In a recent LinkedIn post, Kieran Flanagan discusses a pervasive challenge faced by founders today: their company’s positioning often sounds identical to their competitors’. He offers a framework, inspired by Peter Thiel, to help businesses forge unique market identities.
Flanagan begins by referencing a core question from Peter Thiel’s book, ‘Zero to One’: “What important truth do very few people agree with you on?” He explains that Thiel poses this question because “brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply.” This principle, Flanagan suggests, is key to developing distinctive brand positioning.
The Perils of Me-Too Positioning
Flanagan illustrates this point with the historical example of Avis. In 1962, Avis was significantly trailing Hertz in the market. Instead of trying to match Hertz’s offerings directly, Avis adopted a bold strategy. As Flanagan highlights:
“In 1962, Avis was losing to Hertz. The obvious move? Pretend you’re just as good. Instead, they ran: ‘We’re #2. We try harder.’ They said what everyone already knew, and turned it into a position Hertz could never claim.”
This approach, Flanagan argues, is a masterclass in differentiation. In contrast, many brands fall into the trap of simply mirroring competitor offerings. “Most brands do the opposite,” he writes. “They see competitors offering a, b, c. They also offer those things and want to make sure people know. Now everyone offers a, b, c, and it’s a lottery who users pick.” This me-too strategy, according to Flanagan, dilutes brand identity and makes it difficult to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Leveraging AI for Unique Insights
To help founders break free from this cycle, Flanagan proposes using AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, with specific prompts designed to uncover unique value propositions. He suggests that by feeding AI customer data—like sales transcripts, chat logs, and emails—the quality of insights can be significantly improved, though he notes that even without this data, surprising insights can be generated.
Flanagan outlines three powerful prompts for founders to explore:
- “What important value do you deliver that your market doesn’t yet know to ask for?”
- “What truth about your customer’s problem do your competitors refuse to see?”
- “What problem do you solve that your customers don’t know they have?”
Forging a Market Wedge
The goal of these exercises, as Flanagan explains, is to help founders develop positioning and messaging that creates a “wedge in the market.” This means identifying a specific niche or unmet need that the company can uniquely serve. “It helps founders form positioning/messaging that creates a wedge in the market,” Flanagan states. “How can they be the thing for X, and how do you make users understand it’s actually X they need?”
Ultimately, Flanagan’s post serves as a guide for businesses struggling with undifferentiated messaging. By encouraging founders to look for uncommon truths and leverage AI for deeper analysis, he provides a actionable strategy for carving out a distinct and defensible market position, moving beyond the noise of competitive parity.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Kieran Flanagan on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on February 4, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →