“Who is your competition?”

Whether it’s an elevator pitch, investor pitch, or 1 Million Cups pitch, entrepreneurs are quick to address this common question when preparing their presentations.

The answer usually falls into one of two response types. The first answer (that makes me cringe a bit) is usually something along the lines of “There’s no one doing what we’re doing,”‘ or “We don’t have any competition.”

In reality, we know this is very rare.

It’s often more likely that the entrepreneur hasn’t done enough research or is trying to sweep the existence of similar companies under the rug.

The second response is a general overview the company’s competitors and a re-assertion of their advantage over these competitors.

But there’s a third response type that entrepreneurs consistently leave out of this answer: The history of their startup’s industry or sector.