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Competitive Landscape

Who tried this before, why they failed, and why you'll succeed where they didn't.

Who Else Tried?

The good news: nobody's solved this yet. The bad news: plenty have tried. Let's understand why they failed—and why you won't.

The Competitive Landscape

Platform Focus Users Limitation
Palico LP Secondaries ~2,500 Fund stakes only, legacy UI
Setter PE Secondaries ~800 Unverified users
BrickVest Real Estate ~1,200 Asset-specific only
StepStone Fund Data ~3,000 No transactions
Preqin Market Data ~10,000+ Information only

What's Missing? Everything That Matters

Notice the pattern? Nobody combines:

  • Multi-asset coverage — Most are PE-only or RE-only
  • Bilateral verification — Open platforms allow unverified users
  • Redacted-first confidentiality — Most require full disclosure or nothing
  • End-to-end workflow — Tools are disconnected
  • AI-ready data structure — Everything is unstructured

💡 Your Positioning

You're not competing on data (Preqin wins that). You're not competing on transaction volume (Palico has a 10-year head start). You're competing on workflow infrastructure. That's a different game with different rules—and you can win it.

Why Each Failed (And What You Learn)

Case Study: BrickVest

What they did: Raised €5M, built real estate marketplace, got 1,200 users.

Why they're stuck:

  • Chose real estate only (market too narrow for VC returns)
  • Allowed unverified users (trust problem killed transactions)
  • Optimized for listings, not workflow (nobody closed deals)
  • Retail feel (institutional investors didn't take them seriously)

Your advantage: Multi-asset from day one. Verification is non-negotiable. Institutional positioning.

Case Study: Palico

What they did: €15-20M revenue, 2,500 users, clear category leader in LP secondaries.

Why they can't expand:

  • Fund stakes only (business model locks them in)
  • Technical debt from 2013 codebase (can't rebuild fast)
  • Revenue depends on secondary transactions (can't cannibalize)
  • Legacy UI and workflows (institutional clients complain)

Your advantage: Modern tech stack. Infrastructure positioning (not marketplace). Greenfield opportunity.

Case Study: Preqin

What they did: Built data empire, 10,000+ users, dominant market position.

Why they won't respond:

  • They're a data business (adding transactions changes entire model)
  • Risk cannibalizing €50M+ subscription revenue
  • Becoming a transaction platform requires regulatory licenses
  • Cultural resistance (data analysts, not product builders)

Your advantage: You're building what they can't without destroying their core business.

Why Incumbents Won't Respond Quickly

Even if they wanted to copy you, here's what they'd face:

Incumbent Barrier to Response Time
Palico Legacy codebase, business model lock-in 18-24 mo
Preqin/StepStone Data business model, cultural resistance 24-36 mo
BrickVest Asset-specific platform, limited resources 12-18 mo
New Entrant No network, no credibility, cold start 12-24 mo

📌 Your Window Is Real

You have 18-24 months before any incumbent could build a competitive offering—assuming they start today and commit resources. Most won't, because of business model conflicts and technical debt. That's your advantage. Use it.

Your Differentiation Strategy

How you position matters more than what you build.

❌ What You're NOT

  • A marketplace (optimizing for volume)
  • A data provider (selling information)
  • A transaction platform (facilitating closes)

✓ What You ARE

  • Infrastructure layer (workflow foundation)
  • Verification system (trust mechanism)
  • Coordination tool (bilateral workflow)

The Positioning That Wins

"We're the Stripe for private markets dealmaking. Not a marketplace, not a data provider—the infrastructure layer that makes institutional transactions actually work."

  • No real competition exists. Data providers lack workflow. Marketplaces are narrow. Nobody combines multi-asset coverage + verification + structured data + bilateral workflow.
  • Incumbents can't respond fast. Business model conflicts, technical debt, and cultural resistance give you 18-24 months. That's your window.
  • Positioning beats features. You're infrastructure, not a marketplace. You're Stripe for dealmaking, not another transaction platform. This framing creates defensibility.
  • Learn from failures. BrickVest went too narrow. Palico got locked in. Preqin stayed data-only. You're building what they can't without destroying their core business.