Category, customer definition, other players.

The category that I've chosen is bike racing support in Ann Arbor. This positions the Ann Arbor Velo Club (AAVC) as the leader in the category. Their customer definition is non-donors to the AAVC because the goal is to increase donations rather than increase membership at this point. The other players in this space might be other local groups like MCG, The Ann Arbor Triathlon Club, and the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring society, though none of these groups do exactly what the AAVC does where we do it in terms of supporting new bike racers as they work to develop their skills, strength, knowledge, and confidence around cycling. This is a little challenging because I feel like the AAVC fills a very specific niche and there are not really many direct competitors locally. This may be because AAVC has been the main player in the market for nearly 40 years and has built up some strategic assets and a size in the market that makes the cost of market entry too high for local start-ups to be successful.