Don’t Let the Big Guys Scare You

You’re building a product, doing your due diligence, and then it happens—you stumble across a well-funded competitor doing something that looks very similar to what you're building.

It's easy to panic. But take a breath.

Because the truth is, what you see on the surface rarely tells the whole story.

When the Market Looks Taken

In the early research phase for one of our PortCo’s in the construction legaltech space (we’ll call it LienPro), I ran into a company that appeared to dominate the landscape. Backed by serious funding and later acquired by a major player in the construction tech ecosystem, this company seemed to offer a turnkey lien solution—something I thought might make our product obsolete before we even got started.

Their landing page boasted lien-related services priced at just $29, a figure that initially made me question whether I could compete at all.

But then I dug deeper.

What I Found Changed Everything

That $29 service? It was a preliminary notice, not an actual lien filing.

In construction, preliminary notices are just one early (but necessary) step in preserving your right to file a lien. The full lien filing process—the part that actually matters when it comes to securing payment—was priced closer to $300–$400 per job.

And that wasn’t the only surprise:

• Customers had to re-enter the same project data for every new filing.

• There was no end-to-end automation—just a workflow tied to a transactional model.

• Their entire platform was clearly built for larger contractors, not smaller, nimble crews or solo GCs who juggle 5–10 projects a year.

So while it looked like this company had “solved” the problem, what they’d really done was package a partial solution for a very specific type of customer.

Why That’s Good News for Builders Like Me

This experience was a reminder of something critical: Competitors may offer the same category of service—but that doesn’t mean they serve the same customer.

Too often, founders conflate market presence with market saturation. A visible player with flashy funding and sleek branding might still be:

• Overpriced

• Overbuilt

• Underserving key segments

More importantly, they may be solving only part of the problem. If you zoom out and look at the full customer journey—especially for smaller or underserved segments—there are often massive gaps incumbents simply aren’t positioned to address.

What Lean Startup Thinking Tells Us

In the early stages of product development, especially when following the Lean Startup methodology, the goal isn’t to outbuild or outspend anyone. It’s to:

• Test hypotheses

• Find underserved users

• Deliver value fast and affordably

That means your job is not to mimic what a $500M-acquired company is doing. Your job is to find the parts they’ve ignored—then build something lighter, faster, and more tailored to those overlooked users.

In my case, this meant:

• Building automation-first workflows for lien filings, with reusable data across jobs.

• Offering predictable, low monthly pricing instead of high per-transaction fees.

• Serving small contractors and subs who don’t have legal departments or lien consultants on speed dial.

Takeaways: What to Do When the Market Feels Crowded

If you’re early in building and suddenly discover a major competitor:

1. Go deeper than the homepage. What are they really offering? Who are they targeting?

2. Talk to real users. What frustrates them about existing tools?

3. Identify whitespace. Where are the gaps? Where do workflows break down?

4. Stay focused on value delivery. Speed, simplicity, and accessibility often win where incumbents are bloated.

5. Keep going. Market validation doesn’t mean you’re too late—it means the demand is real.

Final Word: Don’t Be Discouraged—Be Strategic

If you’re paying attention to the market and designing with intentionality, you can carve out a meaningful, profitable place. Even in a space that looks crowded. Especially in a space where incumbents have stopped listening to users.

So next time you come across a billion-dollar competitor? Don’t walk away.

Look closer.

Then build smarter.

Lets Build This

Joe