The Last Durable Moat: Emotional Market Fit

Building uncopyable products....now

Author

David Hersh
February 23, 2026

At a Glance

  • The Three Types of Moats 

  • The Birth of the Fourth  

  • Getting Started 

The Problem 

I’m halfway through my new book! Well, a draft at least. (BTW, if you’re interested in writing a book, I’m likely co-hosting a retreat on how to do it in this era this Fall.) 

The last chapter I wrote was on building uncopyable products in a rapidly accelerating singularity of sameness, so it’s top of mind. What do I mean? 

Competitive advantages fall mostly into these buckets: 

  1. Capability: What can we do that others can’t? Better tech, proprietary data, smarter products.

  2. Execution: How quickly do we make our vision a reality? Faster shipping, operational excellence, rapid iteration.

  3. Trust: Why do customers choose us? Brand, reputation, relationships.

These are in order of increasing emotional connection and decreasing connection to technology.

Moats that depend on speed, optimization, pattern recognition, and scale are dying, thanks to AI, automation, and rampant access to everything all the time. 

Advantages based on trust, community, identity, and transformation have more staying power. 

The New Moat  

What might a fourth category that cranks the dial “up to eleven” look like? 

Emotional Moats: How do we amplify our customers' inner lives? Changes in emotional state, connection to meaning, sense of new identity and belonging, confidence, and aliveness.

These are less a defensive “shield” and more a bonded network of people that stand for something larger than ourselves. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling HR consulting or Scotch tape; emotional moats tap into a subconscious desire to awaken from the malaise of crap. 

How do you want your prospective customer to respond to your offering?

1. "You want my money."

2. "You solved my problem."

3. "You understand me."

4. "You transformed me!”

Emotional Market Fit comes from a deep, earned understanding of your buyers’ current and desired emotional states. 

And I’m meeting companies that are winning with these strategies.  

Getting Started

I’m not just pontificating about emotions. I’m doing this in real-time with Planoly (the company I acquired with a friend at the end of last year). And I’m re-learning what really works. 

To find your emotional market fit, you must “go anthropological” in your approach. As in my previous newsletter with Ali Maaxa, the cultural anthropologist, it means living alongside your buyers and feeling what’s going on under the surface. 

Observe their workflows, language, trials and workarounds, jokes, rituals, frustrations, and behaviors. Do this without steering the sessions into your desires or possibly even mentioning your product ideas. 

You’re seeking emotional truths, not feature requests. This is a true “ride-along” that lets you feel what it’s like to be them in the life surrounding your product. 

Eventually, you figure out how to serve as the bridge between their current emotional state and desired state. Examples: 

Category 

Beginning State (Shadow) 

Emotional Bridge

Desired End State

Tax Software

Confused and anxious

“I get it. You’re not alone. But we’ve done this millions of times. We can get through it together.” 

Accomplishment, relief, and pride

At-home Fitness Classes

Guilty, ashamed, lonely

“You’re completely normal. We see you, and we all struggle with this. But down deep, you are an athlete, and we will reflect that back to you when you need it.”  

Belonging, excitement, pride, identity shift 

Team Messaging Apps

Overwhelmed, disconnected, isolated 

“That’s hard. We’ve all been there. Let’s make this fun and easy to get connected, share your individuality, and feel productive again.” 

Momentum, belonging, creative, inspired 

An emotional moat exists when you: 

  • Change how people feel about themselves.

  • Validate their inner struggle.

  • Make them feel less alone.

  • Open up an untapped identity.

If you want to see one in action, check out the newsletter on Othership. 

There’s a lot more detail in the chapter on finding emotional market fit, which I’ll share in upcoming newsletters. It’s a huge opportunity that most people are missing in their frantic quest to automate everything and everyone with bots.

With Love,

Dave 

Conversations like this are shaping the book I’m currently writing on imagination, calling, and human-centered competitive advantage in an AI era. Have stories? Hit reply - I'd love to hear.