competitor-teardown

What this skill does

# Competitor Teardown

Structured competitive analysis with research and screenshots via [inference.sh](https://inference.sh) CLI.

## Quick Start

```bash
curl -fsSL https://cli.inference.sh | sh && infsh login

# Research competitor landscape
infsh app run tavily/search-assistant --input '{
  "query": "top project management tools comparison 2024 market share"
}'

# Screenshot competitor's website
infsh app run infsh/agent-browser --input '{
  "url": "https://competitor.com",
  "action": "screenshot"
}'
```

> **Install note:** The [install script](https://cli.inference.sh) only detects your OS/architecture, downloads the matching binary from `dist.inference.sh`, and verifies its SHA-256 checksum. No elevated permissions or background processes. [Manual install & verification](https://dist.inference.sh/cli/checksums.txt) available.

## Teardown Framework

### The 7-Layer Analysis

| Layer | What to Analyze | Data Source |
|-------|----------------|-------------|
| 1. **Product** | Features, UX, quality | Screenshots, free trial |
| 2. **Pricing** | Plans, pricing model, hidden costs | Pricing page, sales call |
| 3. **Positioning** | Messaging, tagline, ICP | Website, ads |
| 4. **Traction** | Users, revenue, growth | Web search, press, funding |
| 5. **Reviews** | Strengths, weaknesses from users | G2, Capterra, App Store |
| 6. **Content** | Blog, social, SEO strategy | Website, social profiles |
| 7. **Team** | Size, key hires, background | LinkedIn, About page |

## Research Commands

### Company Overview

```bash
# General intelligence
infsh app run tavily/search-assistant --input '{
  "query": "CompetitorX company overview funding team size 2024"
}'

# Funding and financials
infsh app run exa/search --input '{
  "query": "CompetitorX funding round series valuation investors"
}'

# Recent news
infsh app run tavily/search-assistant --input '{
  "query": "CompetitorX latest news announcements 2024"
}'
```

### Product Analysis

```bash
# Feature comparison
infsh app run exa/search --input '{
  "query": "CompetitorX vs alternatives feature comparison review"
}'

# Pricing details
infsh app run tavily/extract --input '{
  "urls": ["https://competitor.com/pricing"]
}'

# User reviews
infsh app run tavily/search-assistant --input '{
  "query": "CompetitorX reviews G2 Capterra pros cons 2024"
}'
```

### UX Screenshots

```bash
# Homepage
infsh app run infsh/agent-browser --input '{
  "url": "https://competitor.com",
  "action": "screenshot"
}'

# Pricing page
infsh app run infsh/agent-browser --input '{
  "url": "https://competitor.com/pricing",
  "action": "screenshot"
}'

# Signup flow
infsh app run infsh/agent-browser --input '{
  "url": "https://competitor.com/signup",
  "action": "screenshot"
}'
```

## Feature Matrix

### Structure

```markdown
| Feature | Your Product | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C |
|---------|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| Real-time collaboration | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| API access | ✅ | Paid only | ✅ | ❌ |
| SSO/SAML | ✅ | Enterprise | ✅ | Enterprise |
| Custom reports | ✅ | Limited | ✅ | ❌ |
| Mobile app | ✅ | iOS only | ✅ | ✅ |
| Free tier | ✅ (unlimited) | ✅ (3 users) | ❌ | ✅ (1 project) |
| Integrations | 50+ | 100+ | 30+ | 20+ |
```

### Rules

- ✅ = Full support
- ⚠️ or "Partial" = Limited or conditional
- ❌ = Not available
- Note conditions: "Paid only", "Enterprise tier", "Beta"
- Lead with features where YOU win
- Be honest about competitor strengths — credibility matters

## Pricing Comparison

### Structure

```markdown
| | Your Product | Competitor A | Competitor B |
|---------|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| **Free tier** | Yes, 5 users | Yes, 3 users | No |
| **Starter** | $10/user/mo | $15/user/mo | $12/user/mo |
| **Pro** | $25/user/mo | $30/user/mo | $29/user/mo |
| **Enterprise** | Custom | Custom | $50/user/mo |
| **Billing** | Monthly/Annual | Annual only | Monthly/Annual |
| **Annual discount** | 20% | 15% | 25% |
| **Min seats** | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| **Hidden costs** | None | Setup fee $500 | API calls metered |
```

### What to Look For

- Minimum seat requirements
- Annual-only billing (reduces flexibility)
- Feature gating between tiers
- Overage charges
- Setup/onboarding fees
- Contract lock-in periods

## SWOT Analysis

Create a SWOT for each competitor:

```markdown
### Competitor A — SWOT

| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|-----------|------------|
| • Strong brand recognition | • Slow feature development |
| • Large integration ecosystem | • Complex onboarding (30+ min) |
| • Enterprise sales team | • No free tier |

| Opportunities | Threats |
|--------------|---------|
| • AI features not yet shipped | • New AI-native competitors |
| • Expanding into mid-market | • Customer complaints about pricing |
| • International markets untapped | • Key engineer departures (LinkedIn) |
```

## Positioning Map

A 2x2 matrix showing where competitors sit on two meaningful dimensions.

### Choose Meaningful Axes

| Good Axes | Bad Axes |
|-----------|----------|
| Simple ↔ Complex | Good ↔ Bad |
| SMB ↔ Enterprise | Cheap ↔ Expensive (too obvious) |
| Self-serve ↔ Sales-led | Old ↔ New |
| Specialized ↔ General | Small ↔ Large |
| Opinionated ↔ Flexible | — |

### Template

```
                    Enterprise
                        │
           Competitor C │  Competitor A
                ●       │       ●
                        │
  Simple ──────────────────────────── Complex
                        │
            You ●       │  Competitor B
                        │       ●
                        │
                      SMB
```

### Generating the Visual

```bash
# Create positioning map with Python
infsh app run infsh/python-executor --input '{
  "code": "import matplotlib.pyplot as plt\nimport matplotlib\nmatplotlib.use(\"Agg\")\n\nfig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(10, 10))\n\n# Competitors\ncompetitors = {\n    \"You\": (-0.3, -0.3),\n    \"Competitor A\": (0.5, 0.6),\n    \"Competitor B\": (0.6, -0.4),\n    \"Competitor C\": (-0.4, 0.5)\n}\n\nfor name, (x, y) in competitors.items():\n    color = \"#22c55e\" if name == \"You\" else \"#6366f1\"\n    size = 200 if name == \"You\" else 150\n    ax.scatter(x, y, s=size, c=color, zorder=5)\n    ax.annotate(name, (x, y), textcoords=\"offset points\", xytext=(10, 10), fontsize=12, fontweight=\"bold\")\n\nax.axhline(y=0, color=\"grey\", linewidth=0.5)\nax.axvline(x=0, color=\"grey\", linewidth=0.5)\nax.set_xlim(-1, 1)\nax.set_ylim(-1, 1)\nax.set_xlabel(\"Simple ← → Complex\", fontsize=14)\nax.set_ylabel(\"SMB ← → Enterprise\", fontsize=14)\nax.set_title(\"Competitive Positioning Map\", fontsize=16, fontweight=\"bold\")\nax.grid(True, alpha=0.3)\nplt.tight_layout()\nplt.savefig(\"positioning-map.png\", dpi=150)\nprint(\"Saved\")"
}'
```

## Review Mining

### Where to Find Reviews

| Platform | Best For | URL Pattern |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| G2 | B2B SaaS | g2.com/products/[product]/reviews |
| Capterra | Business software | capterra.com/software/[id]/reviews |
| App Store | iOS apps | apps.apple.com |
| Google Play | Android apps | play.google.com |
| Product Hunt | Launches | producthunt.com/posts/[product] |
| Reddit | Honest opinions | reddit.com/r/[relevant-sub] |

### What to Extract

| Category | Look For |
|----------|---------|
| **Most praised** | What features do happy users mention most? |
| **Most complained** | What do unhappy users say? (= your opportunity) |
| **Switching reasons** | Why do users leave? What triggers switching? |
| **Feature requests** | What's missing that users want? |
| **Comparison mentions** | When users compare, what do they say? |

```bash
# Mine G2 reviews
infsh app run tavily/search-assistant --input '{
  "query": "CompetitorX G2 reviews complaints issues 2024"
}'

# Reddit sentiment
infsh app run exa/search --input '{
  "query": "reddit CompetitorX alternative frustration switching"
}'
```

## Deliverable Formats

### Executive Summary (1 page)

```markdown
## Competitive Landscape Summary

**Market:** [Category] —