Startups For the Rest of UsRob WallingAll episodes
Episode 855 | The Eight SaaS Moats that Still Work in the Age of AI
With
Einar Vollset
Hosted by
Rob Walling
Which SaaS moats are left in 2026?
In this episode, Rob Walling and Einar Vollset walk through the 10 ways AI is attacking SaaS companies, from customers vibe coding the app to per-seat revenue disappearing entirely. They then dig into the 8 moats they believe still work in the age of AI, with real examples like Stripe, Gusto, SignWell, and Gymdesk.
They finish with how founders can go on offense, including why the biggest opportunity may be to stop selling the tool and start doing the work.
Topics we cover:
- (06:02) – The SaaSpocalypse and conflicting market signals
- (07:24) – How Einar researched durable SaaS moats
- (11:48) – Which SaaS businesses AI will flatten
- (14:20) – Attacks 1 and 2: Customers vibe code, competitors catch up
- (16:52) – Attack 3: Open source gets good enough
- (17:23) – Attack 4: Platforms ship your feature free
- (18:06) – Attack 5: Custom software at SaaS-ish prices
- (19:11) – Attack 6: AI models absorb your product
- (19:57) – Attack 7: Your customers stop existing
- (21:48) – Attack 8: Per-seat revenue disappears
- (22:45) – Attack 9: The roles you serve vanish
- (23:25) – Attack 10: Your workflow step becomes obsolete
- (24:09) – Old moats that no longer protect you
- (25:56) – Eight moats that still work today
- (26:30) – Moat 1: Buyers know and trust you
- (28:28) – Moat 2: You're the system of record
- (30:10) – Moat 3: You're allowed to act
- (31:28) – Moat 4: Customers don't check your work
- (32:51) – Moat 5: Someone official already said yes
- (36:08) – Moat 6: Everyone's already in it
- (38:03) – Moat 7: Every customer makes you smarter
- (40:47) – Moat 8: It's hard to keep running
- (44:14) – How do we not get sideswiped by AI?
- (54:46) – Why learning loops are the strongest moat
Links from the show:
- Moats Slides, Summary, and Live Q&A
- TinySeed
- MicroConf
- Discretion Capital
- SignWell
- Gymdesk
- Reimbi
- Sidekick Learning
- Ep. 851 | The Messy Middle of a SaaS Pivot
- Stripe Radar
- Gusto
- ScrapingBee
- Pieter Levels X post
- 10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy
- Ep. 842 | What is the Future of SaaS in an AI World? (Rob Solo)
- Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X
- Einar Vollset (@einarvollset) | X
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!
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