Business Models
How a company makes money and which models fit which products.
Tech Entrepreneur
Idea
Find a problem worth solving and prove people have it. Where every first-time founder starts.
Core: start here
- Business ModelHow a company creates value, delivers it and gets paid for it.
- B2B vs B2CSelling to businesses versus consumers: different sales, pricing, metrics and pace.
- SaaS Business ModelSelling software as a recurring subscription, and why investors value it.
4 more idea concepts
- Business Model CanvasA one-page template for laying out customers, value, channels, costs and revenue.
- Services to ProductStarting as an agency or consultancy and turning repeated work into a product.
- Two-Sided MarketplaceA platform that matches buyers and sellers and earns from the transactions between them.
- Subscription ModelCharging customers repeatedly for continued access instead of once.
MVP
Ship the smallest thing someone will use or pay for, and set up the company properly.
- API as a ProductSelling programmatic access to a capability, with developers as the customers.
- Open CoreAn open-source product with paid features, hosting or support on top.
- FreemiumA free tier for most users that drives upgrades to paid plans.
Product-Market Fit
Get users who stay, pay and tell others; raise your first real round.
- Chicken-and-Egg ProblemA marketplace needing buyers to attract sellers and sellers to attract buyers.
- Take RateThe share of each transaction a marketplace or platform keeps as revenue.
- Vertical SaaSSoftware built for one industry, deep rather than broad.