--- title: "Moats: articulating beyond the buzzword" description: "Intanify helps companies define and communicate their competitive moats, essential for attracting investors and sustaining growth. Moats, built on intangible assets like data, brand, and proprietary code, protect businesses from competition.\n\nTheir structured framework guides companies through identifying key assets, mapping them to revenue drivers, and articulating why they are defensible. By leveraging technology, Intanify extracts and categorises 25 asset types, simplifying this process.\n\nThe result is a clear, compelling moat presentation that avoids vague descriptions and consultant jargon, ensuring businesses can showcase real, sustainable competitive advantages to investors and stakeholders." image: https://www.intanify.com/hubfs/Moat%20Buzz%20Words.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.intanify.com/insights/moats-articulating-beyond-the-buzzword#main-content) [![Colour=White, Size=Large](https://www.intanify.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Colour=White%2c%20Size=Large.png?width=311&height=80&name=Colour=White%2c%20Size=Large.png "Colour=White, Size=Large")](https://www.intanify.com/) [Back to Insights](https://insights.intanify.com/) 6 February, 2025 # Moats: articulating beyond the buzzword [Dylan Dryden, CEO & Co-Founder](https://www.intanify.com/insights/author/dylan-dryden) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://www.intanify.com/insights/moats-articulating-beyond-the-buzzword) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.intanify.com/insights/moats-articulating-beyond-the-buzzword) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.intanify.com/insights/moats-articulating-beyond-the-buzzword) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://www.intanify.com/insights/moats-articulating-beyond-the-buzzword) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://www.intanify.com/insights/moats-articulating-beyond-the-buzzword) At Intanify been thinking about moats a lot recently. Our own, of course, as we make strategic choices and present ourselves to investors as we raise our seed. But more importantly, our users, who use our platform to identify and articulate their moats. As I wrote before, a moat, is typically underpinned by intangible assets like data, proprietary code, brand and skills. So how do our users do it? This short article illustrates.   **Defining moat** A moat is a sustainable competitive advantage that protects a company from competitors, allowing it to maintain profitability and market share over time. The term, popularised by Warren Buffett, has been developed substantially since and is top-of-mind for investors and entrepreneurs. Probably the best framework is Hamilton Helmer’s 7 Powers. The best companies stack multiple moats.   ### How to articulate your moat? **Step 1: Start with all your assets** This would include software, brand, data, IP, know-how, processes and skills – every asset that enables your company to compete and earn revenue. Forget what the accountants call assets, we’re focused on the real assets of modern companies. If you don’t have this list, and many do not, that is step 0. Intanify’s tech can help you here, extracting 25 asset types from your company information with expert-powered knowledge graphs.   **Step 2: Map assets to revenue drivers and competitive advantages** A moat, like unique data, will typically be underpinned by multiple components beyond the data itself. For example, proprietary algorithms to create and structure the data, relationships to source it, skills and processes your company has developed to enrich it. Or switching costs would be made up of multiple drivers that make switching unattractive – from lost features to interconnecting relationships. Mapping your assets to value drivers and competitive advantages will often help here. What do you use to make your business win? Intanify uses our model to do this. ![sods](https://www.intanify.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Feb-05-2025-03-25-03-6375-PM.png?width=2087&height=639&name=image-png-Feb-05-2025-03-25-03-6375-PM.png) **Step 3: Articulate** Our framework comprises four parts (see below) - **Why it’s tough to replicate** – a moat isn’t worth the water that fills it if another company can replicate it. - **Why it’s powerful** – how it is not easy to overcome and thus market share and profitability are protected. - **How it works** – literally explain how your moat keeps competitors out. - The **specific assets** that underpin it – making it real.   **The result: Compelling and defensible moat** Too much moat description is hand-wavey or naval-gazey. Or management consultant 2x2 matrix-dry. Intanify aims for a presentation to be simple, clear and grounded in the real assets. We’ve done this for a number of our users, which of course we cannot show. But for a flavour, here is our demo company:   ![](https://www.intanify.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Feb-05-2025-03-27-21-0107-PM.png?width=1440&height=1096&name=image-png-Feb-05-2025-03-27-21-0107-PM.png)Intanify demo company moats   [RAISING FINANCE](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/raising-finance), [STRATEGY](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/strategy), [MOAT](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/moat) ## Related posts [![](https://www.intanify.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Patent%20moat%20-%20without%20read.png?height=200&name=Patent%20moat%20-%20without%20read.png)](https://www.intanify.com/insights/matching-your-moat-to-your-value-the-missing-link) [RAISING FINANCE](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/raising-finance), [INNOVATION](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/innovation), [STRATEGY](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/strategy), [MOAT](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/moat) ## [Matching your moat to your value - the missing link](https://www.intanify.com/insights/matching-your-moat-to-your-value-the-missing-link) [Dylan Dryden, CEO & Co-Founder](https://www.intanify.com/insights/author/dylan-dryden) 24 October, 2023 The concept of an economic moat, or strategic competitive advantage, has a special importance in... [Read more](https://www.intanify.com/insights/matching-your-moat-to-your-value-the-missing-link) [![](https://www.intanify.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Appelfeld%20Case%20Banner.png?height=200&name=Appelfeld%20Case%20Banner.png)](https://www.intanify.com/insights/boutique-excellence-scaled-how-appelfeldco.-delivers-more-strategic-value-with-intanify) [STRATEGY](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/strategy), [CASE STUDIES](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/case-studies), [ADVISOR](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/advisor) ## [Boutique excellence scaled - How Appelfeld&Co. delivers more strategic value with Intanify](https://www.intanify.com/insights/boutique-excellence-scaled-how-appelfeldco.-delivers-more-strategic-value-with-intanify) [By Intanify](https://www.intanify.com/insights/author/by-intanify) 24 September, 2025 Context Appelfeld&Co. (“Appelfeld”) is a boutique IP adviser to leading lawyers and companies in... [Read more](https://www.intanify.com/insights/boutique-excellence-scaled-how-appelfeldco.-delivers-more-strategic-value-with-intanify) [![](https://www.intanify.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202023-10-10%20at%2011.25.11.png?height=200&name=Screenshot%202023-10-10%20at%2011.25.11.png)](https://www.intanify.com/insights/an-interview-with-valuation-expert-brian-more-why-software-valuations-just-go-up-and-up) [DATA ASSETS](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/data-assets), [SOFTWARE](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/software), [VALUATION](https://www.intanify.com/insights/tag/valuation) ## [Why software valuations just go up and up - valuation expert Brian More talks common pitfalls](https://www.intanify.com/insights/an-interview-with-valuation-expert-brian-more-why-software-valuations-just-go-up-and-up) [Dylan Dryden, CEO & Co-Founder](https://www.intanify.com/insights/author/dylan-dryden) 10 October, 2023 Last week our CEO Dylan Dryden sat down with valuation expert Brian More, who had a hand in... 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