Without a market, a business doesn’t have much of a future. Actually understanding the potential size and shape of the market is a critical step in the early stages of developing a business, as it will help to inform everything from your short and medium-term objectives, product development, right through to the way you pitch to investors.

It doesn’t matter what sector or vertical you’re entering, your startup is going to have to deal with competition. Your business idea should be a game changer in some way, but you’re also going to have competition and for this reason you will need to do a competitor analysis early on in the startup journey.

When you think about a “moat”, you’re going to imagine an impenetrable castle, surrounded by a deep trench of water. That trench is what makes it so hard to successfully attack the castle. In business, the same principle applies—by creating a “moat” around the business, you can protect it from other businesses and threats.