How to Write a Positioning Statement That’s Actually Useful

If you’ve been around the startup block like I have, you’ve probably seen this template (or something like it) before:

For [target customer], who [statement of need or opportunity],
[product name] is a [product category] that [statement of key benefit].
Unlike [primary alternative], our product [statement of differentiation].

It’s the classic positioning statement—a staple in branding decks and investor docs everywhere.

And yet… most founders either skip it, rush it, or fill it out just to check a box.

Which is a shame, because when done well, a positioning statement can be one of the most powerful tools in your early-stage brand toolkit.

It forces clarity. It defines your lane. And it sharpens your messaging across every surface—your site, your pitch, and your product.

So let’s talk about how to make this thing actually useful.

First, What Is Positioning—Really?

Forget the template for a moment. At its core, positioning—and the statement that articulates it—is about deliberately defining the mental space you want to occupy in the minds of your ideal customers.

It answers three fundamental questions:

• Who are we for? (And by extension, who are we not for?)

• What specific problem do we solve better than anyone else?

• How are we meaningfully different from the alternatives?

Get it right, and you make it instantly easier for people to understand what you do and why they should care. Get it wrong (or skip it), and you risk sounding like interchangeable startup noise—or worse, being completely forgettable.

How Founders Get It Wrong

Most founders get positioning statements wrong in three ways:

1. They try to please everyone.
   Positioning is about focus. The tighter your initial target, the easier it is to build resonance. You can always expand your audience later.
   

2. They obsess over competitors, not customers.
   Your job isn’t to slam competitors—it’s to deeply understand your users’ needs and design around them.
   

3. They write it once, then bury it.
   Positioning isn’t a formality—it’s a foundation. Use it to inform all of your messaging and strategy, not just your pitch deck.

A Better Way to Fill It Out

Let’s walk through the classic positioning statement framework step by step—but with real-world tips to make it actually useful.

1. For [target customer]
👉 Be ruthlessly specific. For instance, instead of “small businesses,” say “independent e-commerce brands doing $500K–$5M in revenue.”

2. Who [statement of need or opportunity]
👉 Describe the pain so vividly your target customer feels seen. What are they struggling with? What do they want that they don’t have?

3. [Product name] is a [product category]
👉 Keep it simple. If you’re building a CRM, say CRM. Don’t over-invent a category unless you truly need to.

4. That [statement of key benefit]
👉 Focus on the outcome, not just the feature. What changes for the user because you exist?

5. Unlike [primary alternative]
👉 Think broadly about alternatives. This doesn’t have to be a direct competitor—it could be as general as “manual processes,” “spreadsheets,” or “doing nothing.”

6. Our product [statement of differentiation]
👉 What’s your true edge? Faster setup, better UX, smarter automation, opinionated features? Get specific.

Real-World Example: Robinhood (Early Days)

When Robinhood entered the crowded stock market brokerage space, it staked its claim with a positioning statement that made people take notice:

For young, first-time investors who feel priced out or intimidated by traditional brokerage platforms,

Robinhood is a commission-free investing app

that makes it simple and accessible to buy and sell stocks from your phone.

Unlike legacy brokerages like E*TRADE or Schwab,

Robinhood offers zero-fee trades, a modern mobile experience, and no account minimums—removing the barriers to getting started.

Their statement was clear, tight, and differentiated. And it drove everything from landing page copy to onboarding flow in the early days.

How You Know It’s Working

So here's how you know your positioning statement is actually useful:

• You can read it aloud without wincing and feel confident saying it to a potential investor or user.

• It sounds like something your actual customer might say (or enthusiastically nod along with).

• It makes your differentiation clear (without needing five more slides to explain it).

• Your entire team can use it to make consistent decisions about product, marketing, and sales.

One More Thing: Positioning Evolves (And That’s OK)

The positioning that works at pre-seed may not hold at Series B. That's not just normal—it's expected.

Your initial positioning is your beachhead—a focused place to win early trust, gather proof, and build momentum. As your product and audience evolve, revisit and refine it.

I've seen too many founders get paralyzed trying to create the "perfect" positioning statement. 

The point isn’t to get it perfect. The point is to get it working—as a shared, strategic compass for your team and your brand.

Once you get it working, it makes building with purpose all the easier.

And that makes it worth it, because building a startup is hard enough as is.

That’s it for now.

Until next week—position yourself accordingly. And build from there.

Best,

Edwin