--- title: "Startups: Attack The Problem, Not The Competition" description: Do not become obsessed with beating the competition.  Instead, obsess over beating the problem you are out to solve. image: https://www.onstartups.com/hs-fs/file-13148128-jpg/images/attack-the-problem-onstartups.jpg --- # Startups: Attack The Problem, Not The Competition Written By: [Dharmesh Shah](https://www.onstartups.com/author/dharmesh-shah) March 2, 2012 Startups: Attack The Problem, Not The Competition Written by [Dharmesh Shah](https://www.onstartups.com/author/dharmesh-shah) on March 2, 2012 - - - -   [Pin It](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fonstartups.com%2Ftabid%2F3339%2Fbid%2F79000%2FStartups-Attack-The-Problem-Not-The-Competition.aspx&media=http%3A%2F%2Fonstartups.com%2FPortals%2F150%2Fimages%2Fattack-the-problem-onstartups.jpg&description=Startups%20should%20focus%20on%20prevailing%20over%20the%20problem%20they%20are%20out%20to%20solve%2C%20not%20their%20competitors.%20%20) ![attack the problem onstartups](https://www.onstartups.com/hs-fs/file-13148128-jpg/images/attack-the-problem-onstartups.jpg)   [Pin It](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fonstartups.com%2Ftabid%2F3339%2Fbid%2F79000%2FStartups-Attack-The-Problem-Not-The-Competition.aspx&media=http%3A%2F%2Fonstartups.com%2FPortals%2F150%2Fimages%2Fattack-the-problem-onstartups.jpg&description=Startups%20should%20focus%20on%20prevailing%20over%20the%20problem%20they%20are%20out%20to%20solve%2C%20not%20their%20competitors.%20%20) Do not become obsessed with beating the competition.  Instead, obsess over beating the *problem* you are out to solve.  There are several reasons for this: 1) The goal is not to win over the competition, the goal is to put a dent in the universe. 2) It's possible that the competitors are not solving the same problem and don't care about the same things.  You are better off solving the problem *you* want to solve and that you think there's a market for, then someone else's definition of the problem. 3) You will never know all that is going on with your competition.  If you're paranoid, you will think they're doing most things right.  If you're an optimist (or delusional) you may think they're doing everything wrong.  Either way, you're likely wrong.  Don't let the competition define your strategy.  **Focus on the problem.**   ## Related Posts [How Much Should A Startup Founder/CEO Pay Herself? guest August 14, 2012 The following is a guest post by Chris Sheehan. Chris is a seed stage VC and angel investor at CommonAngels. You can follow him on Twitter at @c_sheehan and his blog Early Stage… Read Post ** ](https://www.onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/88227/How-Much-Should-A-Startup-Founder-CEO-Pay-Herself.aspx) [Getting Crunched, Mashed Or Beaten Is Not A Launch Strategy guest March 19, 2013 This is a guest post by Alex Turnbull. Alex is a serial SaaS entrepreneur and the CEO of Groove, a customer support software platform for startups and small businesses. Alex was… Read Post ** ](https://www.onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/96361/Getting-Crunched-Mashed-Or-Beaten-Is-Not-A-Launch-Strategy.aspx) Subscribe ### Get OnStartup News and Updates in your Inbox. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Dharmesh Shah", "url" : "https://www.onstartups.com/author/dharmesh-shah" }, "datePublished" : "2012-03-02T18:26:00.000Z", "headline" : "Startups: Attack The Problem, Not The Competition", "image" : [ "https://www.onstartups.com/hs-fs/file-13148128-jpg/images/attack-the-problem-onstartups.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/79000/Startups-Attack-The-Problem-Not-The-Competition.aspx", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.onstartups.com/hubfs/mjtw-assets/logos/onstartups-logo@2x.png" }, "name" : "OnStartups" } } ```