If I asked 100 founders what their company is, 97 would answer with what they do.
“We help law firms grow.”
“We’re a wellness coaching app.”
“We’re a fractional CFO service for startups.”
All true.
All forgettable.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: what you do can always be copied.
Your competitors are already doing it — or offering it cheaper, faster, or louder.
So if you’re building a business that aspires to outlive marketing trends and algorithms, “what you do” isn’t enough.
You need something more foundational. Something that transcends tactics.
Something that shapes how people see you before they even meet you.
You need to define your category — what you are in the market’s mind.
1. The Category Crisis
Most service founders focus on proving what they do.
But in a noisy market, proof isn’t power.
Perception is.
When you own a category, you don’t compete on services. You compete on worldview.
You stop chasing demand — and start defining it.
Because when the market understands what you are, it stops comparing you to everyone else.
You become the reference point. The default choice.
2. The Category Ladder
Think of category design like a ladder — your job is to climb high enough that no one else can reach you.
Here’s how it works:
Every rung higher gives you leverage.
At Level 5, you stop competing.
You define the market narrative.
Most brands stop at Level 3. Great ones climb to Level 5 — and build moats around it.
3. Strategic Fiction: The Art of “What You Are”
Here’s a secret: your “what we are” statement isn’t literal.
It’s a strategic fiction — a believable story powerful enough to shape reality.
Let’s decode a few:
- Peloton isn’t a bike company. → They are a lifestyle movement.
- Slack isn’t chat software. → They are a new operating system for work.
- Basecamp isn’t project management. → They are the calm company’s weapon against chaos.
Each built a mental monopoly — a concept people could believe in, not just buy from.
And you can do the same.
4. The 4-Step Framework to Build Your “What You Are”
Let’s make this practical.
Here’s how to define and own your category using a simple, repeatable framework.
[Step 1 — Start With the Enemy]
What are you not? What broken system or outdated belief are you rejecting?
“We’re not another [industry cliché].
We don’t believe in [flawed assumption].”
This creates polarity — the simplest way to stand out.
People follow clarity, not neutrality.
Example: “We’re not a branding agency. We’re the antidote to cookie-cutter design.”
[Step 2 — Name the Shift]
Every category is born from change.
What’s shifting in your industry, audience, or behavior that makes your brand necessary now?
“The old way was X. It worked until now. The new way is Y.”
You’re not selling a service — you’re selling alignment with the future.
[Step 3 — Introduce Your New Rule]
This is where you plant your flag.
Declare the belief that defines your brand.
“From now on, [new belief] is the baseline. Anything less is obsolete.”
Example: “From now on, branding isn’t about logos — it’s about clarity systems.”
That’s your new category language forming.
[Step 4 — Claim What You Are]
Now, write your one-line truth — the line that ends all comparisons.
“We are a [new category].”
Make it sound inevitable.
Make it feel like the future.
Examples:
- “We’re not a design agency. We’re a Brand Operating System.”
- “We’re not a course. We’re a transformation layer.”
- “We’re not marketing. We’re Identity Architecture.”
This single line becomes your mental monopoly — the idea your market remembers after forgetting everything else.
5. Anchor It on One Page
Once you’ve defined your “what you are,” you need to publish it boldly.
Not buried inside your About page — front and center.
Use this structure to create your Category Landing Page:
[Headline]
“Not another [industry cliché]. We’re a [new category].”
[The Problem You See]
Describe the current frustration or false belief holding your audience back. Make them nod: “Exactly. That’s the problem.”
[The Shift Happening Now]
Show what’s changing in the world. Frame your category as the solution to the inevitable.
[Your New Rule]
Declare your belief — the truth that rewrites the game.
[Who You’re For]
Clarify who benefits most. Make your reader feel chosen.
[What You Are]
Deliver the line that ties it all together:
Here are some examples:
- “We’re not a service. We’re a system.”
- “We’re not a product. We’re the new standard.”
- “We’re not marketing. We’re Identity Architecture.”
6. Implementation Exercise
Let’s make this actionable. Open a blank page and answer the following prompts:
Once complete, you’ll have the foundation of your category narrative.
That’s your Level 5 — your “What You Are.”
7. The Payoff
When you define your category, you stop chasing comparisons.
People no longer ask, “What do you do?”
They say, “Oh — you’re that.”
And when they say that, you’ve won.
Because now you’re not an option.
You’re the only option.
