# Moat

Concept · [Business and metrics](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/business)

Also called: moats, competitive moat, defensibility, competitive advantage, defensible

An advantage that makes it hard for competitors to copy your business or take your customers, such as unique data, network effects or high [switching costs](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/vendor-lock-in).

**For example:** An investor asks what stops a bigger company from copying the app. The [founder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/founder) points to five years of exclusive local data.

## Connects to (4)

- [Vendor lock-in](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/vendor-lock-in): Depending on one vendor so heavily that switching to another would cost a lot of time or money.
- [Trade secret](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/trade-secret): Valuable business information, such as a formula, algorithm or process, that is protected by keeping it secret rather than by registering…
- [Intellectual property](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/intellectual-property): Things you create that can be owned, such as code, designs, brand names and inventions.
- [Product-market fit](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/product-market-fit): The point where you have built something a clear group of customers really wants.

## Sources

- <https://cortado.ventures/portfolio-new/>


Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/moat