The answer to this question very much depends on your niche market. The assumption is that the founder is a domain expert in what ever niche (domain) he/she is

The answer to this question very much depends on your niche market. The assumption is that the founder is a domain expert in what ever niche (domain) he/she is starting in. Keeping this assumption in mind, one should at a minimum know who the competitors are. In my humble opinion, the more important question is: does your competitors know who you are? If they know who you are, then I would have tremendous trust in your execution.