The competitor that showed up mid-build.

Getting Started · 5 min read

We were deep into the design phase. Branding was underway, the prototype was coming together, and we'd already had six or seven meetings. Then the client messaged me. They'd found an app doing something similar. Not identical, but close enough to make them nervous. And the app was already generating revenue. Real revenue.

That moment hits hard. You've been working on something for weeks, maybe months, and suddenly there's someone else in the space. Your stomach drops. You start second guessing everything. Was this a waste of time? Should I have searched harder before starting? Is there still a point?

Here's what actually happened. The client brought the competitor's app to our next meeting, we pulled it up on screen, and we studied it together. And instead of killing the project, it made the project better.

Competition is validation

If someone else built something similar and people are paying for it, that's proof that the market exists. That's not bad news. That's the best news you could get at this stage. It means you're not inventing demand. Demand already exists. Someone has already done the hard work of proving that people want what you're building.

The absence of competition is actually more worrying. If nobody has ever tried to solve this problem with an app, you need to ask why. Sometimes it's because nobody thought of it. More often it's because the market isn't there, the problem isn't big enough, or someone tried and it didn't work. Competition means the problem is real and the market will pay to solve it.

According to CB Insights, the number one reason startups fail is "no market need." Having a competitor removes that risk entirely. They've already proven the need. Your job now is to serve it better.

Study them like a designer, not like a worrier

When we pulled up the competitor's app, I wasn't looking at it with fear. I was looking at it like a designer. What did they do well? Where is the UX rough? What's their pricing model? What reviews are people leaving? What complaints keep coming up? That's all intelligence. And it's intelligence you can use without copying anything.

The client noticed things immediately. "Their layout for this section is really clean. We should think about something like that." And, "They don't do anything with this area at all. That's where we're different." Within twenty minutes, the competitor went from a threat to a reference point. A benchmark. Something to learn from, not something to fear.

That's the mindset shift. You're not racing them. You're studying them. And you have the advantage of seeing what works and what doesn't before you've spent a cent on development. They built first and learned the hard way. You get to learn from their mistakes for free.

You were always going to have competitors

Even if you didn't find them during the design phase, they'd show up eventually. Someone would launch something similar a month after you go live. Or an existing app would add a feature that overlaps with yours. Competition isn't something you avoid. It's something you prepare for. And the best preparation is knowing what makes you different and committing to it.

This client didn't try to match the competitor feature for feature. They looked at what the competitor was missing, doubled down on their own differentiator, and kept building. The competitor actually helped sharpen the focus. It made the "why us" much clearer. And when it came time to position the app for launch, having a known competitor made the pitch easier, not harder.

So if you find a competitor during your build, don't panic. Pull them up on screen. Study the reviews. Look at the gaps. And then get back to work. You know something they didn't know when they started. You know them.

Sources
Top Reasons Startups Fail (CB Insights) - No market need is the number one cause of startup failure.
Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything (Harvard Business Review) - Validated learning from competition reduces risk.

Related blog posts:

Your competitor's app doesn't matter as much as you think →

How to validate your app idea →

Nobody's going to steal your app idea →