Why Smart Founders Embrace Their Market Category

As founders, we often resist labelling our companies.

We want to distance ourselves from the existing solutions we're trying to disrupt.

But here's the truth: Embracing your market category isn't just necessary, it's strategic.

Customers use categories as mental shortcuts to understand what you do.

Fighting this natural categorisation only creates confusion and longer sales cycles.

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The Three-Step Approach to Category Leadership

The magic happens when you embrace your category and then differentiate.

Here's how:

1. Accept your basic category
2. Use it as a launching pad
3. Immediately differentiate yourself

For example: "We're a CRM, but built specifically for freelancers" or "Yes, we're an HR platform, and we're the only one that focuses on remote-first companies."

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Learning This the Hard Way

When I first started working with startups, I resisted the "consultant" label.

I'd had bad experiences with consultants and saw myself as more hands-on. "Partner" and "advisor" felt more authentic.

But people got confused.

Now I've embraced saying: "I'm a Positioning Consultant, but here's what makes me different: I've been a founder myself, I get deep into your business, and I help you execute and iterate, not just advise."

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The Benefits of Category Embrace

When you embrace your category, you:

• Reduce cognitive load for prospects
• Speed up initial understanding
• Create clearer differentiation
• Enable easier word-of-mouth referrals

Your uniqueness doesn't come from avoiding your category - it comes from being the best within it.

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Ready to Stand Out?

Embrace your category. Own it. Then show the world how you're revolutionising it.

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