Research a market before you build.
Competitors, pricing, demand and gaps: the method behind every SignalDart report, written up so it works with or without us.
How to validate a startup idea before you build it
Seven steps from a one-line idea to a go, pivot or stop decision, using evidence you can check rather than opinions.
Read the guideValidation
How to find a gap in the market, and tell whether it is worth filling
Where real market gaps come from, and the test that separates an opening from something nobody wants.
Read the guideIs my startup idea too crowded? How to tell, and what to do about it
Competition is usually a good sign. The signals that mean a market really is closed, and the ways in when it is not.
Read the guideHow to know if your business idea already exists (and what to do if it does)
The five free checks that tell you whether your idea already exists, and why finding competitors is usually good news.
Read the guideBusiness idea validation checklist: 7 sections to pass before you build
Seven sections, each with a pass condition, and what to do about the ones that fail.
Read the guideHow to know if a business idea is viable: five tests and a scorecard
Viable means it can make more money than it costs. Five tests that check that, and a scorecard to read them together.
Read the guideCompetitors
How to find competitors for a startup idea (including the ones that don't advertise)
The competitors on page one of Google are rarely the ones that matter. Where to find the rest, and how to decide which ones count.
Read the guideDirect vs indirect competitors: the difference, with examples
Four kinds of competitor, what each tells you about your market, and how to classify a company you are unsure about.
Read the guideCompetitor pricing analysis: how to compare rival prices and set yours
How to turn a pile of pricing pages into a comparison you can price from, and how to keep it current.
Read the guideHow to monitor competitor websites for changes (without the noise)
The seven competitor pages that carry nearly all the signal, and how to watch them without drowning in false alerts.
Read the guideHow to find out what competitors charge, even when pricing isn't public
How to collect competitors' prices properly, and eight places to find the ones hidden behind "Contact sales".
Read the guideCompetitor analysis for startups: a six-step method that ends in a decision
A competitor analysis built to find a startup's wedge, not to fill a report, with the three sentences it should end in.
Read the guideCompetitor analysis example for a business plan (with a full template)
A worked, fill-in-the-blanks example of the competition section lenders and investors expect, and how to research it.
Read the guideHow to analyze competitor reviews and turn complaints into your advantage
Competitors' one-star reviews are your product brief. How to collect them, find the patterns and use them.
Read the guideHow to research competitors before starting a business: free US sources
The free sources available to anyone starting a US business, and what each reveals about your competition.
Read the guideDemand & SEO
How to use keyword search volume to estimate market demand
What search data can and cannot tell you about demand, which keywords to check, and how to read volume, difficulty and cost per click together.
Read the guideHow to estimate market size for a new product (bottom-up, with free US data)
The bottom-up method investors trust, using free US government data, with a worked example.
Read the guideOr let the agents do the research.
SignalDart finds your competitors, reads their pricing, measures search demand and scores the gaps, with a source behind every number.