← Glossary
Moat (Competitive Moat)
A sustainable competitive advantage that protects a business from competitors, like a medieval castle's moat.
Warren Buffett popularized the concept: 'In business, I look for economic castles protected by unbreachable moats.' Common moat types: network effects (each user makes the product more valuable — Facebook, Uber), switching costs (moving away is painful — Salesforce), economies of scale (larger = cheaper per unit — AWS), brand (trust and recognition — Apple), data advantages (proprietary datasets that improve with use — Google Search). For indie hackers, realistic moats include: community, SEO authority, and unique datasets built over time.