April Dunford alternatives for startup positioning
April Dunford is a positioning consultant and the author of Obviously Awesome. Her flagship offer is a facilitated three day Positioning + Sales Pitch Workshop, listed at $50,000 or $80,000 by company size. Alternatives for startups include using her books yourself, a fixed price positioning sprint, a fractional product marketer or an agency.
On this page
Key takeaways
- April Dunford's method is the most widely used positioning framework for B2B tech. Her site says Obviously Awesome has sold over 100,000 copies.
- Her workshop is listed at $50,000 for companies with 10 to 50 people and $80,000 for 50 to 1,000+ people. It runs three days, in person or remote.
- Her site says she mainly works with B2B companies and does not work with pre launch or very early release products. She is generally booked a few months ahead.
- Startups that cannot book her yet can use her books, hire a positioning sprint, bring in a fractional PMM or work with an agency.
- Many positioning sprints, including Boundset, use the same five components she teaches. The main differences are price and whether finished copy is included.
- Choose her workshop if your leadership team needs her method in the room with her. Choose a sprint if you need positioning and copy in a few weeks at a startup budget.
Your workbook
What April Dunford offers
April Dunford's main offer is a facilitated positioning workshop. She also runs a class for larger companies and takes custom consulting work. She also wrote two books, Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch. Her five component positioning method is the base most other positioning work builds on, including this site's guides.
| Offer | What her site says | Price listed |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning + Sales Pitch Workshop, 10 to 50 people | Facilitated three day workshop covering the five components of positioning plus sales pitch development, in person or remote | $50,000 |
| Positioning + Sales Pitch Workshop, 50 to 1,000+ people | Expanded workshop with a larger working team plus a series of advisory sessions | $80,000 |
| Positioning class for larger tech companies | Half day course for marketing and product teams | Contact her |
| Custom consulting | Acquisitions, divestitures, sudden market shifts and strong new entrants | Contact her |
| Obviously Awesome (book) | Her step by step positioning process | Book price |
| Sales Pitch (book) | An eight step sales pitch structure built on her positioning work | Book price |
Her contact page answers a few common questions. She works with growth stage startups and larger organizations. She mainly works with B2B companies. She does not work with pre launch or very early release products, and recommends reading Obviously Awesome at that stage. She is generally booked a few months in advance. She does not sell single paid hours.
Who April Dunford is best for
April Dunford is best for B2B tech teams with real traction and an executive team that needs to align on positioning and a sales pitch. Her workshop puts the whole leadership team in the room with the person who wrote the method. Her site lists clients ranging from Series A startups to global technology companies.
Her workshop fits well when:
- Your leadership team disagrees on why customers choose you
- Marketing and sales tell different stories
- You want the sales pitch built in the same engagement
- You have the budget and can wait a few months for a slot
Why startups look for alternatives
Startups look for alternatives mostly because of stage and budget. A seed stage team may be too early for her criteria or may not have a five figure budget for a workshop. Some also need positioning settled this month. Some teams also want finished copy, which a workshop does not include.
None of these are knocks on her work. They are fit questions. Her books are a strong starting point for any of the alternatives below.
Write down your constraints
Your constraints decide which option fits. Writing them down keeps the choice honest.
Fill in each line.
Acme Billing example
Acme Billing. Budget for positioning: under $10,000. Deadline: before the site rebuild in six weeks. Stage: 22 paying customers, seed funded. Need finished copy: yes, homepage at minimum. Leadership team size: two founders.
The main alternatives compared
The main alternatives are doing it yourself with her books, a positioning sprint, a fractional product marketer and an agency. Each fits a different budget and need. Published prices below were checked in October 2026 on each provider's site.
| Option | Typical format | Published price examples | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself with Obviously Awesome | Your team runs the five steps | Price of the book | Teams with time and a strong facilitator inside |
| Positioning sprint | Fixed scope over two to four weeks | Rethink GTM $2,400 (3 weeks). SF Marketing Agency $7,500 (14 business days). Boundset $7,500 or $12,000 (2 weeks) | Startups that need positioning and copy fast |
| Fractional PMM | Part time product marketer for months | Varies, get quotes | Teams that need ongoing launches and enablement |
| Agency | Strategy plus design and production | Varies, get quotes | Rebrands and full site builds |
| April Dunford workshop | Three day facilitated workshop | $50,000 or $80,000 | Growth stage B2B teams aligning leadership |
Do it yourself with her books
Obviously Awesome lays out her full process. A founder who can run a calm, honest workshop with the team can get far with it. The risk is facilitation. Founders often defend the original idea and find it hard to judge their own product from the outside.
Positioning sprint
A sprint gives you a fixed scope and an end date. Most use a method close to hers. Sprints differ mainly in deliverables. Some stop at a strategy memo. Others include messaging and homepage copy. The positioning sprint cost guide compares published prices and scope.
Fractional PMM
A fractional PMM works inside your team part time. It is a good fit when positioning is mostly settled and you need someone to carry it into launches and sales materials every month.
Agency
An agency handles strategy with design and production. It fits when you need a new brand and site built together. Settle positioning first so the design work does not have to be redone.
For a deeper comparison of the last two, read positioning agency vs fractional PMM.
Match your constraints to an option
Seeing your constraints next to each option makes the choice clear fast.
Using your answers from the last exercise, cross out every option in the table that breaks a constraint. Write which options are left and your first pick.
Acme Billing example
Crossed out: April Dunford workshop (budget, wait time). Agency (budget, no rebrand needed). Left: do it yourself, sprint. First pick: sprint, because the founders disagree and need copy in six weeks.
Where Boundset fits
Boundset is a two week positioning sprint for seed stage startups and beyond. It works from the same five components April Dunford teaches and adds the copy. You leave with positioning locked and messaging documented, plus homepage copy and a wireframe ready to hand to your designer.
| April Dunford workshop | Boundset Stake | Boundset Stronghold | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $50,000 or $80,000 | $7,500 | $12,000 |
| Format | Three day facilitated workshop | Two week sprint with a 90 minute workshop | Two week sprint plus a year of async coaching |
| Your time | Three days for the working team | About four to five hours across two weeks | About four to five hours across two weeks, then coaching as needed |
| Sales pitch | Included | Objection scripts or investor messaging available as the activation asset | Three activation assets |
| Finished homepage copy | Not listed | Yes, with variants and a wireframe | Yes, plus three more pages |
| Stage | Past early release, mainly B2B | Has a product and customers | Has a product and customers |
| Support after | Advisory sessions on the larger tier | Ongoing Slack access | One year of async coaching in Slack |
Choose April Dunford if your leadership team needs her in the room and you can wait for a slot. Choose Boundset if you need positioning and finished copy in two weeks at a startup budget. Reading Obviously Awesome first helps with either.
Run a quick positioning gut check
A five minute check tells you how much help you need before you spend anything.
Answer each question in one line. If you cannot answer two or more, outside help will likely save time.
Acme Billing example
What would buyers use instead: spreadsheets. What only we do: draft invoices from client emails. Who cares most: firms where the owner bills at night. Category: not sure. Can the founders agree on these answers: no.
The free positioning debt check gives you a quick score.
FAQs
How much does April Dunford charge?
Her consultant page lists the Positioning + Sales Pitch Workshop at $50,000 for companies with 10 to 50 people and $80,000 for companies with 50 to 1,000+ people. The larger tier adds advisory sessions. Prices were checked on aprildunford.com in October 2026, so confirm on her site before planning a budget.
Does April Dunford work with early stage startups?
Her site says she works with growth stage startups and larger organizations and does not work with pre launch or very early release products. She recommends that teams at that stage read Obviously Awesome and work on positioning once they have traction with paying customers.
What is the April Dunford positioning framework?
Her framework from Obviously Awesome has five components: competitive alternatives, unique attributes, value, best fit customers and market category. You work through them in that order. She starts with alternatives because value only makes sense relative to what a buyer would do instead, and she picks the market category last.
Can I do April Dunford positioning without hiring her?
Yes. Obviously Awesome lays out her full step by step process, and many teams run it themselves. The hard part is facilitation, because founders often defend their original idea. Free tools and templates help, and many sprints use a similar method if you want outside help.
How long is the wait to work with April Dunford?
Her contact page says she is generally booked a few months in advance. When checked in October 2026, it said she was booking workshops for Q4 2026. She also notes that she does not sell single paid hours, and points people to her books for common questions.
What is a cheaper alternative to April Dunford?
A positioning sprint is the most common lower cost option. Published startup sprint prices we checked in October 2026 range from $2,400 to $7,500. Boundset is $7,500 for a two week sprint that includes homepage copy, or $12,000 for Stronghold. Reading her book and running the process yourself costs the least.
Does Boundset use April Dunford's method?
Boundset's guides and positioning canvas use the five components from Obviously Awesome, credited to her. The sprint adds messaging and copy on top of positioning. That includes a messaging matrix and homepage copy with variants, plus an activation asset such as a cold email sequence.