Operator Note: Competition is a Privilege

It means you’re in a space that matters — one that’s real enough for others to chase and hard enough to stay in.

Hi, I’m Shan, and I run Xandro Lab — a science-first longevity brand based in Singapore. Every Sunday, I sit down here on Out of Singapore to write about what’s really happening — not the polished parts, but the process of building something in real time.

This week’s note is about competition. Not the kind they teach you in business school — think SWOT analysis, BCG Matrix, or Porter’s Five Forces — but the kind you feel when a new brand shows up on your feed, prices its product 50% lower, and starts outselling you. The kind that makes you question your pricing, your speed, and your strategy. I’ve realized over time that I don’t just tolerate competition. I love it. It’s the most honest signal in business — a mirror that tells you where you actually stand.

Because every industry report lies. The $500-billion market reports. The consultant projections. Even the Google Trends charts everyone screenshots to show growth. None of that reflects your reality. It doesn’t tell you how many people are actually buying, or how quickly they’re switching, or whether they’ll buy from you again next month. Competition, on the other hand, is real-time data. It’s the purest signal that something is working — either for you or against you. It’s also the only metric that can’t be faked. You can buy ads, pump vanity metrics, raise rounds, or spin PR stories, but you can’t fake what happens when another player enters your space and the numbers move.

That’s why I don’t see competition as a threat. It’s a pulse — a living, moving feedback loop that tells you what consumers are actually paying attention to, and what they’ve stopped caring about.

Today’s Reading

1. What competition really tells you

2. The reality of being undercut

3. What competition reveals about your goals

4. The Singapore problem — easy markets, fast imitators

5. How I benchmark competition

6. Framework for response — cost, innovation, community, distribution

7. The race you choose to run

Let’s start.