Let's talk about something we're all dealing with right now: every deck hitting our inbox looks the same as the last.

There’s just no end to the personal healthcare solutions powered by AI. Or team productivity apps powered by AI. Or recruiting tools powered by AI. Or sales tools… powered by AI, of course.

Space is crowded in these markets. But we can't just avoid crowded spaces; they're massive markets.

Healthcare, productivity, HR — these are billion- (or trillion)-dollar markets that will have multiple winners.

So it’s not a question about whether to invest in competitive spaces. It's a question of how to spot winners at the earliest stages, especially when all the decks start to blur together.

Here’s how we’re tackling this at Hustle Fund:

Step 1: Look for Self-Awareness

We know the space is crowded. The founders know the space is crowded.

So there’s no use pretending otherwise. That’s why we look for founders who acknowledge the competition within the first few slides.

It’s not just about honesty (though that's important). It’s self awareness.

And self awareness shows that the founder knows what she’s getting into. If she understands, then she can build a playbook that can stand up to the competition.

A founder who fits this description is prioritizing customer acquisition, coming up with ideas around acquiring customers at scale, obsessed with retention, and generating ideas to increase LTV.

Step 2: Look for the "Earned Secret"

I love this step.

See, every founder needs to be able to answer: "What do you know about this market that others don't?"

And a founder who can answer that question is a founder worth a second look.

Maybe they've figured out why so many companies in this space have failed. Maybe they've identified a gap that everyone else missed. The key is that this insight comes from real experience, not just market research.

Take Canva.

When Canva pitched design tools, they didn't just say "design is big."

They broke down every step of the professional design process, assigned market values to each step, and showed exactly where they'd focus and why they could win there.

They used their earned secret to develop their GTM motion. And it (obviously) worked.

Step 3: Look Beyond the Deck

A deck with 10-15 slides often can’t tell the whole story. That’s why we dig deep into founder backgrounds.

For example, we recently spoke with a founder building supply chain management tools.

And his secret weapon was his experience. See, he'd worked at Abercrombie & Fitch, Levi's, and Square — all companies with complex supply chains.

He understood this space in a way that MBA candidates reading case studies simply can’t.

And this kind experience of doesn't just validate the problem — it uncovers strategic wedges that others miss.

Case Study: PunchUp Live

Let's take the framework above and apply it to a real company: PunchUp Live.

The problem

The creator economy feels impossible to crack. You’ve got multi-million dollar YouTubers, jewelry designers with 500 Instagram followers, and everyone in between.

It’s impossible to build tools that work for them all.

And since only 5% of creators can fully support themselves fully, the other 95% operate like cash-strapped SMBs:

• They can only afford $10-50/month for tools
• They churn when money gets tight
• Customer acquisition costs are crazy high
• The few paying customers must subsidize features for the much larger non-paying base

Most creator tools either charge too little to be sustainable or price out their core market, which is why so many burn through VC money.

The Opportunity

Danny Frankel and Alex Dijonny wanted to support this market, but needed a wedge in.

And after five years together at Google, they had a breakthrough.

Danny's childhood friend, Steve Byrne, was a comedian. Steve showed them that comedians lack first-party data on their customers, making it practically impossible to market effectively or drive revenue from shows and merch.

Danny and Alex went laser-focused on comedy. They built a network starting with comedians under management — not household names, but comedians dealing with revenue optimization daily.

The result

PunchUp now works with up-and-coming acts and established names like Jim Gaffigan and Michelle Wolf. They just closed a $2.3M seed round.

The Takeaway

The best companies in crowded spaces don't try to out-muscle the competition. They find their wedge — a unique starting point where their earned secret gives them an unfair advantage.

Look for founders who:

1. Acknowledge the crowded reality
2. Have real-life experience with the problem
3. Are starting with a specific wedge
4. Are obsessed with their customers

The opportunities in these big markets are real. But the winners have to start small and win there first.