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Listening to a startup pitch a few weeks ago I had to exercise effort not to shake my head in disbelief. The presenters were describing the products and business model of an established company I was very familiar with and doing it with what seemed to be blatant disregard of reality. They forgot to mention an entire product line that directly competed with their would-be product. They claimed the company had a different business model than the one it did. They misrepresented its scale, number of customers, etc. The obvious question was whether they were knowingly misrepresenting their competitor or whether they were confused or simply unaware. After the Q&A it became clear that they were just ignorant.
What it is?
Why it matters?
Diagnosis
Misdiagnosis
Refactored solutions
When it could help?
Why founders need to understand their competitors, market economics, investors, and the rules of the business they are entering.
We are not affiliated with Itamar Novick, Simeon Simeonov, or Recursive Ventures. We just like the series and wanted to make it easier to listen to, so this unofficial audio version is available to everyone for free.
Duration
~6 minutes (6K characters)
Release date
Aug 13, 2025