A startup’s positioning should be specific enough to strongly resonate with a defined target customer and differentiate from competitors, but not so narrow that it excludes a viable market. The benefit of a very specific positioning – for example, “AI-driven recruiting software for mid-size healthcare companies” – is that your ideal customers immediately know “this is for me.” Specificity helps a startup cut through noise; you can tailor your product features, marketing message, and sales approach exactly to the needs of that niche (and often charge a premium because you’re a specialist). It also aids word-of-mouth, because customers describe you in clear terms (“they're the healthcare recruiting AI folks”). Additionally, focus helps conserve resources – early-stage startups can’t be everything to everyone, so a tight positioning prevents dilution of effort. However, the risk of being too specific is that you might limit your growth potential or miss adjacent opportunities. If the market segment is very small, you could saturate it quickly or run out of room to expand. Or if your positioning is too tailored, prospects might assume you can’t handle needs outside that definition (e.g., another industry might overlook your solution even if it could work for them). The key is to find that sweet spot: early on, err on the side of more specific (it’s easier to win a niche and then broaden later once you’ve established credibility). Many successful startups started in a narrow vertical or use-case and later expanded. The blog likely suggests: define your positioning by the sharpest value you provide and the audience that desperately needs it – especially at the beginning. You can always widen the positioning as you grow (or introduce new offerings), but if you start broad (“we serve all industries with all kinds of analytics”), you risk appealing to no one. In summary, be specific enough to matter and capture mind-share, but stay mindful of adjacent markets or scalability – your positioning can evolve as your startup proves itself.
