👋🏻 ATTN: Horizontal startups 👋🏻

→ Here are 3️⃣ positioning anchors that aren’t based on a persona, industry, or company type:

1️⃣ Positioning on a Problem

Calendly initially positioned around a shared problem — booking meetings over email is super annoying

Many different segments felt the pain of this problem (recruiters and freelancers booking lots of meetings), and so Calendly was able to establish a position in their minds as the go-to-solution for this problem.

2️⃣ Positioning on a Product Category

Brave Software initially positioned around being a private web browser.

Lots of different types of people care about privacy (privacy-conscious individuals, researchers that want unbiased search results), and so Brave was able to establish a position in their minds as the go-to solution for this product category.

3️⃣ Positioning on a Product Capability

Uber initially positioned themselves around a huge unlock — being able get you a ride any time you want.

Tons of people needed this capability (travelers, urban residents, students), and so Uber was able to establish a position in their minds as the go-to solution for this capability.