Porter's Five Forces

his is the classic tool developed by Michael E. Porter for understanding the competitiveness of your product in your market. It's somehow much neglected nowadays by entrepreneurs but is actually still relevant to understand the industry behaviour. When we come up with a new product, you should assess how it might lose out to existing and future competition.

1. Rivalry Among Existing Players - How strong are the players in your market?

2. Threat of New Entrants - How difficult is it for others to enter your market? The greater the barrier to entry, the more secure you are in your market.

3. Threat of Substitutes - What other alternatives are available to your product, and how viable are they?

4. Power of Buyers - How reliant are your customers on your product?

5. Power of Suppliers - How reliant is your product on a particular supplier and their prices?