Run a startup's defensibility through five moat lenses—network, switching cost, brand, scale, and data—to spot which advantages actually stick.
Analyze the moat strength for this startup:
**Company:** {{company_name}}
**Product/Service:** {{product_description}}
**Current Users/Revenue:** {{traction_metric}}
**Market:** {{market_size_and_competitors}}
**Founder Claim:** {{founder_moat_claim}}
Score each moat dimension 1–5 (1=none, 5=fortress):
1. **Network Effects** — Does the product get better as more users join? Is switching costly because of network lock-in?
2. **Switching Costs** — How much friction, money, or time would it take a user to leave?
3. **Brand/Trust** — Is the brand defensible, or is it just the current product?
4. **Scale Economies** — Does unit economics improve with size in a way competitors can't match?
5. **Data/Proprietary Insights** — Does the company own data or algorithms that compound over time?
For each dimension, provide:
- Score and one-sentence justification
- The specific threat that could erode this moat
- One action the founder should take to strengthen it
Then rank the moats by durability (most durable first) and flag any moat the founder is overstating.Paste this into Claude, GPT-4, or your LLM of choice. Fill in the {{placeholders}} with real company details—the more specific, the better the output. Use this before a pitch meeting, after a customer interview, or when deciding whether to double down on a feature. The output is not gospel; it's a forcing function to separate signal from noise.
**Company:** TaxBot AI **Product/Service:** AI-powered tax filing for freelancers; integrates with Stripe, PayPal, and Wave **Current Users/Revenue:** 2,400 users, $45K MRR **Market:** $15B+ US tax software market; competitors include TurboTax, H&R Block, and dozens of niche players **Founder Claim:** "Our moat is our AI model trained on freelancer tax returns. Nobody else has this data."
**Network Effects: 2/5**
Justification: Weak. More users don't make the product better for existing users. Referral loops exist but aren't viral.
Threat: A competitor with better UX or lower price captures the same user base.
Action: Build a community feature (peer tax tips, deduction library) that grows with users.
**Switching Costs: 3/5**
Justification: Moderate. Users have imported 2+ years of transaction history; re-importing elsewhere is friction. But data export is standard.
Threat: A competitor offers free migration or one-click import from TaxBot.
Action: Deepen integrations (auto-sync with accounting software) so switching requires re-wiring workflows, not just re-uploading files.
**Brand/Trust: 2/5**
Justification: Low. TaxBot is a feature, not a brand. Users trust TurboTax and H&R Block more. No defensible brand equity yet.
Threat: TurboTax launches a freelancer-specific product.
Action: Build authority through content (tax guides for freelancers, IRS updates) and certifications. Make TaxBot synonymous with freelancer taxes.
**Scale Economies: 2/5**
Justification: Weak. Unit economics don't improve materially with scale. Customer acquisition cost is high; LTV is capped by market rates.
Threat: A well-funded competitor with better unit economics undercuts pricing.
Action: Shift from per-user pricing to per-integration or per-workflow pricing to capture more value as users grow.
**Data/Proprietary Insights: 3/5**
Justification: Moderate. You have 2,400 freelancer tax returns, but that's not defensible at scale. Competitors can build similar datasets in 18 months.
Threat: TurboTax or a tax-focused AI startup collects more data faster.
Action: Publish anonymized insights ("Freelancers in tech save $X on average") to build a moat around knowledge, not just raw data.
**Moat Ranking (Most to Least Durable):**
1. Switching Costs (can be strengthened via integrations)
2. Data/Proprietary Insights (time-limited; needs reinforcement)
3. Network Effects (currently weak; community could change this)
4. Scale Economies (structural weakness)
5. Brand/Trust (starting from zero)
**Founder Overstating:** The "AI model trained on freelancer returns" is not a moat yet. It's a feature. Competitors can replicate it in 12–18 months. The real moat is workflow lock-in (integrations) and brand authority.