Hey and welcome to The GTMnow E-newsletter – the media model of VC agency, GTMfund.
That is Half 1 of a Collection on the way to construct your GTM moat.
You stayed up all weekend constructing your AI product.
You launch Monday. By Wednesday, there are 5 clones.
One has your tagline, two raised a Seed spherical.
None really feel like yours.
In AI, your tech is not your moat.
Distribution is your moat, and model is the muse of it. Go-to-market is the engine that drives it.
Earlier than the AI tidal wave, earlier than OpenAI hit 100 million customers in two months, and earlier than “wrapper fatigue” turned a meme, we constructed GTMfund’s thesis:
Distribution is the ultimate remaining moat.
We imagine the subsequent era of iconic B2B firms can be constructed on superior distribution and execution.
These have been and can proceed to be the primary and second slides (after the title slide) of our fund decks:
Writing a bit on model being a moat feels inevitable. It’s been a core perception from the start, and can solely proceed to extend in significance.
These slides have remained that approach for over 4 years. The case is barely stronger:
- LLMs are commoditized.
- Options are copied in a weekend.
- Competitors is infinite, consideration is scarce.
- Fundraising is sizzling once more – $100B+ in AI funding in 2024 alone.
Plus, a handful of AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic alone elevating tens of billions of {dollars}.
The paradox?
It’s by no means been simpler to ship.
It’s by no means been tougher to construct one thing that sticks.
So what do you do when your tech moat evaporates?
You construct a distribution moat, and model is the muse.
The businesses that escape (even in crowded, commoditized markets) accomplish that as a result of they craft a transparent Promise, a definite Persona, and a visual, credible set of Folks behind the product.
That is Half 1 of a Collection on the way to construct your GTM moat.
Model is a technique
A number of the most iconic firms on this planet show the influence of name by constructing it as a technique.
Steve Jobs understood this higher than anybody. When he returned to Apple within the late Nineteen Nineties, the corporate was bloated and sliding negatively. His first transfer was to concentrate on rebuilding the model from its core.
“Advertising and marketing is about values,” he informed the group. “We’re not going to get an opportunity to get folks to recollect a lot about us… So we now have to be actually clear about what we wish them to find out about us.”
Elon Musk took a distinct route, however with the identical intent.
“Model is only a notion, and notion will match actuality over time.”
Tesla famously spent $0 on promoting in its early years. As an alternative, Musk targeted on making the product so good that clients would do the distribution for him. In his world, model wasn’t one thing you obtain, it was one thing you earned by exceeding expectations and trusting that notion would observe actuality.
Jeff Bezos, in the meantime, framed model as one thing you’ll be able to’t immediately management – solely earn.
“Your model is what folks say about you while you’re not within the room.”
At Amazon, that meant optimizing for buyer belief from the very starting. Quick supply, obsessive assist, and relentless comfort weren’t simply operational choices, they had been model investments. Should you do construct a terrific expertise, clients inform one another about that. Phrase of mouth may be very highly effective.
And Marc Benioff? He constructed Salesforce on a single perception: that belief is the muse of every thing.
“Belief must be your highest worth. If it’s not, one thing unhealthy goes to occur.”
Salesforce proved that it was dependable with real-time standing dashboards and a cultural mandate to make buyer success the corporate’s core product.
Throughout all of those examples, the sample is obvious:
Model is what you construct, present, and show – from the very starting.
It drives distribution, fuels retention, and builds belief. Model turns into your most defensible moat.
We’re not speaking about logos, fonts, or a Notion doc stuffed with adjectives. We’re speaking about model as a day-zero tactical lever for:
- Distribution
- Retention
- Belief
- Differentiation
- Defensibility
The worth is clear at these later-stage firms, but additionally echoed throughout the earliest levels. Take this instance from a startup that has been rising astronomically, Default:
After working with tons of of early-stage startups, we’ve seen that breakout firms (particularly in AI) construct model on three foundational pillars.
The three pillars of a defensible early-stage model
1. The Promise (what you do)
That is your largest wedge. It’s the precise, repeatable, pressing end result you ship (not a obscure mission assertion).
A transparent promise creates a repeatable narrative, each internally and externally. It drives word-of-mouth, champion enablement, and homepage copy.
Take these examples from firms as inspiration:
- Gong: Flip buyer conversations into strategic progress.
- Loom: Sooner than typing. Constructed for hybrid groups.
- Linear: The difficulty tracker you’ll truly get pleasure from utilizing.
2. The Persona (the way it feels)
Your tone, visuals, movement design, and UX are the emotional layers that makes your product memorable and human.
Take these examples from firms as inspiration:
- Notion: Calm, refined, exact
- Superhuman: Intense, elite, high-performance
- Webflow: Inventive, empowering, competent
To construct this, select 3–5 adjectives. Construct each element – from loading states to error messages – round them. That’s the way you construct emotional differentiation at scale.
3. The Folks (who you’re)
Early customers don’t belief the product, they belief you.
Your model is a mirrored image of the founding group’s credibility, standpoint, and proximity to the issue. In AI, the place every thing feels summary, being seen, human, and intentional helps create that moat.
Take these examples from firms as inspiration:
- Descript: Andrew Mason introduced quirky creativity and media fluency.
- Webflow: Vlad Magdalin made bootstrapping and perception central to the narrative.
- Loom: Joe Thomas turned product updates right into a neighborhood dialog.
Meet your clients the place they’re.
Each founder thread, podcast, and product video is a model artifact. Don’t deal with them as “advertising,” deal with them as moat-building property.
The Day-Zero model playbook
Step 1: Run the “model pillars dash”
Get the group aligned on:
- Promise: Who’s it for? What pressing end result will we ship?
- Persona: What does it really feel like to make use of us?
- Folks: Why are we the group to resolve this?
Create a one-page cheat sheet for each GTM and UX determination.
Step 2: Bake model into product UX
Your UI is your model and probably the most defensible expression of your identification.
Take these examples from firms as inspiration:
- Perplexity’s citations: Proof of accuracy baked into each end result.
- Midjourney’s Discord UI: Looks like a dwell artistic lab.
- Runway’s darkish mode aesthetic: Indicators sophistication and professionalism.
Even your microcopy (from loading bars to 404s) ought to reinforce your voice.
Step 3: Use content material as proof
Content material is your model in movement. Use it to present your model.
An efficient approach of doing that is by means of “IP” knowledge – knowledge that’s distinctive to your organization. Gong has over $300M ARR and pioneered this with Gong Labs.
They turned proprietary knowledge from tens of millions of gross sales calls right into a repeatable content material engine. This created evergreen insights that gas authority, consciousness, and belief throughout your complete gross sales ecosystem.
Each put up reinforces their core model promise: that is the place to go for fact in gross sales.
Different firms are successfully working this playbook additionally, like Carta. They get tons of of hundreds of likes, feedback, and reposts on posts like this. The proprietary knowledge they use for his or her content material demonstrates depth and area possession that others can’t replicate.
Carta’s playbook for viral knowledge storytelling will be learn right here.
Step 4: Founder as Chief Model Officer
The founder is the primary and strongest model channel.
- Share product choices and GTM learnings.
- Doc the early journey — wins and stumbles.
- Be the narrative earlier than anybody else defines it for you.
Founders who construct in public entice expertise, belief, and traction. Should you haven’t learn Founder Model by Dave Gerhardt, it is a masterclass in founder-led model constructing.
Not everybody must function at Elon Musk’s tempo (almost 100 tweets per day) however it proves simply how useful proudly owning the narrative will be when constructing in public.
The one factor they will’t copy
Your tech can be cloned.
Your options can be matched.
Your pricing can be undercut.
However the promise you make, the sensation you create, and the belief you earn – that’s your moat. And it’s constructed from Day Zero.
Tag GTMnow so we will see your takeaways and assist amplify them.
Suggestions
UserEvidence is the client proof platform for GTM groups. UserEvidence makes it straightforward to gather buyer suggestions all through the client lifecycle, curate the very best proof factors, and share it together with your GTM group to make use of.
Additionally they publish assets that can assist you accomplish that, like this nice one:
This useful resource offers you 7 ready-to-use survey templates that can assist you gather the client proof at this time’s patrons demand. Belief is every thing and the market is getting extra aggressive. You want extra proof, and also you want it sooner. These templates make it straightforward.
Seize the templates constructed from 10+ years of survey design expertise and begin gathering buyer proof that sells.
Extra to your eardrums
Stevie Case is the Chief Income Officer at Vanta, the chief in belief administration and compliance automation. Since becoming a member of in 2021, Stevie has scaled the corporate from sub-$20M ARR to north of $100M, navigated 40+ copycat rivals, and led Vanta’s growth from SMB into enterprise.
Vanta simply raised a $150M Collection D and is now valued at over $4 billion.
Hear on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts by looking “The GTMnow Podcast.”
Startups to observe
Doc Crunch – launched CrunchAI™ for Specs — constructed for pre-construction and venture groups who must catch scope gaps, obscure phrases, and hidden dangers earlier than they turn into pricey disputes. Extending its AI Threat Discount Platform past contracts, it helps estimators, PMs, and area groups defend earnings, ship on schedule, and construct with readability and belief. Doc Crunch additionally simply positioned No. 311 on the 2025 Inc. 5000 listing, rating within the high 6% of the fastest-growing personal firms in America, and No. 29 in Software program class nationwide.
Opus – launched the waitlist for Agent Opus, the primary AI video agent constructed for social that turns your concepts into scroll-stopping movies throughout YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, and extra. Eight specialised AI brokers deal with every thing from analysis and scripting to hook design, movement graphics, and modifying. You possibly can be part of the waitlist right here.
Something – after racking up 3.2M views and 550K+ customers at launch, is redefining how software program will get constructed. Its AI agent turns a easy immediate into totally useful cellular and net apps, all in minutes, no code required. It simply went dwell on Product Hunt – present some love with an Upvote.
Extra to your eyeballs
ZoomInfo CRO James Roth shares how he hires transformational GTM expertise whereas processing hundreds of purposes. From the “Calculator Take a look at” that exposes pretend performers, to sourcing 90% of VP+ hires from his buyer/vendor community, to focusing on performance-background candidates who thrive on powerful suggestions.
Clari and Salesloft are merging to create a $10T “Income AI” powerhouse, uniting billions of purchaser indicators to remodel how groups shut offers. Not with out some commentary from Gong’s CEO.
Hottest GTM jobs of the wek
- Senior Software program Engineer – Full Stack at Amper (Distant – Chicago)
- Employees Software program Engineer at Esper (Austin, TX)
- Lifecycle Advertising and marketing Supervisor at Gorgias (Paris, France)
- Founding NYC Software program Engineer at Equi (NY, USA)
- Provide Affiliate at Patch (San Francisco, USA)
See extra high GTM jobs on the GTMfund Job Board.
Should you’re trying to scale your gross sales and advertising groups with high expertise, we couldn’t advocate our associate Pursuit extra. We work carefully collectively to have the ability to present the highest go-to-market expertise for firms on a non-retainer foundation.
GTM business occasions
Upcoming go-to-market and VC occasions you gained’t wish to miss:
- INBOUND 2025: September 3-5, 2025 (San Francisco, CA)
- GTMfund Dinner SF (personal registration): September 10, 2025 (San Francisco, CA)
- Pavilion GTM Summit: September 23-25, 2025 (Washington, DC)
- Dreamforce: October 14-16, 2025 (San Francisco, CA)
- GTMfund Dinner (personal registration): October 22, 2025 (Austin, TX)
- GTMfund Dinner (personal registration): November 18, 2025 (Toronto, ON)
- GTMfund Dinner (personal registration): November 19, 2025 (New York, NY)
- GTMfund Dinner (personal registration): November 19, 2025 (New York, NY)
