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Brief 10

Competitive Gap Scan

Research real rivals on the web, then split the gaps: table stakes you must match vs differentiation bets only you can make.

COMPETITIVE.md4 phases6 lenses~2.4k chars

Free & open · no signup · read-only — it ends by asking · nothing leaves your machine

What it does

You are working inside this repo. Mission: place this product against its real competitors — research them on the web — and split the findings into table stakes to match and differentiation bets to make.

Read the repo, search the web. Your only write is the report file.

What it looks for

6 lenses it looks through

Phase 2 sweeps the codebase through every one of these, citing file and line for each finding.

1

Table stakes we lack

features every rival has that users assume exist

2

Their patterns worth learning

onboarding, empty states, pricing pages that clearly work

3

Pricing & packaging norms

how the market slices tiers; where this product sits

4

Underleveraged strengths

things this repo already does that rivals don't; are they even surfaced?

5

Positioning gaps

the words rivals own vs the words this product could own

6

Their users' complaints

review-mining: recurring rival pain points are openings

The deliverable

What lands in your repo

One structured report at the repo root — or in reports/, if you keep one — the same shape every time, ready for a teammate — or the optional Studio — to act on.

COMPETITIVE.md
1
Arena summary
category, audience, the 3–5 rivals and one line on each
2
Comparison table
capability · us · each rival
3
Table stakes list
ranked by user expectation, with effort
4
Differentiation bets
3 moves that exploit rival weaknesses using existing strengths
5
Do-not-copy list
with reasons
One file. Evidence-backed. It ends by asking before touching anything.
How it works

What it makes the agent do

Every Goal Prompt follows the same four steps, so results are consistent and repeatable — no matter which one you run.

1
Phase 1

Define the arena

From the code and copy.

2
Phase 2

Compare through 6 lenses

Table stakes we lack — features every rival has that users assume exist.

3
Phase 3

Curate

Stakes vs bets.

4
Phase 4

Report

Create COMPETITIVE.md at repo root.

Get started

Three ways to run this Goal Prompt

01 · COPY

Paste it in

Copy it and paste it into your agent inside the repo you want checked.

02 · INSTALL

As a slash command

Install the goal plugin once — two commands — then just type /goal:competitive-gap-scan.

1/plugin marketplace add GhostlyGawd/goal-prompts
2/plugin install goal@goal-prompts

Or install only this Goal Prompt as /goal-competitive-gap-scan:

curl -fsSL https://goal-prompts.vercel.app/install | BRIEF=10 sh
03 · AGENT

From an agent (MCP)

Let an agent fetch it mid-conversation, or pull the raw Goal Prompt by URL.

https://goal-prompts.vercel.app/raw/10.md
Transparency

The exact prompt

Nothing hidden — this is the whole Goal Prompt, verbatim. Read it in a minute, edit it, or copy it as-is.

Read the full brief (2,436 characters)
# Goal: Competitive Gap Scan

You are working inside this repo. Mission: place this product against its real competitors — research them on the web — and split the findings into table stakes to match and differentiation bets to make.

Read the repo, search the web. Your only write is the report file.

## Phase 1 — Define the arena
- From the code and copy: what category is this product in, and for whom, specifically?
- Search the web and pick 3–5 real competitors a prospective user would actually compare.
- For each: skim their site, pricing, onboarding flow, changelog, and user reviews.

## Phase 2 — Compare through 6 lenses
1. **Table stakes we lack** — features every rival has that users assume exist
2. **Their patterns worth learning** — onboarding, empty states, pricing pages that clearly work
3. **Pricing & packaging norms** — how the market slices tiers; where this product sits
4. **Underleveraged strengths** — things this repo already does that rivals don't; are they even surfaced?
5. **Positioning gaps** — the words rivals own vs the words this product could own
6. **Their users' complaints** — review-mining: recurring rival pain points are openings

## Phase 3 — Curate
- Stakes vs bets: match the market minimum, differentiate everywhere else
- Every gap names the competitor and the evidence (page, review, doc)
- Flag what NOT to copy — features that fit their strategy, not this one

## Phase 4 — Report
Create `COMPETITIVE.md` at repo root:
1. **Arena summary** — category, audience, the 3–5 rivals and one line on each
2. **Comparison table** — capability · us · each rival
3. **Table stakes list** — ranked by user expectation, with effort
4. **Differentiation bets** — 3 moves that exploit rival weaknesses using existing strengths
5. **Do-not-copy list** — with reasons

Start the report with today's date. If `COMPETITIVE.md` already exists from a previous run, read it first and lead with what changed since.

## Rules
- Evidence from the web, cited; no imagined competitor features
- Differentiation must trace to something real in this repo
- No identifiable product to compare in this repo? Say so in a one-paragraph null report and stop — a null result is a valid finding.
- If a `reports/` directory exists at the repo root, write the report there instead of the root.
- Before asking, present the top findings as a ranked list in plain words
- Report only — end by asking which moves to make

House rules for this Goal Prompt

  • Evidence from the web, cited; no imagined competitor features
  • Differentiation must trace to something real in this repo
  • No identifiable product to compare in this repo? Say so in a one-paragraph null report and stop — a null result is a valid finding.
  • If a reports/ directory exists at the repo root, write the report there instead of the root.
  • Before asking, present the top findings as a ranked list in plain words
  • Report only — end by asking which moves to make
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