Market Opportunity & Competitive Positioning
How to prepare your market submission
This stage evaluates how well you understand the market you are operating in and how your company is positioned within it.
You are not describing a theoretical market.
You are describing a quantified, structured, and defensible market view that can support valuation and investor decision-making.
Access to this submission is only provided after your Lions Den outcome.
How the submission works
You will:
define your market size and structure
classify your sector and customer type
describe market dynamics and constraints
identify competitors and positioning
assess scalability, defensibility, and exit potential
Your answers must be consistent with your pitch deck, data room, and actual business.
If your answers are inconsistent or unsupported, the diagnostic cannot produce a reliable output and your submission may be rejected.
What you must prepare
This submission is structured exactly around the sections below.
1. Market Size (TAM, SAM, SOM)
You must define:
Total Addressable Market (TAM)
Serviceable Available Market (SAM)
Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM)
market growth rate (%)
You must also show:
how these numbers are calculated
what assumptions are used
whether the numbers are realistic
You will also be required to identify:
which customer budget your product is sold into
whether that budget already exists or must be created
Large numbers without logic will not hold up.
2. Sector and Market Classification
You must clearly define:
your industry / sector category
your primary customer type (consumer, SMB, enterprise, etc.)
your geographic scope (local, national, regional, global)
This determines how your company is benchmarked and compared.
Incorrect classification leads to incorrect valuation logic.
3. Market Structure and Conditions
You must assess the environment you operate in:
regulatory complexity
market adoption stage
market maturity
competitive structure
barriers to entry
You will also need to define:
customer switching cost
implementation time
These inputs determine how difficult it is to sell, scale, and survive.
4. Customer and Buying Dynamics
You must identify:
the typical decision-maker (founder, manager, C-suite, etc.)
how purchasing decisions are made
how long implementation takes
This is used to understand sales cycles and revenue predictability.
5. Competitive Landscape
You must clearly provide:
your primary competitors (up to 5)
how you compete (better product, cheaper, new category)
how much better your solution is
whether you have a distribution advantage
If you cannot clearly name competitors, your positioning is weak.
6. Competitive Advantage and Scalability
You must assess:
business scalability
strength of competitive advantage
presence of network effects
You must also define:
whether your technology is proprietary
your intellectual property status
These inputs directly affect defensibility and valuation potential.
7. Structural Risk and Dependencies
You must identify:
dependency on third parties (platforms, APIs, suppliers, etc.)
key risks to market adoption
A business that depends heavily on external systems is structurally weaker.
8. Exit Expectations
You must define:
expected exit timeline
most likely exit route (acquisition, IPO, etc.)
expected revenue multiple
This is not about prediction.
It is about framing realistic investor outcomes.
What this stage is actually testing
Investors are assessing:
whether your market is real and accessible
whether your assumptions are grounded
whether your positioning is clear
whether your advantage is meaningful
whether your business can scale within that market
whether the outcome potential justifies investment
If your answers are vague or inconsistent, confidence drops immediately.
What typically goes wrong
Most companies fail this stage because:
TAM is inflated without logic
SAM and SOM are not understood
market assumptions are not explained
sector classification is incorrect
competition is ignored or misrepresented
differentiation is unclear
switching costs are low but not acknowledged
dependency risks are hidden
exit expectations are unrealistic
This stage exposes whether you understand your own market.
What to do before accessing the form
Before starting this submission:
rebuild your market sizing from first principles
ensure TAM, SAM, and SOM are logically connected
validate your assumptions
clearly define your competitors
be honest about your positioning and risks
You are not describing opportunity.
You are demonstrating understanding.
Where this fits in your journey
You will access this submission after:
completing Lions Den
receiving your outcome
receiving your submission links
At that point, your market and positioning are analysed and fed into valuation and investor readiness outputs.
Next step
Return to your onboarding flow and proceed once your Lions Den outcome has been received.