/category-design

name: category-design
description: "Become the Category King by creating new markets instead of competing in existing ones Use when: **Launching a company or product** that doesn't fit cleanly into existing categories; **Stuck in commodity competition** where you're compared feature-to-feature with competitors; **Redefining your market position** when \"better\" isn't working as a strategy; **Planning a major market announcement** or product launch; **Escaping price pressure** by creating net new demand instead of fighting for ex..."
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: ClawFu
  version: 1.0.0
  mcp-server: "@clawfu/mcp-skills"

Category Design - Create and Dominate New Markets

> Become the Category King by creating new markets instead of competing in existing ones

When to Use This Skill

• **Launching a company or product** that doesn't fit cleanly into existing categories
• **Stuck in commodity competition** where you're compared feature-to-feature with competitors
• **Redefining your market position** when "better" isn't working as a strategy
• **Planning a major market announcement** or product launch
• **Escaping price pressure** by creating net new demand instead of fighting for existing pie
• **Building your company narrative** for investors, employees, and customers
• **Feeling like you're losing to entrenched incumbents** despite having a superior solution

Methodology Foundation

| Aspect | Details | |--------|---------| | **Source** | Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets (2016) | | **Experts** | Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead, Kevin Maney | | **Core Principle** | "Companies that design and dominate new categories capture 76% of the total market value. Being better isn't enough—you must be different." |

What Claude Does vs What You Decide

| Claude Does | You Decide | |-------------|------------| | Structures analysis frameworks | Strategic priorities | | Synthesizes market data | Competitive positioning | | Identifies opportunities | Resource allocation | | Creates strategic options | Final strategy selection | | Suggests implementation approaches | Execution decisions |

What This Skill Does

This skill helps you escape the trap of "better" and create something "different." Most companies fail because they try to out-compete entrenched incumbents on their terms. Category Design flips the script.

Instead of fighting for scraps in existing markets, you'll:

1. **Find problems others don't see** - Identify costly problems hidden in plain sight 2. **Design the category** - Create the rules that favor you 3. **Condition the market** - Make your problem feel urgent and your solution inevitable 4. **Execute Lightning Strikes** - Launch in ways that change how people think 5. **Become the Category King** - Capture 76% of market value, not 24%

The result: You stop competing and start creating markets where you make the rules.

How to Use

Prompt Examples

Help me identify if my product/company is a true category creator or just a "better" competitor.
Here's what we do: [description]. Walk me through the category design diagnostic.

I'm competing in [existing category] against [competitors]. Help me find a new category
framing that makes our competition irrelevant. Use the Play Bigger methodology.

Write a POV (Point of View) document for my company using the category design format.
Our product: [description]. Our audience: [audience]. The problem we solve: [problem].

Plan a Lightning Strike for launching our new category. We have [budget] and [timeframe].
Include event strategy, PR, content, and sales enablement components.

Create a Category Blueprint for [my product/service] that shows how all the components
work together as a unified category solution.

Instructions

The Category Design Framework

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         THE THREE PILLARS OF CATEGORY CREATION              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│    PRODUCT DESIGN     COMPANY DESIGN     CATEGORY DESIGN    │
│    ──────────────     ──────────────     ──────────────     │
│    Solves the         Creates culture    Battle for         │
│    category           and org that       public opinion     │
│    problem            supports both      about the problem  │
│                                                             │
│         ↓                   ↓                   ↓           │
│                                                             │
│                  ALL THREE MUST ALIGN                       │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The Five Golden Rules

Before starting, internalize these principles:

| Rule | What It Means | |------|---------------| | **1. Fight the status quo, not competition** | Make what competitors do irrelevant, not inferior | | **2. Know who it's for (and who it's not)** | Narrow focus creates stronger category claim | | **3. See problems others can't** | The best problems are hidden in plain sight | | **4. Solve with a vision for the future** | Paint a compelling picture of what's possible | | **5. Frame it. Name it. Claim it.** | Own the language and definition |

---

Step 1: Find the Problem

The problem is the foundation. Without the right problem, there is no category.

**Requirements for a category-worthy problem**:

| Requirement | Test | |-------------|------| | **Unsolved or poorly solved** | Current solutions have significant gaps | | **Costly** | Not solving it costs time, money, reputation, or opportunity | | **Widespread** | Enough people have it to create a market | | **Creates an "aha" moment** | When framed correctly, people immediately recognize it | | **Non-obvious** | If it were