I believe that IT companies with barriers are more likely to scale. However, this doesn’t mean that companies without barriers can’t scale – they can.

When investors back companies without barriers they are typically relying more heavily on management to penetrate the market and ‘out run’ the competition. While these types of bets can pay off for investors, it’s generally less risky for VCs to back companies that benefit from both strong management and barriers.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't pursue opportunities that don't have natural barriers, but you should understand that not having barriers may make both growing your company and fundraising more difficult.