Gtm Moat Series Distribution. Hello and welcome to the GTMnow Blog, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund. Build, scale and invest with the best minds in tech.This is Part II of a series on how to build your GTM moat.
s is Part II of a series on how to build your GTM moat. You can find Part I on brand.
In AI, your product won’t be your moat for long — your go-to-market will be. Features get copied in days, hype cycles burn fast, and benchmarks have skyrocketed. Distribution has become the final remaining moat, and founders who recognize this from Day 0 are the ones breaking out.
In the latest GTM Deconstructed series, we deconstructed Gamma’s go-to-market. Their superior distribution greatly credited to their creator-first strategy was a catalyst in their exponential growth.
The founder’s journey has always followed two simple rules:
No customers, no business
No growth, no capital
While those rules haven’t changed, but the source of defensibility has. Today, the bar is much higher.
Looking at the benchmarks from firms like a16z, the trend is clear. The most successful Gen AI founders are not just building product, they’re building distribution in parallel with their product.
In AI, founders who focus on distribution are creating a moat that protects their business from being copied. This is the new reality for entrepreneurs.
Distribution vs. Go-to-Market: know the difference
First, it’s important to understand what distribution means and how it fits into the greater go-to-market strategy.
Distribution is your system of channels for consistently reaching your target customers and turning them into paying users. Think of it as the pathways your product travels to get into a customer’s hands. These pathways can include: direct sales, content, partnerships, community, and more.
Go-to-market (GTM). Distribution is a critical component within a GTM strategy. GTM is the full blueprint: who you’re selling to, your pricing, your messaging, and which distribution channels you’ll use to win.
Understanding this difference is crucial for AI companies looking to establish a strong market presence.
Why a great product isn’t enough
As investors, we see companies with solid products get beaten by competitors with superior distribution all the time.
A superior distribution strategy can beat a comparable (or even slightly better) product. It happens all the time.
The “one channel” playbook
The founders who nail distribution early don’t try to be everywhere. They find one, maybe two, channels and absolutely crush them by building a playbook that is highly specific to their customers.
- Above the Fold (for marketers): February 9-11, 2026 (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
- Spryng (for marketers): March 24-26, 2026 (Austin, TX)
1. Become an expert on your customer
Go deeper than demographics. You need to obsessively understand your customer’s world. Where do they spend their time online and offline? Who do they trust for advice? What podcasts do they listen to on their commute? How do they actually make buying decisions?
2. Find your arena
Once you know where they are, find an arena where you can realistically win. It doesn’t have to be an undiscovered channel, but it should be a place where competitors are weak or your unique approach can cut through the noise.
3. Craft your hook
You need a compelling value proposition tailored specifically for that channel. This isn’t your marketing tagline; it’s the “hook” that will grab their attention in that context.
4. Deliver in-channel value
Provide unique value within the channel itself, before asking for anything in return. Create a high-signal community, offer proprietary data, or share incredibly relevant insights. Give them a reason to pay attention.
5. Go all-in, then expand
Once a playbook works, double down until you see diminishing returns. Master it and own it. Only then should you begin to diversify.
The goal is to find a channel where you can win. Sometimes that means entering a crowded space but with a more creative and specific approach.
This creates a classic carrot-and-stick scenario for founders.
The Stick: The expectations for growth are higher and faster than ever before. You can no longer afford to figure out your go-to-market strategy after you’ve built your product. A sharp, deliberate plan for distribution from day one is now a requirement for survival.
The Carrot: You have more powerful tools, data, and creative channels at your disposal than any generation of founders before you. Small, scrappy teams can now run plays that used to require Series B funding and a full marketing department.
Startups to watch
Tavus raised a $40M Series B to build human computing with PALs: emotionally intelligent AI agents that see, hear, remember, and talk to you like a friend or coworker.
By focusing on distribution and building a strong go-to-market strategy, startups can establish a lasting presence in the market and outperform competitors.
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This article is just a snippet of the full content from The GTM Moat Series: Distribution is the Final Moat.
This blog post was written and edited by Paul Irving, Sophie Buonassisi, Max Altschuler and the GTMfund team (not AI!).
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