by Benjamin Chen with Scott Burr, authors of “Lessons from the Mat: The 12 Martial Arts Principles That Will Help You Succeed in Business and in Life”
It’s an exciting time to be an entrepreneur. Technology is evolving at an incredible rate, offering new capabilities and new opportunities across continents and platforms. However, as the old saying goes, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” The foundational requirements of any business undertaking remain unaltered, and — in this era full of flash and movement — it’s vital to keep them firmly in mind when launching any new venture.
As a longtime entrepreneur, I’m often asked by friends and colleagues for my opinion on various startups. I’m usually more than happy to help: I like talking to other entrepreneurs, and I’m always interested in seeing what new product and service ideas are out there, and what new and clever ways people have devised for bringing those products and services to market. (And, of course: If the product, service, and/or strategy are really clever, I may want to invest myself.)
Having spoken with literally hundreds of entrepreneurs over the past three decades, my method for quickly assessing new startups has become quite simple. Essentially, it comes down to four questions:
- What is the problem the startup is trying to solve, and how is their solution better than what others have done before?
- What is the startup’s specific addressable market, and how does the startup intend to bring their product or service to that market?
- What is the startup’s “secret sauce” — the intimate advantage, patent, process, trade secret, or twist on the concept that will distinguish their product or service from that of their competitors and generate hyper-normal gains?
- Why, out of all of the other entrepreneurs and innovators in their field, is their team is the most qualified to implement the idea?
These questions might seem basic, but I am often surprised by the blind spots they reveal. Many of the founders I meet are so enamored by the potential of their idea that they don’t ground themselves in the practical realities of the markets they’re entering into. In some ways, this is to be expected: entrepreneurs are visionaries, with a powerful belief in their own ability to conceive of a new reality and will it into existence.
Still, the “laws of physics” in the business world are what they are, and — as with actual laws of physics — believing that you can jump off a ledge and fly is not the same as being able to. I’ve seen many entrepreneurs launch into headwinds that more clear-eyed consideration would have helped them largely avoid, or avoid altogether. I’ve also seen more than one startup find themselves in a position where time, energy, and capital spent advancing a strategy that was out of alignment with the true market circumstances now has to be spent again. Given startups’ tight timelines, constrained budgets, and milestone-based access to capital, such wasteful and unnecessary expenditures can be deadly.
The Holy Trinity Test
My personal startup assessment rubric, though informed by my own experience, is certainly nothing new. In fact, it’s really just a variation on some old-school wisdom… and when I say old-school, I mean the 6th century B.C. That’s when Sun Tzu, the legendary Chinese general, strategist and philosopher wrote his highly influential military treatise The Art of War. Sun Tzu noted that victory is determined by three simple things:
- How well you know yourself.
- How well you know your opponent.
- How well you know the terrain.
The four questions I ask are really just a way to assess the entrepreneur’s grasp on Sun Tzu’s “holy trinity.” Most startup entrepreneurs know themselves well: they understand the capabilities of the technology and the methodology they are bringing to market. They also tend to have a decent working knowledge of their opponents: they know their competitors’ products and their shortcomings.
The third leg of this triad is where I often see a gap. An entrepreneur may try to cover this deficit with confidence, passion, enthusiasm, a willingness to work hard, or all of the above. Unfortunately, out in the market, these are no substitute for deep, boots-on-the-ground knowledge of the “terrain” on which that startup entrepreneur intends to wage their campaign — and the true opportunities it contains.
When you’re looking to launch your next — or especially your first — entrepreneurial venture, I encourage you to do so with all of this in mind. Below I’ve outlined three simple exercises to ensure that your startup passes the “Sun-Tzu Holy Trinity” test:
1. Articulate the problem and your solution in one sentence.
Force your idea into a single, unambiguous sentence: We help [a specific customer] solve [a specific problem] by [a specific method] in a way that is better because [a clear advantage].
If any part of that sentence becomes vague, hedged, or overly technical, you are likely mistaking complexity for clarity. This exercise is not about marketing polish; it is about whether you truly understand what you are building and why anyone would choose it.
2. Map the real alternatives.
When founders think about “competition,” they often limit their view to companies that look similar on a pitch deck. In practice, your true competitors are whatever your customer is already doing to solve the problem — including doing nothing.
Make a short list of the most common alternatives and ask what people actually like about them, what they tolerate, and why they stay. If your advantage only matters in theory, but not in the daily workflow of the buyer, it will not move the market.
3. Walk the terrain before you strategize for it.
Markets are not abstractions; they are lived environments. Spend time where decisions are actually made. Sit in on sales calls, watch procurement processes unfold, or shadow users in their day-to-day context. Pay attention to how budgets are approved, what objections consistently arise, and what constraints shape behavior.
If your strategy assumes how people should buy rather than how they do buy, you are fighting on terrain you do not yet understand. Moreover, if the terrain itself is different than you thought it would be, consider whether leveraging your assets and capabilities on different ground might afford you greater opportunity and advantage.
Clarity Counts
Entrepreneurship will always reward imagination — but it only sustains those who ground their vision in reality. Knowing what you’re building, what you’re up against, and the ground you’re standing on doesn’t just increase your odds of success: it enables you to waste less, adapt faster, and build stronger. Sun Tzu’s insight is not only true despite the ever-increasing pace of life: it is truer now than it has ever been. In a world moving faster than ever, clarity remains the greatest competitive advantage.
Benjamin Chen is a longtime tech entrepreneur as well as a multi-disciplinary martial artist, holding black belt rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Hapkido, and Taekwondo. Scott Burr is the bestselling author of multiple books across various genres; he also holds black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, and Kuk Sul Do. They are the authors of the bestselling “Lessons from the Mat: The 12 Martial Arts Principles That Will Help You Succeed in Business and in Life“. Learn more at FromTheMatAcademy.
