Product Management playbook/Module 3 · Strategy

Day 24 / 100 · Strategy · Moats and defensibility

What stops them catching you?

Good products get copied. A moat is whatever makes your advantage last after they've copied the features.

Network effects

The product gets better as more people use it.

Switching costs

Leaving is painful: numbers, data, habits, integrations.

Unique data

Insight competitors can't easily collect.

Trust and brand

A reputation earned over years, especially in regulated work.

Scale

Costs fall as you grow, in ways small rivals can't match.

Know-how and licences

Hard-won expertise, compliance and regulatory approvals.

Features get copied. Moats compound.