Design a Rival That Wins Users Away From a Product You Love

Pick a product you love and use often, then design a new product that competes with it head-on. Explain who it is for, what it does differently, and why people would switch to it. ```hint Find the crack in what you love A feature-for-feature copy loses to the product's existing users, data and habits. Ask which of its users it serves worst, and what would make leaving worth the effort for them. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Am I building the rival as a new startup with no users and limited money, or inside a large company that already has distribution? - Does "head-on" mean the same core job for the same people from day one, or may I start with a group of the product's users that it serves poorly and expand from there? - Is success measured by taking meaningful share from the incumbent within a year or two, or by building a sustainable business even if it stays smaller? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A product choice backed by what it does well and where it falls short, not only personal taste - A target segment the incumbent underserves, with a reason those users would accept the cost of switching - A differentiated core experience, a prioritized first version and a business model that can sustain it - Metrics that separate real switching from curiosity, with guardrails - A realistic view of the incumbent's advantages and how it would respond ### Follow-up Questions - The incumbent ships your headline feature six months after you launch. What do you do? - How would your plan change if you were building this rival inside Google rather than as a startup? - Three months after launch, which numbers would tell you users are switching rather than trying both products?