Business Models That Rocked 2010

[tomh-]

http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/07/10-business-models-that-rocked-2010/

[mahmud]

Here is the actual site, without the blogspam.

http://www.boardofinnovation.com/2011/01/04/10-business-mode...

[bayareaguy]

The models, from the slideshare notes[1]

  PatientsLikeMe.com
  Flattr.com
  Groupon.com
  Spotify.com
  PayWithaTweet.com
  HumbleBundle.com
  Free with in-app sales
  Quirky.com
  Airbnb.com
  Kickstarter.com

1- http://www.slideshare.net/boardofinnovation/10-business-mode...

[rsepassi]

Very interesting that more subscription models didn't make the list (Spotify is the closest but so few people opt for premium).

And I only really see 4 business models here:

Take a cut: Flattr, GroupOn, HumbleBundle, Quirky (40% of sales), Airbnb, Kickstarter

Razor & Blades: Free with in-app sales

Fee-based: Quirky (the $99 fee)

Ads: Spotify, PatientsLikeMe

And Paywithatweet does not seem to have a way to make money.

I really like subscriptions, fees, and razor & blades. Take a cut is pretty good too, but you take the risk that nothing (or not much) gets sold. I don't like ads very much; the entire incentive structure is totally messed up. If you're not getting paid by your users, but rather by advertisers, you're not incentivized to create value for your users. There will be conflicts between the interests of users and the interests of advertisers, and given the incentive structure, over time and on average the interests of the advertisers will win out.

What do you guys think? Any favorite business models or ones you particularly dislike?

[sz]

Are users of #1 aware of what's going on?

[joelhaasnoot → sz]

Does indeed seem high on the "scam factor". Not something I would like to see happen if I used the site.

[dhimes → sz]

Wow. I wonder how upset they are going to be when they are denied insurance? And they'll probably sit there wondering why it happened. But if you try to tell them now they will blow you off.

[noodle → sz]

ah, confused for a second. by #1, you mean the first company in the slide deck, patientslikeme not the one labeled #1, airbnb, i'm assuming.

[sz → noodle]

haha yeah, sorry.

[naner]

What happens with the money pledged on Kickstart if the inventor fails to produce? Is any of it held in escrow until the product is delivered or what?

[NIL8]

I thought the slide show was designed very well. Simple and informative. It was a great way to get to know these companies and their business models.

[hajrice]

I'm kind of surprised that Groupon's business model isn't #1. It seemed to have the most influence and made most cash(again, this DOES depend on the market, but still...I highly doubt the market's are that different as the revenues between these companies are).

[chunkbot → hajrice]

Groupon is worth more than all the other entries x10-100.

[gacba]

Is anyone else annoyed at PayWithATweet.com being called a "business model"? This feels more like the eyeballs-as-valuation strategy of the DotCom era, and equally flawed. The fact that you can get someone (or a whole bunch of them) to tweet about your product does not mean they will (ever) pay for something.

[felix0702]

Would it be even more successful if Groupon model adds what PayWithATweet does? When a Groupon user is happily taking a huge discount on a product, shouldn't be that hard to ask this user to take extra step to share this product information to his/her friends.

[siglesias]

I think good 'ol selling shit was a reinvigorated business model. Rovio?

[erikstarck]

Happy to see two of them coming from Sweden (Spotify and Flattr).