Building a Moat Into a Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups in the early days have little to protect the business beyond intellectual property. As the company grows, the startup can build a stronger moat. Here are some key steps for building a moat into a startup: Network effects — grow the network within your customer base to strengthen the business. Design the product and the marketing to connect others to the customer base. Platforms — design a platform into the solution offered. A platform brings reduced cost and greater capabilities versus one-off products. Integrate with partners — use APIs and other technical connections to create a seamless solution for customers. Integrations add value and are difficult to compete against. Bundle products — package several services into a single product. Through bundling, one creates a better solution that appeals to a broader audience. Long-term sales contracts — signing long-term contracts provides a moat. Customers who want to switch will find it costly, and competitors will get tired of waiting for the customer to come back to the table. Proprietary data — data that is unique to the business adds value. Unique data can be mined for additional products and services. Brand — build a brand that provides a unique promise to the customer. Brands take time to build but can provide an additional moat for the company. Consider these steps in building a moat into your startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let’s go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

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Disclaimer:
Hall T Martin is the director of Investor Connect, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the education of investors for early-stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for the basis of investment decisions.