Diving Deep inside a
Global Competitor
Sanjay Vijayakumar
“Indian startups don't do well
globally because of wrong
competitor benchmarking.
We should look at what the best is globally and then instead of re-inventing the
wheel; take it from there to 10x better”
Shekhar Kirani, Accel Partners and Board Member - Freshdesk in his communication to Sanjay
Vijayakumar, SV.CO on March 6, 2017
Thesis: Learn from the best. Beat
them by building 10x better &
faster! (or be beaten in the process)
How to benchmark globally?
Step 1/7: Create a list of 5 global
competitors to your product and narrow
them down to who is the leader/ No 1.
Step 2/7: Signup and become a
customer of that product.
Step 3/7: Dive deep into the competitor product on
how they are solving the problem for the customer.
Learn insights into what is the approach taken
by competitor to solving the problem.
Step 4/7: Note down your experience as a
user on how they delight the customer in
terms of User Interface (UI) and User
Experience (UX)
Step 5/7: Identify the number 1
aka core feature which is done
well in the product.
Step 6/7:Identify where all the
product can be improved in
terms of UI/UX/Business Model
Step 7/7: Create your actionable game plan for beta
on how you will beat this competitor now that you
know whats the No 1 feature of best product in the
world and its limitations right now for customers.
Pro Tip: To do this task well, Go through previous
topic of Customer Persona by Vishnu Gopal to
have a clearer understanding of how your
competitor is thinking from the customers
viewpoint and building the solution.
Todo Target: Deep Dive and Benchmark your product
to a Global Customer to find where you stand today.

Gain insights on what should you do next to create
your beta product in terms of technology and UI/UX
Todo Target: Deep Dive and
Benchmark how the competitor
acquires customers.
ProTip: Team lead to Start planning work
within the team so that different members
can do both tasks simultaneously.
Don’t forget to check
the Rubric for pointers.
Deep dive into a competitor

Deep dive into a competitor

  • 2.
    Diving Deep insidea Global Competitor Sanjay Vijayakumar
  • 3.
    “Indian startups don'tdo well globally because of wrong competitor benchmarking. We should look at what the best is globally and then instead of re-inventing the wheel; take it from there to 10x better” Shekhar Kirani, Accel Partners and Board Member - Freshdesk in his communication to Sanjay Vijayakumar, SV.CO on March 6, 2017
  • 4.
    Thesis: Learn fromthe best. Beat them by building 10x better & faster! (or be beaten in the process)
  • 5.
  • 6.
    Step 1/7: Createa list of 5 global competitors to your product and narrow them down to who is the leader/ No 1.
  • 7.
    Step 2/7: Signupand become a customer of that product.
  • 8.
    Step 3/7: Divedeep into the competitor product on how they are solving the problem for the customer. Learn insights into what is the approach taken by competitor to solving the problem.
  • 9.
    Step 4/7: Notedown your experience as a user on how they delight the customer in terms of User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX)
  • 10.
    Step 5/7: Identifythe number 1 aka core feature which is done well in the product.
  • 11.
    Step 6/7:Identify whereall the product can be improved in terms of UI/UX/Business Model
  • 12.
    Step 7/7: Createyour actionable game plan for beta on how you will beat this competitor now that you know whats the No 1 feature of best product in the world and its limitations right now for customers.
  • 13.
    Pro Tip: Todo this task well, Go through previous topic of Customer Persona by Vishnu Gopal to have a clearer understanding of how your competitor is thinking from the customers viewpoint and building the solution.
  • 14.
    Todo Target: DeepDive and Benchmark your product to a Global Customer to find where you stand today.
 Gain insights on what should you do next to create your beta product in terms of technology and UI/UX
  • 15.
    Todo Target: DeepDive and Benchmark how the competitor acquires customers.
  • 16.
    ProTip: Team leadto Start planning work within the team so that different members can do both tasks simultaneously.
  • 17.
    Don’t forget tocheck the Rubric for pointers.