Competitive Learning Loop
Continuously observe, adapt, and improve useful competitor ideas
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 91%
Rubin treats competitive observation as a daily learning system rather than an occasional market report. He follows competitors and other useful people on social media, captures products or features that stand out, and sends observations to colleagues who can act on them. The team then asks whether the pattern can be brought to sports fans and improved. The loop is not a license to reproduce everything: Rubin distinguishes broadly useful product ideas from original apparel concepts strongly owned by another creator. It also remains subordinate to customer value. The mechanism combines a wide information feed, rapid internal distribution, customer-centered selection, and adaptation. Used consistently, it helps a company notice shifts outside its own category and close gaps for underserved segments without pretending that every worthwhile idea must originate internally.
Origin
Rubin describes monitoring competitors and sending roughly 20 to 30 social posts to colleagues each day as a way Fanatics learns. Extracted from Aspire with Emma Grede.
Core principles
- 01Competitors can be a continuous source of learning
- 02Pride should not block adoption of a useful idea
- 03Borrowed patterns should be adapted for the customer
- 04Distinctive creative ownership deserves restraint
How to run it
- 1
Build the observation feed
Follow competitors, adjacent companies, and people who regularly surface useful market developments. Use the feed for learning rather than passive consumption.
- 2
Capture useful patterns
Record features, products, and practices that appear to improve the customer experience. Note why each item matters.
- 3
Route observations quickly
Send each relevant example to the colleagues who own that part of the business. Make market learning part of everyday communication.
- 4
Apply the customer test
Ask whether the observed idea would improve the experience for your own customers or an underserved segment. Discard it when the fit is weak.
- 5
Adapt and improve
Translate the useful pattern into your context and try to make it better for your customer. Preserve distance from distinctive work strongly associated with another creator.
In the wild
Rubin says Fanatics was strong at serving the average sports fan but weaker with fashion-forward and higher-end buyers. He points to partnering with Kristin Juszczyk and Emma Grede, carrying Lululemon hockey merchandise, and expanding Nike products as ways to bring ideas and products fans wanted into the assortment.
→ Fanatics broadened its offer toward customer segments its standard merchandise had served poorly.
Common mistakes
Letting pride block learning
Rejecting a useful feature because a competitor found it first sacrifices customer value to ego.
Copying without a customer test
Competitor activity is not sufficient justification. Adapt only ideas that improve the experience for your customer.
Imitating distinctive creative work
Rubin notes that he may avoid copying apparel ideas clearly owned by another creator. Broad learning still requires boundaries.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for product teams in fast-moving categories where customer expectations evolve across adjacent markets.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for copying protected work, distinctive creative signatures, or features that do not serve the company's customer.
From the transcript
“I follow every one of my competitors. I follow everyone who's interesting.”
“When your competition does something good, in a lot of cases, don't be proud.”
From the episode
The Founder Playbook: How Michael Rubin Built Fanatics by Betting on Obsession
The Founder Playbook