Competitive Landscape

---
name: competitive-landscape
description: Map competitors for a Sui idea, on Sui and adjacent chains. Use when the user wants a competitive landscape, competitor analysis, or to find their edge.
---

## Preamble (run first)

```bash
# Suiperpower telemetry. Routes through the CLI so projects.json + Convex stay in sync.
# Silent on failure so the skill never blocks. Opt out: SUIPERPOWER_TELEMETRY=off.
#
# AGENT NOTE: when this skill finishes, run the matching completion command:
#   suiperpower track competitive-landscape idea completed
# Or use "failed" / "aborted" if it ended that way.
command -v suiperpower >/dev/null 2>&1 && suiperpower track competitive-landscape idea started >/dev/null 2>&1 &
true
```

If `TEL_PROMPTED` is `no`, before doing real work, ask the user:

> Help suiperpower get better. We track which skills get used and how long they take. No code, no file paths, no PII. Change anytime in `~/.suiperpower/config.json`.
>
> A) Sure, anonymous
> B) No thanks

Write the answer to `~/.suiperpower/config.json` `telemetryTier` field and create `~/.suiperpower/.telemetry-prompted`. Then continue.

## What this skill does

Builds a structured competitive map for a candidate idea. Three rings: Sui-native competitors, adjacent-chain competitors, off-chain competitors (web2 services, centralized products). For each ring, lists the players, their stage, what they do well, what they miss, and the candidate's angle against them.

Output is a defensible angle (one sentence) backed by the map. Without a defensible angle, the candidate is "me too" and the skill says so.

## When to use it

- Mid-validation: the user has an idea and wants to see what already exists.
- Pre-pitch: the user has a draft pitch and wants to substantiate "we are different from X" claims.
- Post-launch: a competitor surfaced and the user wants to re-establish positioning.

## When NOT to use it

- The user has not picked an idea. Route to `find-next-sui-idea`.
- The user wants validation overall, not just competition. Route to `validate-idea` (which calls this skill internally).
- The user wants a specific protocol's research (DeepBook market gaps, Walrus storage gaps). Route to `deepbook-research` or `walrus-research`.

If you activated this and the user actually wants something else, consult `skills/SKILL_ROUTER.md` and hand off.

## Inputs

- `.suiperpower/idea-context.md` if it exists.
- The category one-liner (e.g. "Sui-native lending", "consumer mobile zkLogin app", "DeepBook bot").
- Optional: a list of competitors the user already knows about.

## Outputs

A competitive block appended to `.suiperpower/idea-context.md`:

```markdown
### Competitive landscape, <timestamp>

#### On Sui
- <project>: <stage>, <one-line summary>, <strength>, <gap>
- ...

#### On EVM / Solana / other chains
- <project>: <chain>, <one-line summary>, <why they have not come to Sui>
- ...

#### Off-chain
- <product>: <what they do>, <where they fall short for crypto-native users>
- ...

#### Defensible angle
- <one sentence stating the candidate's specific differentiation, naming at least one competitor it explicitly beats and how>

#### Risks from competition
- <if any incumbent could trivially extend into the candidate's territory, name them and the response>
```

## Workflow

1. **Define the category**
   - One sentence: what does the candidate do, and for whom?
   - Identify the closest comparable category (e.g. "lending" -> Compound, Aave on EVM; Scallop, NAVX on Sui).

2. **Map the on-Sui ring**
   - Start with `cli/data/clonable-repos.json` and the broader Sui ecosystem catalog (when available).
   - Visit Sui-specific aggregators and explorers (SuiVision, Sui Foundation showcase, Web3Goyala, Suipiens).
   - List 3-7 named projects. For each: stage (idea, testnet, mainnet, dead), one-line summary, strength, observable gap.

3. **Map the adjacent-chain ring**
   - Same approach for EVM and Solana incumbents.
   - For each adjacent-chain incumbent, ask: have they expressed interest in Sui? Why have they not migrated yet? (Often: liquidity, audience, cost of porting code).

4. **Map the off-chain ring**
   - Centralized exchanges, web2 SaaS, traditional finance products that solve adjacent problems.
   - For each: what do they offer that is hard to match on-chain? What do they fail at that crypto-native users care about?

5. **Identify the defensible angle**
   - One sentence. Names a specific competitor and a specific way the candidate beats them.
   - Tests: would a sophisticated Sui community member nod, or laugh? If it does not pass the laugh test, sharpen.

6. **Identify the risk**
   - Could an existing on-Sui incumbent extend into this space in a single sprint? If yes, the moat is timing or distribution, not technology. Say so.
   - Could an adjacent-chain incumbent port to Sui in a sponsor-funded weekend? If yes, the moat must be Sui-native, not "first to Sui".

7. **Writeback**
   - Append to `.suiperpower/idea-context.md`.

## Quality gate (anti-slop)

Before reporting done:

- Is each on-Sui competitor named with a real project, not a placeholder ("various lending dapps")?
- Does the defensible angle name a specific competitor and a specific advantage, not generic phrases ("better UX", "faster")?
- Is at least one off-chain comparator listed (most crypto products are competing with web2 alternatives more than they realize)?
- Did the analysis honestly answer "could the incumbent trivially extend into this space"? If the answer is "we are not sure", that is a yellow flag worth recording.
- Did the writeback happen?

If any answer is no, the skill keeps working.

## References

On-demand references (load when relevant to the user's question):

- `references/where-to-look.md`: Sources for Sui ecosystem mapping, adjacent-chain mapping, off-chain mapping.
- `references/defensibility-tests.md`: Tests to apply to the candidate's angle.

Knowledge docs:

- `skills/data/sui-knowledge/06-opensource-research.md`: Open-source research workflow.
- `cli/data/clonable-repos.json`: Sui ecosystem repos catalog.

## Use in your agent

- Claude Code: `claude "/suiper:competitive-landscape <your message>"`
- Codex: `codex "/competitive-landscape <your message>"`
- Cursor: paste a chat message that includes a phrase like "competitive landscape", or load `~/.cursor/rules/competitive-landscape.mdc` and reference it.

If you activated this and the user actually wants something else, consult `skills/SKILL_ROUTER.md` and hand off.