This is a great breakdown — and the sneaky value of OPE isn’t the canvas, it’s the forced pain of choosing.
Most founders don’t fail because they picked the wrong moat. They fail because they picked all 15 and called it strategy. The “choose 3” rule is brutal in the best way — it exposes what you’re actually willing to bet the company on vs. what just sounds good in a pitch.
From a GTM O.S. lens, I’d add one gut check:
If Sales, Marketing, Product, and CS can’t all point to the same 3 moats and explain how their work reinforces them… you don’t have moats yet — you have opinions 😅
Curious: which moat do people want to pick most… and which one actually survives contact with customers?
really nice to hear from you & great to connect here too. Hard to tell because I am operating with a very specific sample in my line of work (mainly AI native companies) where speed & innovation are the name of the game, but some good insights come from the research we did with Kyle Poyar back in October:
- Inbound remains the most common motion overall, especially among companies with higher revenue
- PLG dominates for products with ACVs below $5K, where fast onboarding and built-in virality drive adoption.
- Account-based (ABX) takes the lead above $25K ACV, where personalization and executive buy-in matter most (moats could be
These insights help us find some good candidates for moats, but I don't like to generalize here, since moats totally depend on the product, market, teams' capacities, and strategic choices. More info about our research is presented here if you are interested in learning more
This is the collab of the century! For a guy that loves frameworks and everything well organized, then 1-piece visual frameworks are just the "cherry on top of the cake".
Spot on, Maja. The most critical 'skill stack' for a 2026 founder isn't just knowing GTM; it's the ability to architect the workflows that run it. This 'Ecosystem' approach is one of the best de-risking strategies I’ve seen for early-stage capital.
The idea of making a strategic effort and imagining what the final situation will look like is incredibly useful for achieving the right balance between short-term and long-term goals, which is crucial for startups. Then, breaking it down into quarterly, monthly, and similar steps is essential for linking it to daily operations.
I’ve also been doing this for a while with the startups I mentor in an incubator, and the positive effects are remarkable: more focus and more direction. (Although not all the other advisors like it, but that’s okay.)
How do you determine the elements that will lead you to the endgame—core values, core capabilities, and core choices? Do you base them on the endgame, the short term, or a mix of both?
Also, given that the average lifespan of a startup is 18 months, do you visualize the endgame within that timeframe, or do you look beyond, toward something like: how do you imagine the situation when your product is fully developed?
Hey, so glad you liked the article. Since most GTM companies operate within 3-18 months of lifeline, I am not such a big fan of long-term planning, and I like to work with what I have. When I applied OPE for my new product (more info soon-ish), I realized that there is one critical area of skills I need to attract to my team- so I am recruiting now and learning something new - so yeah, within my limits. I skipped the value part coz because I think that the values in the early stage are just an extension of the founder's values, and whoever can stand to work with me - is a great cultural fit :D hehe - but you know what I mean, right? While I cannot provide much helpful guidance on how to set up core choices, I can tell you that I spent a week in December on my couch thinking about the feature, talking to my colleagues, binge-listening to Hormozi and reading. It was not an enjoyable process, but when I could present this canvas to the team, they immediately grasped it. For more, just read Wes' book and DIY it. It does not really matter how I did it (these are anecdotes) - what matters is what you can get out of it & if it works- how will you teach your teams to use it? Cheers & enjoy the ride.
How is “founder brand moat” and example of #1 moat? Sorry but this sounds like some Silicon Valley bs. Beyond being lazy and using the word “moat” to answer the question of what’s your #1 moat, That’s not a business moat. Or perhaps someone can help me understand that what I’m missing.
Yeah it’s your article and it’s not a sustainable strategy nor helpful for anyone who isn’t already successful. If your core business moat is “I’m famous” you don’t have a strategy. At best you have a way to build early awareness.
This is a great breakdown — and the sneaky value of OPE isn’t the canvas, it’s the forced pain of choosing.
Most founders don’t fail because they picked the wrong moat. They fail because they picked all 15 and called it strategy. The “choose 3” rule is brutal in the best way — it exposes what you’re actually willing to bet the company on vs. what just sounds good in a pitch.
From a GTM O.S. lens, I’d add one gut check:
If Sales, Marketing, Product, and CS can’t all point to the same 3 moats and explain how their work reinforces them… you don’t have moats yet — you have opinions 😅
Curious: which moat do people want to pick most… and which one actually survives contact with customers?
really nice to hear from you & great to connect here too. Hard to tell because I am operating with a very specific sample in my line of work (mainly AI native companies) where speed & innovation are the name of the game, but some good insights come from the research we did with Kyle Poyar back in October:
- Inbound remains the most common motion overall, especially among companies with higher revenue
- PLG dominates for products with ACVs below $5K, where fast onboarding and built-in virality drive adoption.
- Account-based (ABX) takes the lead above $25K ACV, where personalization and executive buy-in matter most (moats could be
These insights help us find some good candidates for moats, but I don't like to generalize here, since moats totally depend on the product, market, teams' capacities, and strategic choices. More info about our research is presented here if you are interested in learning more
https://knowledge.gtmstrategist.com/p/b2b-gtm-2025-report-trends-insights
This is the collab of the century! For a guy that loves frameworks and everything well organized, then 1-piece visual frameworks are just the "cherry on top of the cake".
Great piece of content!
Hey Alex, so glad you liked the collab!!! Thanks so much your kind words.
Believe it of not, Wes and I share B-day - 11th of February - how cool is that.
Do not forget to congratulate us soon :D hehe - have a great weekend & thanks again for your feedback!
Uau didn’t know! Will for sure congratulate you 🙌
Spot on, Maja. The most critical 'skill stack' for a 2026 founder isn't just knowing GTM; it's the ability to architect the workflows that run it. This 'Ecosystem' approach is one of the best de-risking strategies I’ve seen for early-stage capital.
Hi Maja and Wes!
I really love this framework!
The idea of making a strategic effort and imagining what the final situation will look like is incredibly useful for achieving the right balance between short-term and long-term goals, which is crucial for startups. Then, breaking it down into quarterly, monthly, and similar steps is essential for linking it to daily operations.
I’ve also been doing this for a while with the startups I mentor in an incubator, and the positive effects are remarkable: more focus and more direction. (Although not all the other advisors like it, but that’s okay.)
How do you determine the elements that will lead you to the endgame—core values, core capabilities, and core choices? Do you base them on the endgame, the short term, or a mix of both?
Also, given that the average lifespan of a startup is 18 months, do you visualize the endgame within that timeframe, or do you look beyond, toward something like: how do you imagine the situation when your product is fully developed?
Thanks and i love the work you're doing!
Hey, so glad you liked the article. Since most GTM companies operate within 3-18 months of lifeline, I am not such a big fan of long-term planning, and I like to work with what I have. When I applied OPE for my new product (more info soon-ish), I realized that there is one critical area of skills I need to attract to my team- so I am recruiting now and learning something new - so yeah, within my limits. I skipped the value part coz because I think that the values in the early stage are just an extension of the founder's values, and whoever can stand to work with me - is a great cultural fit :D hehe - but you know what I mean, right? While I cannot provide much helpful guidance on how to set up core choices, I can tell you that I spent a week in December on my couch thinking about the feature, talking to my colleagues, binge-listening to Hormozi and reading. It was not an enjoyable process, but when I could present this canvas to the team, they immediately grasped it. For more, just read Wes' book and DIY it. It does not really matter how I did it (these are anecdotes) - what matters is what you can get out of it & if it works- how will you teach your teams to use it? Cheers & enjoy the ride.
Love the breakdown of the OPE framework with examples. This makes it more real and practical.
How is “founder brand moat” and example of #1 moat? Sorry but this sounds like some Silicon Valley bs. Beyond being lazy and using the word “moat” to answer the question of what’s your #1 moat, That’s not a business moat. Or perhaps someone can help me understand that what I’m missing.
Hey Alex, thanks for reading this article and providing your feedback. Here are three examples of founder brands https://knowledge.gtmstrategist.com/p/why-linkedin-matters-or-not-5-strategies, https://www.news.aakashg.com/p/how-lempire-grows, https://www.linkedin.com/in/gymshark/. I suggest you contact the author directly at https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesbush/ regarding your feedback on the methodology. I personally found it helpful.
Yeah it’s your article and it’s not a sustainable strategy nor helpful for anyone who isn’t already successful. If your core business moat is “I’m famous” you don’t have a strategy. At best you have a way to build early awareness.