Trade Republic
When the Trade Republic team mapped competition in 2019, the obvious answer was other European trading apps: DEGIRO (low cost, market leader), Scalable Capital (AI-driven), Revolut (with its new investment product). But this was the wrong competition.
Trade Republic's real competitor was the Sparkasse or Commerzbank current account. The vast majority of 25-35 year old Germans who could have been Trade Republic customers had never opened an investment account. Their savings sat in a current account earning zero, or barely more.
This changed the competitive framing. The message was not "we are better than DEGIRO on commissions" — it was "while your money sleeps in a current account, inflation erodes it. There is a simple alternative". The competition was the inertia of the traditional banking system, not another digital broker.
This framing also guided the choice of priority product: savings plans (DCA) rather than active trading. The DCA is the obvious answer to "where do I put my €200 a month instead of leaving it in an account?". Active trading is the answer for those already investing. Trade Republic acquired the non-investor first, then evolved them.
The primary competitor is almost always the user's existing behaviour, not another founder's product. Map the status quo first, then direct competitors.