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Business · 50 items · 2 min read

Easier Moats

For one-person digital products. Format: easier > harder. The easiest moats grow out of work you do anyway: publishing, helping customers, keeping promises. Big companies can't copy what their own business model won't allow.

Sections
  1. Formulas
  2. Choosing a moat (1–12)
  3. Building it (13–25)
  4. Maintaining it (26–38)
  5. Choosing well (39–50)

Formulas#

  • Easy moat = something you do every week that compounds. Your list, content, reviews, reputation and data all qualify.
  • Moat strength = what it costs a rival to copy ÷ what it costs you to keep.
  • The leader's "can't" is your moat. Look for what their model, size or brand won't let them do.

Choosing a moat (1–12)#

  1. A business model the leader can't copy > trying to out-feature them.
  2. Depth in one niche > breadth.
  3. Trust > tricks.
  4. An owned audience > a rented one.
  5. Moats built from daily work > moats that need big investment.
  6. Compounding assets > one-time wins.
  7. Speed > size.
  8. Relationships > contracts.
  9. The founder's reputation > an anonymous brand.
  10. Switching costs that come from value > switching costs that come from lock-in.
  11. Too small to be a target > head-on competition.
  12. Profitability > funding. Patience is a moat.

Building it (13–25)#

  1. An email list that grows every week > social followers.
  2. Content that keeps ranking > posts that vanish.
  3. Reviews that accumulate > ad spend.
  4. Customer data, used with consent, to improve the defaults > a static product.
  5. Integrations as partnerships > a closed product.
  6. Templates and content made by the community > everything made by you.
  7. Know-how written down > heroics.
  8. A name people search for > a generic name.
  9. Registering the trademark early > after a copycat appears.
  10. Being on the lists people and AI read > being invisible.
  11. Case studies > claims.
  12. Community rituals > one-off events.
  13. Partnerships with the niche's gatekeepers > going it alone.

Maintaining it (26–38)#

  1. Keeping promises > short-term wins.
  2. Stable prices for loyal customers > frequent hikes.
  3. Quality in the core product > new features.
  4. Fast support > slow support.
  5. A consistent brand > redesigns.
  6. Refreshing content every year > letting it go stale.
  7. Listening to customers > assuming.
  8. Adopting new technology early > late.
  9. Watching competitors once a quarter > obsessing daily, or never looking.
  10. Renewing relationships > taking partners for granted.
  11. Improving the docs > watching tickets grow.
  12. Protecting domains and accounts > risking losing them.
  13. Reinvesting part of the profit > taking it all out.

Choosing well (39–50)#

  1. Moats a rival can't buy > features a rival can copy.
  2. Several owned paths to customers > one platform's algorithm.
  3. A structural difference > being the cheapest.
  4. Loyalty earned > customers trapped.
  5. A clear niche > "better AI." Everyone rents the same models.
  6. Durable assets > viral spikes.
  7. Your own customer list > a partner's list.
  8. Open formats > proprietary formats that scare buyers.
  9. Moats one person can keep up > moats that need a team (enterprise sales, 24/7 support).
  10. A fight you can win > fighting the leader head-on.
  11. Owning a small category > renting a spot in a big one.
  12. Digging the moat again every year > trusting last year's.

If you keep only 5: #1 (a model they can't copy), #5 (moats from daily work), #13 (an email list), #26 (keeping promises), #39 (moats a rival can't buy).