What Makes a Business Hard to Copy
Some businesses are protected by things rivals can't quickly copy.
The idea
A moat is anything that makes a business hard for competitors to copy or replace. Common moats are a trusted brand, a network effect where the product gets better as more people use it, high switching costs that make leaving painful, and scale that lets a company operate cheaper than rivals. A business without a moat can be copied by anyone, so its advantage tends to fade. Moats can also erode over time, so spotting one is a question to keep asking, not a promise about the future. 🛡️
Words to know
- moat
- Something that protects a business from copycats and competitors.
- competitor
- Another business trying to win the same customers you want.
- network effect
- When something gets more useful the more people use it, like a chat app.
- switching cost
- The time, money, or hassle it takes to move to a different company's product.
- brand
- The name and reputation people recognize and trust when they buy something.
Try it — no account needed
A moat is anything that makes a business hard to replace. Some advantages last, and some can be copied by tomorrow.
Sort each advantage.
0 / 6 sorted
In the full lesson
- 1Sort into groups
- 2Work out the number
- 3Make the call
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