How I Research the Companies I Want to Become
Why I study the companies I want to be, the companies that might buy us, and every decision they made along the way.
My method for researching competitors, understanding acquisitions and making better business decisions before you spend a penny.
Everything starts with research
Research is a core part of the way I do business. For 39BC, that’s probably quite obvious. We spend an enormous amount of time researching history, studying artefacts, visiting museums and understanding the bathing cultures that inspire our collections. But business research is just as important to me as historical research.
Before I even began properly working on 39BC, I spent hours on my phone having conversations with my AI about the market. I was sitting in the bath, much like I am right now, asking questions about competitors, product categories, pricing, distribution and where there might be a gap for us to fill.
I’m constantly surprised by how few people seem to do really deep business analysis before they begin building something. We spend so much time talking about ideas, branding and launching, but relatively little time investigating the mechanics of the businesses we hope to compete with.
So today I want to share exactly how I research a market, how I analyse competitors and how that research informs almost every commercial decision I make.
Want to know how £100 million businesses are actually built?
Most founders study what their competitors are doing today. I study what they did ten years ago to get where they are now.
In the paid section of this week’s newsletter, I’m sharing the exact competitor analysis method I used before launching 39BC, including the two spreadsheets I built to map the market and identify potential acquirers, the AI prompt I use to reverse-engineer successful companies, and how I turn that research into strategic decisions that actually move the needle.
I’ll also explain why I never analyse brands at the same stage as me, how studying other companies helped us secure our first hospitality contract within three months of launching, and why understanding your competitors’ hidden advantages might finally stop you comparing yourself to them.
If you’re building a business, raising investment or thinking about what your company could eventually be worth, this is the research I’d encourage you to do before spending another penny.
Become a paid subscriber to read the full essay and copy my AI research prompt.
