Zero to One GTM: Approaching Competition As A Solopreneur
And my broader portfolio approach to leveraging my superpowers with other business endeavors
Day 30 of writing daily.1
Competition in the 0 → 1 space feels fierce, and it’s easy to fall into imposter syndrome (I’m not an exited founder, I haven’t been part of a growth story of a unicorn, etc., etc.). But with the right niche, a clear understanding of my value proposition, and a portfolio approach, I’m finding ways to stand out. Whether it’s running paid workshops for accelerators or expanding into new markets, I’m doubling down on my strengths while staying open to broader opportunities.
That said, it’s absolutely critical to understand your competition and positioning, so here we go - a first attempt at least of competition.
🛠️ DIY: Do It Internally – Founders at the 0 → 1 Stage
The first thing to realize is that founders are often laser-focused on driving product-market fit themselves. So many folks don’t think of or even want/need my services.
I’ve explored the idea of working with more deeply technical founders, but my network there is just not super strong.
🙋🏻 Competitors – When Founders Seek External Help
When founders look outside, here’s who I’m competing against (just to name a few):
Fractionals
These are professionals who have been there, done that. They bring functional, industry-specific expertise at the right growth stages.There’s always tension between being a 0 → 1 generalist (like myself) and those who have repeatable playbooks for success. Their track record often gives them a certain allure, but my playbook offers a different kind of value.
Exited Founders & Advisors
Bring a level of experience and expertise I admittedly do not have. (Although I know many, and do lean on it where I can and when specifically relevant.)Funds & Accelerators
These programs are great, but the approach of course is by nature cohort-based vs. bespoke. Some programs can be big on quantity of potential mentors/intros vs taking a deeper, curated approach.So in parallel, I’m also treating these as potential partners/collaborators and avenues to support my GTM as a solopreneur.
Some attempts have not worked, but I’ve started gaining traction running paid workshops for incubators and accelerators and (again) I’m facilitating the capstone for Penn GSE’s Edu Entrepreneurship Master’s.
Plus I’m exloring a deeper collaboration with a group I’m a big fan of and have done some founder coaching with.
Studios
I did an intentional exploration into this space starting 9 months ago, and I’m seeing momentum with them as clients. It’s been nice to validate that (for now) they have demand for my expertise industry-wise and in 0 → 1 product discovery/validation.
🎯 Niching Down to Grow My Business
To compete effectively, I’ve been niching down as previously mentioned but continuing to go deeper in:
Deep in 0 → 1 product discovery and GTM (fractional work may be one way to express my offering and monetize my expertise, but I'm exploring different models as well)
Industry: I’ve continued to focus on edtech and workforce development, both for and nonprofits alike.
📸 Widening the Aperture
I’m niching down in a way that also provides a foundation to widen the aperture.
a) With my consulting,
Expanding wider with 0 → 1 as my focus,
I’m running a paid workshop with a health tech accelerator on 0 → 1 GTM (the sales stack) and
planning to mentor for social entrepreneurship incubator that’s global and works in verticals like climate and women’s empowerment.
Writing this Substack helps me generalize insights beyond edtech while still drawing from my core areas of expertise like edtech and workforce development.
b) Beyond consulting, I’m also leveraging my expertise in ways to buy/build businesses:
Building:
Exploring niche SaaS and productized service ideas.
I’m co-founding a vertical SaaS idea totally outside of education.
Buying: Looking into acquiring cash flow businesses. Trying to find the right partner and I’ve defined a few broad areas. (Thanks to those that have been sounding boards, thought partners or served as pioneers/inspiration who are a few steps/years ahead of me in this direction.)
🥷🏻 Shifting from Missionary to Mercenary
A big shift I’m going through in parallel is to focus more on business from the perspective of mercenary first (profitable, needed, stable/growing niche) then missionary second (impact).2 That reflects my life stage, need to build a financially stable foundation to support my family and unlock abundance.
That’s not to say I’m abandoning my values-first, relationship-focused approach. But it does mean I’m thinking more critically about businesses that are essential and growing, ideally with strong tailwinds for success, where I can express mission in the way I lead and build.
🔑 Conclusion: Key Takeaways
Competition in the 0 → 1 space is fierce, and it’s easy to fall prey to imposter syndrome. But with the right niche, a clear understanding of my value proposition, and a portfolio approach, I’m finding ways to stand out. Whether it’s running paid workshops for accelerators or expanding into new markets, I’m doubling down on my strengths while staying open to broader opportunities.
🛠️ Bonus: Favorite Tool of the Day (FTOTD)
Gamma.app — I’m using it for turning concepts into landing pages and pitch decks. Its big advantage over other tools so far is that instead of a single (shorter) prompt, it can accept longer input prompts which it can (or you can) break down into ‘cards’ to help specify different slides or sections of the output. It’s been nothing short of brilliant for quickly turn my thinking into something visual that inspires me, or can be shared as a concept with others for quick reactions and feedback!
If you were following my post and framework from Monday last week:
✅ persona (already done above)
positioning/competitive advantage vs. alternatives ← HERE TODAY
GTM
price
org readiness: product expertise and agility
product-market fit assessment