The last two weeks have been about competition.
Even though I don’t spend much time on competition in the pitch, it’s absolutely critical that you as a founder understand it deeply.
Two weeks ago, I explained why saying “We don’t have any direct competitors” can be deadly.
Last week, I showed how founders sabotage themselves by how they talk about competitors - not because competitors exist, but because they handle them poorly.
But there’s one competition angle most founders never think about.
I had actually forgotten about it myself - until I sat on a pitch competition jury the other night and one of my fellow judges asked a very simple question:
Who’s in the graveyard?
Not because it’s a trick question.
But because it’s easy to focus only on the here and now.
When preparing a pitch, founders usually look at:
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Who’s active
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Who’s funded
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Who’s loud
What they almost never look at is:
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Who already tried this… and disappeared
And yet, in investor meetings, this question comes up again and again.
Not in the pitch.
Maybe not even in the first or second meeting.
But trust me - it will come up.
That’s where history matters.
And that’s where unprepared founders start to wobble.
The Competition Nobody Prepares For
Most founders think competition analysis ends with:
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Logos on a slide
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Differentiation points
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A clean positioning statement
But that’s only the teaser part of the pitch.
When investors start digging deeper, they don’t stop there.
They zoom out.
They think in cycles, not decks.
Sooner or later, the questions come:
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“Who tried this before?”
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“Why didn’t it work?”
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“What makes this time different?”
And this is where things get shaky.
Because many founders haven’t looked beyond what exists today.
They know the market.
But they don’t know the history.
And when that gap shows, confidence drops - even if the idea itself is solid.
This happened to me just a few days ago.
A founder pitched their startup. I told them it was a tough industry - investors are hesitant, and there’s a long list of startups in the graveyard.
The response was one I’ve heard far too many times (sadly):
“But they were inexperienced.”
“We’ve solved the puzzle.”
“We’ll disrupt.”
“We’re unique.”
“No one is like us.”
None of that shows you’ve done the homework.
It doesn’t signal insight.
It signals naivety - and to be frank - arrogance.
How I Recommend You Think About the Graveyard
The graveyard doesn't belong in your short pitch.
You shouldn't have any extra slides for it.
Don't make any detours.
Avoid “let me explain why everyone else failed” monologues.
Instead - you have to put it into your preparation.
What I recommend is simple:
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Know which companies tried before you (not just one...)
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Understand why they didn’t make it (ask them... no guessing)
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Be able to explain it calmly - without emotion, blame, or excuses
Not:
“They weren’t good enough.”
But:
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Timing was off because of x,y, z
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Customers weren’t ready
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Distribution was too expensive
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Technology made scale impossible
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The business model couldn’t survive
And most importantly:
What has changed now.
This isn’t about proving you’re smarter.
It’s about showing you’re realistic.
The Shift
When founders are prepared for this, something changes in the room:
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The Q&A feels calmer
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Follow-up questions get sharper
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Investors stop probing for blind spots
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The conversation moves forward instead of sideways
Because instead of defending the idea, the founder shows perspective.
They signal:
“I know the risks. I chose this anyway.”
That’s reassuring.
The Bottom Line
Your competition isn’t only who’s alive in the market.
It’s also who failed quietly before you showed up.
You don’t need to talk about them in your pitch.
But if you can’t talk about them in the Q&A, investors will feel it.
Markets have memory.
Founders should too.