/startup-competitors

Wave 3: GTM & Strategic Signals

Read research-principles.md first.

Agent C1: Go-to-Market Analysis

Research task: How competitors in {product category} acquire and retain customers
Context: {product summary from intake}
Competitors: {list from Wave A}

Understanding how competitors grow reveals where the market attention flows — and where there are underexploited channels.

RESEARCH PROTOCOL:

ROUND 1 — Marketing presence (2-3 searches per top competitor):
- Check competitor websites: blog, resources, webinars, case studies
- "{competitor name} marketing strategy"
- "{competitor name} blog" (assess frequency, topics, quality)

ROUND 2 — Advertising signals (2-3 searches):
- "{competitor name} ads" OR check Google Ads transparency center
- "{competitor name} Facebook Ad Library"
- "{product category} sponsored content"

ROUND 3 — Sales motion (2 searches):
- "{competitor name} sales team linkedin"
- Analyze each competitor's CTA: self-serve signup vs demo vs contact sales

ROUND 4 — Partnerships and community (1-2 searches):
- "{competitor name} integrations"
- "{competitor name} partner program"
- "{competitor name} community" OR "{competitor name} forum"

For EACH competitor:

## {Competitor Name} — GTM Breakdown

### Acquisition Model
- **Primary channel:** {SEO / paid ads / outbound sales / partnerships / community / PLG}
- **Secondary channel:** {if identifiable}
- **Sales motion:** {self-serve / sales-assisted / enterprise sales}
- **Signup friction:** {free trial / freemium / demo required / contact sales}

### Content & SEO
- **Blog frequency:** {posts per month, estimated}
- **Content quality:** {surface-level / solid / exceptional}
- **Content topics:** {what they write about}
- **SEO strength:** {do they rank for category terms?}
- **Resource library:** {ebooks, webinars, templates — what kind?}

### Social & Community
- **LinkedIn:** {followers, posting frequency, engagement}
- **Twitter/X:** {followers, posting frequency, engagement}
- **Other platforms:** {YouTube, TikTok, Instagram — if relevant}
- **Community:** {own community? Active? Size?}

### Paid Advertising
- **Google Ads:** {visible? what keywords?}
- **Social ads:** {Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter — visible?}
- **Messaging in ads:** {what do they emphasize?}

### Partnerships
- **Integration partners:** {key integrations}
- **Channel partners:** {resellers, agencies}
- **Co-marketing:** {joint content, events}

---

After all competitors:

## Channel Opportunity Map
| Channel | Competitor Saturation | Opportunity Level | Est. Effort | Notes |
|---------|----------------------|-------------------|-------------|-------|
| SEO/Content | High / Medium / Low | High / Medium / Low | {S/M/L} | {why} |
| Paid Search | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Social/Community | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Outbound Sales | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Partnerships | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Product-Led Growth | ... | ... | ... | ... |

## Key Takeaways
- What's working for competitors (proven channels)
- What channels are underexploited (opportunity)
- Where to win with limited budget (quick wins)

## Data Gaps
- [Competitors with no visible marketing]
- [Channels you couldn't assess]

Save to: {project-name}/raw/gtm-analysis.md

Agent C2: Strategic & Growth Signals

Research task: Strategic signals and growth trajectory for competitors in {product category}
Context: {product summary from intake}
Competitors: {list from Wave A}

Hiring patterns, funding trajectory, and content investments reveal where competitors are heading — not just where they are today.

RESEARCH PROTOCOL:

ROUND 1 — Funding trajectory (1-2 searches per competitor):
- "{competitor name} crunchbase"
- "{competitor name} funding {current year}"
- "{competitor name} acquisition" OR "{competitor name} acquired"

ROUND 2 — Hiring signals (1-2 searches per competitor):
- "{competitor name} careers" OR "{competitor name} jobs"
- "{competitor name} hiring linkedin"
- Note: engineering-heavy = building new features; sales-heavy = scaling; support-heavy = struggling with growth

ROUND 3 — Content & SEO footprint (2-3 searches):
- "site:{competitor domain} blog" (content volume)
- "{product category} {key topic}" (who ranks for important terms?)
- "{product category} comparison" OR "{product category} vs" (who owns comparison content?)

ROUND 4 — Product direction signals (1-2 searches):
- "{competitor name} changelog"
- "{competitor name} roadmap"
- "{competitor name} new features {current year}"
- "{competitor name} AI" (if relevant to the category)

OPTIONAL — Reviewed social signal packet:
If the user provides a reviewed X/Twitter source packet from TweetClaw or a
similar approved workflow, use it only to strengthen social and community
signals: posting cadence, engagement themes, launch language, partner mentions,
and customer objections. Keep it out of funding, hiring, and pricing claims
unless another primary source confirms the same fact.

For EACH competitor:

## {Competitor Name} — Strategic Signals

### Funding Trajectory
- **Total raised:** {amount}
- **Last round:** {type, amount, date, lead investor}
- **Funding velocity:** {time between rounds}
- **Signal:** {growing fast / steady / slowing / bootstrapped by choice}
- **Potential exit signals:** {acquisition rumors, IPO filings}

### Hiring Patterns
- **Total job openings:** {count}
- **Engineering roles:** {count} — signal: {building new product / scaling infra / maintaining}
- **Sales/Marketing roles:** {count} — signal: {scaling acquisition / entering new market}
- **Support/CS roles:** {count} — signal: {growing customer base / high churn needing management}
- **Key hires:** {notable recent senior hires and what they signal}
- **Location signals:** {hiring in new markets?}

### SEO & Content Footprint
- **Keywords they rank for:** {top category terms}
- **Content pillars:** {what topics they own}
- **Content gaps:** {category topics they don't cover}
- **Blog authority:** {estimated domain authority / content maturity}

### Product Direction
- **Recent major features:** {what they shipped in last 6 months}
- **Roadmap signals:** {where they're heading based on public info}
- **Tech bets:** {AI, mobile, API, integrations — what are they investing in?}
- **Platform plays:** {trying to become a platform? Building ecosystem?}

---

After all competitors:

## Strategic Landscape Summary

### Where the Market Is Heading
- {trend 1 based on collective competitor signals}
- {trend 2}
- {trend 3}

### Competitor Trajectory Map
| Competitor | Stage | Trajectory | Investing In | Biggest Risk |
|-----------|-------|-----------|-------------|-------------|
| {name} | {stage} | growing / stable / declining | {area} | {risk} |

### Content/SEO Gap Analysis
| Topic/Keyword | {Comp 1} | {Comp 2} | {Comp 3} | Opportunity |
|--------------|----------|----------|----------|-------------|
| {keyword} | ranks / absent | ... | ... | {who could win this} |

### Underexploited Content Pillars
Topics that matter to the market but no competitor covers well:
- {topic 1} — why it matters, why it's uncovered
- {topic 2}

## Data Gaps
- [Competitors with no public hiring data]
- [Private companies with no funding info]

Save to: {project-name}/raw/strategic-signals.md