks do one of two things wrong:
❌ Too much detail
You drown investors in a competitor analysis with boxes, grids, and tiny checkmarks.
This belongs in Q&A - not the pitch.
❌ Too little detail
You show two logos and pretend that’s the whole market.
This makes you look unprepared.
✔ The sweet spot
Show enough logos to demonstrate awareness.
Use one clear sentence to explain where you fit.
Then move forward.
The goal is confidence, not comparison.
What Must Stay OUT of the Pitch (and Go Into Q&A Instead)
Pitch time is limited.
Here’s what does not belong in your main presentation:
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Detailed competitor feature-by-feature breakdowns
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Technological comparisons
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Pricing comparisons
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Long competitor histories
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Negative commentary
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“Here’s why they suck” monologues
Leave all of that for the Q&A.
In the pitch, your job is not to prove others are weak —
your job is to prove you understand the landscape and you know exactly where you fit.
That’s it.
Result
When founders follow this structure:
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Investors ask better questions
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The pitch feels more mature
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The differentiation becomes clearer
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The founder appears more experienced
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The conversation shifts from “who are your competitors?” to “how fast can you scale?”
It changes the entire dynamic of the meeting.
Talking about competition isn’t dangerous.
Talking about it POORLY is.
That’s all for today.
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