As Peter Thiel observed, in the &quot;ideal state&quot; of capitalism, <i>profit is impossible</i>. Perfect competition drives profits to zero. <i>All</i> profit in capitalist systems results from various forms of friction - imperfections in &quot;perfect competition&quot;. Barriers to entry are an imperfection.<p>We&#x27;re not in the startup world out of an ideological obsession with the perfectly spherical cows of economic fantasy. We&#x27;re here to make money (among other things). We are trying to build high-growth sustainable business models. That means high profits, much higher than can be achieved in highly competitive industries.<p>Perhaps we shouldn&#x27;t be saying &quot;monopoly&quot; so much as high demand, low competition, high barrier to entry.