>> Is it possible to ever answer this in a meaningful way, besides "we're going to be the best and get mindshare and beat everyone out of the market"? Yes, her

>> Is it possible to ever answer this in a meaningful way, besides "we're going to be the best and get mindshare and beat everyone out of the market"? Yes, here are a few examples: 1. Some businesses require a massive amount of capital upfront and won't work in a iterative-lean-startup model. E.g. Tesla and SpaceX. I can't think of many people who can pull that off. 2. Most startups are started because the founders "live in the future", where the market isn't really a market yet but it's clear that there's going to be one. Basically, potential investors and competitors think you're wasting your time. I would say this is the most common thing at YC. When they "get it", you're already far ahead. Think of Paypal, Heroku, Reddit, optimizely or Stripe. (And hundred of others) 3. Owning the brand. I.e. You create some kind of horror app and you are Stephen King. Or, you're a big player in a space and expand in another one using your existing network. For instance, think about how fitbit keep adding new products, selling them to their existing customers, etc. 4. Expertise. You are one of the best in the world. I.e. Working on a new fusion reactor or some quantum computing. If you're thinking "Most startup don't have those kind of competitive advantages", you're right. And most startups fail. Executing better than the competition or doing your best isn't a competitive advantage, it's just a coin flip. To know if you have a real competitive advantage, you need to think that your competitors are going to raise more money, have a better team and execute better, but you should still beat them.