Back in medieval times, a moat was a muddy, alligator-infested water hazard that kept invaders from waltzing through the castle gates. It wasn’t elegant, but it worked. The moat gave you time, leverage, and — most importantly — breathing room to keep your kingdom intact.
That’s why the term stuck in startupland. A moat is the thing that keeps your competitors at bay. The problem? Too many founders believe their “moat” is a shiny piece of tech.
In the 1990s and 2000s, maybe that worked. You could patent a widget, lock it behind proprietary code, and feel safe for a while. But in today’s global economy — where talent, capital, and AI-enabled tools are available to anyone with Wi-Fi — the “technology moat” has the lifespan of a puddle in August. Even the giants who invented categories now find themselves defending their castles from hungry upstarts — eager entrants chasing markets without the earth-shattering vision it takes to drive real change.
So what does a real moat look like in 2025? It’s not the code — it’s the crew. It’s the people who buy into the mission, the culture that survives tough weeks and dumb mistakes, the hustle to win customers before the competition even notices. It’s the humility to admit when your brilliant idea isn’t actually brilliant — and the willingness to pivot until it is.
That’s the difference between building a castle that lasts and one that becomes ruins tourists stroll through on a weekend.
I’m grateful today to contribute to a team of walking, talking, fire-breathing alligators.
So, what’s guarding your castle?
