Instead of charging doctors for its valuable productivity tools, Doximity offers them for free to maximize user engagement. This creates a highly concentrated, valuable audience of physicians, which is then monetized through targeted advertising from pharmaceutical companies, its primary revenue source.

The stickiest software is critical but inexpensive relative to a customer's overall budget, like payroll services. This 'Goldilocks zone' makes the software too small a cost for C-suite review, yet too embedded to easily replace, creating a powerful moat.

The ultimate PLG companies are consumer brands like shampoo, which sell on brand affinity, not commoditized features. As software becomes more commoditized, B2B companies must similarly build a strong brand theme that inspires users to associate with them, creating a more durable moat than features alone.

When asked if AI commoditizes software, Bravo argues that durable moats aren't just code, which can be replicated. They are the deep understanding of customer processes and the ability to service them. This involves re-engineering organizations, not just deploying a product.

AI capabilities offer strong differentiation against human alternatives. However, this is not a sustainable moat against competitors who can use the same AI models. Lasting defensibility still comes from traditional moats like workflow integration and network effects.

The long-held belief that a complex codebase provides a durable competitive advantage is becoming obsolete due to AI. As software becomes easier to replicate, defensibility shifts away from the technology itself and back toward classic business moats like network effects, brand reputation, and deep industry integration.

As AI and no-code tools make software easier to build, technological advantage is no longer a defensible moat. The most successful companies now win through unique distribution advantages, such as founder-led content or deep community building. Go-to-market strategy has surpassed product as the key differentiator.

Doximity's product development is 'unapologetically' focused on increasing doctor productivity and saving them time. This user-centric approach builds deep engagement and trust, creating the highly valuable physician audience that forms the foundation of its advertising-based business model.

Unlike incumbents, new biotech and pharma companies often lack established sales forces. They launch with a 'digital first' go-to-market strategy, turning to platforms like Doximity early in their lifecycle. This creates a new and rapidly growing customer segment for Doximity, independent of the incumbents' slower transition.