Mark Sellers: Technology Is Not an Economic Moat

==Economic Moat== refers to: A company's ability to maintain a competitive advantage over its rivals, protecting long-term profits and market share.

Elements that do not constitute an economic moat:

• Technology. Technology will ultimately be replicated.
• Extensive reading. ==Reading can only help one keep pace with others.== In the industry, everyone reads a lot of books; even reading more than others does not necessarily make you more competitive.
• Master's degrees or other degrees from top universities. These degrees often lead to high salaries, even if they are in stark contrast to what successful investors do.
• Experience. Some degree of experience is necessary to participate in the economic game, but in certain cases, this experience may not be helpful.

Elements that constitute an economic moat:

1. Economies of scale and scope. For example, companies like Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe's.
2. Network effects. For example, eBay and Mastercard.
3. Intellectual property, such as patents and trademarks.
4. High customer switching costs. For example, Paychex and Microsoft.