In the last years, I’ve been dissecting business models of any type, and companies of any size. At the same time, I’ve been talking, interviewing, and discussing business model and business model innovation with dozens of entrepreneurs and practitioners. I’ve been doing that for several reasons: To gain a better understanding of businesses around me. … Continue reading Eight Things You Need To Know About Business Model Innovation
Dissecting Digital Platform Businesses With Sangeet Paul Choudary
Sangeet Paul Choudary is the best selling co-author of Platform Revolution and author of Platform Scale. Sangeet is also the young global leader at the World Economic Forum and founder at Platform Mission Labs and keynote speaker. What actually drove you to this research into the platform business models? Sangeet Paul Choudary: I got into … Continue reading Dissecting Digital Platform Businesses With Sangeet Paul Choudary
The Complete Guide To Growth Hacking
Growth hacking is a process of rapid experimentation, coupled with the understanding of the whole funnel, where marketing, product, data analysis, and engineering work together to achieve rapid growth. The growth hacking process goes through four key stages of analyzing, ideating, prioritizing and testing. It is critical to integrate growth hacking within your business model … Continue reading The Complete Guide To Growth Hacking
Blue Ocean Strategy: Value Innovation To Create An Uncontested Market
A blue ocean is a strategy where the boundaries of existing markets are redefined, and new uncontested markets are created. At its core, there is value innovation, for which uncontested markets are created, where competition is made irrelevant. And the cost-value trade-off is broken. Thus, companies following a blue ocean strategy offer much more value … Continue reading Blue Ocean Strategy: Value Innovation To Create An Uncontested Market
Microniche: The New Standard In The Era Of Dominating Digital Tech Giants
A microniche is a subset of potential customers within a niche. Identifying a microniche nowadays has become critical to kick off the strategy of an online business. In this article, we’ll see how to do that. Follow along! Niche marketing isn’t enough anymore There used to be a time when starting a business in a … Continue reading Microniche: The New Standard In The Era Of Dominating Digital Tech Giants
What Is Market Segmentation? The Ultimate Guide to Market Segmentation
This is a guide about market segmentation, the technologies that allowed marketers to create more and better-segmented audiences and how the way of communicating changed from mass marketing to one-to-one marketing starting 1920s until today. The guide is divided into three main sections: a brief history of advertising everything you need to know about market … Continue reading What Is Market Segmentation? The Ultimate Guide to Market Segmentation
Marketing Strategy: Definition, Types, And Examples
A marketing strategy can be defined as the “what” a company needs to do and the actions to take to deliver a value proposition that resonates with its target audience. Indeed, a marketing strategy to be effective will need to build a sustainable value chain and as a result a sustainable business model. Marketing has … Continue reading Marketing Strategy: Definition, Types, And Examples
![Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big With Bo Burlingham [Interview]](https://fourweekmba.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/small-giants.jpg)
Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big With Bo Burlingham [Interview]
In today’s session, I had the pleasure to have Bo Burlingham, contributing writer at Forbes, co-founder of the Small Giants Community, former editor-at-large for Inc. Magazine and author of several books among which I really loved and enjoyed Small Giants, which is going to be the topic of this conversation. What drove you to the … Continue reading Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big With Bo Burlingham [Interview]
What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
A business model is a framework for finding a systematic way to unlock long-term value for an organization while delivering value to customers and capturing some of that value through monetization strategies. A business model isn’t just about how a company makes money. But also the kind of incentives it is able to create for its … Continue reading What Is a Business Model? 30 Successful Types of Business Models You Need to Know
What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
A value proposition is about how you create value for customers. Value Proposition Canvas is a methodology which integrated with the business model canvas can help you design a value proposition for your business model. In fact, the value proposition canvas starts from understanding the customer profile and creating a value map to achieve a … Continue reading What Is a Value Proposition? Value Proposition Canvas Explained
A Simple Growth Strategy Framework To Get Your Business Out From The Death Zone
You had a brilliant idea, which inspired you to take action. Quit your 9-to-5 job, and start your own company. After a bunch of pitches, you also managed to get some venture capital funding. However, after growing your company to pass the seven-figure mark, you find yourself close to the death zone. That is a … Continue reading A Simple Growth Strategy Framework To Get Your Business Out From The Death Zone
Idea Generation: How To Enhance Your Creativity Flow For Business Growth
Ever since the Lean Startup became a reality, people like Eric Ries have widely built upon the belief that ideas are overrated. According to this belief, in the entrepreneurial world, success is not about having ideas. That is instead about being able to have a framework that makes you understand what ideas make the most … Continue reading Idea Generation: How To Enhance Your Creativity Flow For Business Growth
What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas In A Nutshell
A business model is a way in which organizations capture value. Not only the economic value but also the social values an organization can foster and the cultural values it can sustain in the long run. In other words, generating a business model isn’t just about how companies make money but how they create value for several … Continue reading What Is a Business Model Canvas? Business Model Canvas In A Nutshell
What Is Bootstrapping? Why A Bootstrapping Business Is The Way To Go
A bootstrapper isnʼt a particular demographic or even a certain financial situation. Instead, itʼs a state of mind. That is how Seth Godin described bootstrapping in his “The Bootstrapper Bible.” As firms which are venture capital backed get so much media attention, it’s easy to miss the other 99% of businesses out there which made … Continue reading What Is Bootstrapping? Why A Bootstrapping Business Is The Way To Go
What Is Niche Marketing And Why You Need A Niche Marketing Strategy
Niche marketing is a strategy which premise is to target a subset of a market which can be of various sizes. Where a marketing strategy focused on the whole potential market used to be effective when mass advertising was possible. A niche marketing strategy can help position your brand more efficiently, nowadays. Niche marketing also … Continue reading What Is Niche Marketing And Why You Need A Niche Marketing Strategy
Continuous Innovation And Lean Startup With Ash Maurya
Ash Maurya is a practitioner and entrepreneur. Author of Running Lean, Scaling Lean and the Lean Canvas, built on top of the Business Model Canvas. Ash is also the founder of LEANSTACK. In this session, we focused on continuous innovation and scaling lean. How did we go from lean manufacturing to continuous innovation? Ash Maurya: If we go back to, let’s … Continue reading Continuous Innovation And Lean Startup With Ash Maurya
How To Build A Digital Marketing Strategy For Long-Term Success
Let me tell you a few fundamental principles to build a digital distribution for your digital business, which I’ve learned at a costly price over the years, after many trials and errors (you don’t have to). There are seven via negativa (not to do!) principles I’ve learned: Don’t build a business based on product features. Don’t wait … Continue reading How To Build A Digital Marketing Strategy For Long-Term Success
![A Guide To Disruptive Business Models With Thales Teixeira [Lecture]](https://fourweekmba.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/disruptive-business-models.png)
A Guide To Disruptive Business Models With Thales Teixeira [Lecture]
For this interview, I have with me Thales Teixeira, professor at Harvard Business School and author of “Unlocking the Customer Value Chain,” (you can download a free chapter of the book here) which is an incredible book and an incredible reading, especially if you’re trying to understand how today’s business world works. I asked Thales … Continue reading A Guide To Disruptive Business Models With Thales Teixeira [Lecture]
How Does Slack Make Money? Slack Business Model In A Nutshell
Slack follows a freemium model, where a free version is offered, and users can convert in paying customers if they want more usage or advanced functionalities. Slack combines the free model with a direct sales force to acquire enterprise customers with yearly recurring revenue of over 100K. Those customers were 575 in 2019, and they … Continue reading How Does Slack Make Money? Slack Business Model In A Nutshell
![Lessons On Running Lean With Ash Maurya [Lecture]](https://fourweekmba.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/running-lean-ash-maurya.png)
Lessons On Running Lean With Ash Maurya [Lecture]
Ash Maurya is a practitioner and entrepreneur. Author of Running Lean, Scaling Lean and the Lean Canvas, built on top of the Business Model Canvas. Ash is also the founder of LEANSTACK. I took the chance to ask Ash a few questions. I tried to limit those as I had so many things I wanted … Continue reading Lessons On Running Lean With Ash Maurya [Lecture]
How Does Pinterest Work And Make Money? Pinterest Business Model In A Nutshell
Pinterest makes money by selling advertising for marketers and companies that can gain visibility for their brands and more sales for their shops. In 2018, Pinterest made over $755 million in advertising revenue, and it had 250 million monthly active users. The foundation of any business model needs to be built on top of a … Continue reading How Does Pinterest Work And Make Money? Pinterest Business Model In A Nutshell
What Is Product-Market Fit? Product-Market Fit In A Nutshell
Marc Andreessen defined Product/market fit as “being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.” In an article entitled “The only thing that matters” Andreessen also highlights a few points: At any given startup, the team will range from outstanding to remarkably flawed; the product will range from a masterpiece of … Continue reading What Is Product-Market Fit? Product-Market Fit In A Nutshell
Amazon Flywheel: Amazon Virtuous Cycle In A Nutshell
The Amazon Flywheel or Amazon Virtuous Cycle is a strategy that leverages on customer experience to drive traffic to the platform and third-party sellers. That improves the selections of goods, and Amazon further improves its cost structure so it can decrease prices which spins the flywheel. This process is well known within Amazon and as … Continue reading Amazon Flywheel: Amazon Virtuous Cycle In A Nutshell
How Does Facebook Make Money? Facebook Business Model In A Nutshell
Facebook makes money with an advertising business model. Almost all the revenue comes from targeted advertising. Indeed, Facebook revenue breakdown in 2018 was: Advertising (over 98% of revenues): it primarily consists of displaying ad products on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and third-party Payments and other fees (less than 2% of total revenues): it consists of the net fee … Continue reading How Does Facebook Make Money? Facebook Business Model In A Nutshell
How Does Netflix Make Money? Netflix Business Model Explained
Netflix is a subscription service which makes money with a simple subscription-based packaging and three subscriptions levels (basic, standard and premium) from which you can get the streaming of all the available series, movies and shows available on the Netflix library. Netflix is changing the way we consume traditional media. From series like Stranger Things, … Continue reading How Does Netflix Make Money? Netflix Business Model Explained
What Is A Technology Adoption Curve? The Five Stages Of A Technology Adoption Life Cycle
In his book, Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers, Geoffrey A. Moore highlights a model that tries to dissect and represent the stages of adoption of high-tech products. More precisely this model goes through five stages. Each of those stages (innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggard) has a … Continue reading What Is A Technology Adoption Curve? The Five Stages Of A Technology Adoption Life Cycle
Business Strategy: Definition, Examples, And Case Studies
This guide follows a logical structure. I start by analyzing the business model of a company, I then apply a business model essence to it, and we then look at either why a company adopted a certain business strategy and what’s next. What is a business strategy? At this stage, it is important to clarify … Continue reading Business Strategy: Definition, Examples, And Case Studies
Digital Business Models Map: The Most Popular Digital Business Model Types
A digital business model might be defined as a model that leverages on digital technology to improve several aspects of an organization. From how customers interact, to how the value proposition is derived, or how monetization happens. We all like to think of digital business models as innovative in their own sake. However, in many … Continue reading Digital Business Models Map: The Most Popular Digital Business Model Types
AI Economy: How Do You Make Money With Machine Learning?
The AI Ecosystem has generated a multi-billion dollar industry, and it all starts from data. Going upward in the value chain there are the Chips (GPUs) that allow the physical storing of Big Data (a dominant player is NVIDIA). That Big Data will need to be stored on platforms and infrastructures that SMEs can’t afford. … Continue reading AI Economy: How Do You Make Money With Machine Learning?
How Amazon Makes Money: Amazon Business Model in a Nutshell
Amazon has a diversified business model. In 2018, online stores contributed to nearly 52% of Amazon revenues, followed by Physical Stores, Third-party Seller Services, AWS, Subscription Services, and Advertising revenues. A quick summary of the Amazon business model Started in 1994 as a bookstore, Amazon soon expanded and became the everything store. While the company core business model is … Continue reading How Amazon Makes Money: Amazon Business Model in a Nutshell
How Does Google Make Money? It’s Not Just Advertising!
Google primarily makes money via its advertising network that in 2017 generated 86% of its revenues. Then, the other side of the business – almost 13% of its revenues in 2017 – comprised money from the Apps, in-app purchases, and digital content in the Google Play store, Google Cloud offering and Hardware products. The remaining part … Continue reading How Does Google Make Money? It’s Not Just Advertising!
Distribution Channels: Types, Functions, And Examples
A distribution channel is the set of steps a good or service has to go through to reach the final consumer. At a higher level, distribution channels can be either direct or indirect. At the same time, direct and indirect distribution channels can have multiple variations, according to how the good or service gets to … Continue reading Distribution Channels: Types, Functions, And Examples
How Does YouTube Make Money? YouTube Business Model In A Nutshell
YouTube makes money based on advertising revenues and paid memberships. Founded in 2005 by former PayPal co-workers (Chad Hurley, Eric Skaggs, Jawed Karim, Martin Pauer, and Steve Chen) YouTube was acquired for almost $1.7 billion in 2006 by Google. We don’t know how much revenues it makes, although it might be a $15 billion per year, based on advertising … Continue reading How Does YouTube Make Money? YouTube Business Model In A Nutshell
What Is The AIDA Model And Why It Matters
AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. This is a model which is used in marketing to describe the potential journey a customer might go through, before purchasing a product or service. The background story of the AIDA model In the late 1800s, an advertising man, E. St. Elmo Lewis explained: The mission of … Continue reading What Is The AIDA Model And Why It Matters
What Is Continuous Innovation And Why It Matters
That is a process that requires a continuous feedback loop to develop a valuable product and build a viable business. Continuous innovation therefore is a mindset which requires a shift in how products and services are developed and delivered. As the digital age enabled easier access to products and service, it becomes critical to have … Continue reading What Is Continuous Innovation And Why It Matters
Email Marketing And Automation: 4 Strategies Worth The Effort
In this day and age, there are about a gazillion ways to make a business thrive, each one promising better results than the next, each one doing things slightly differently than the previous one… But what is the best way to make a business grow and have a steady income? (Source) Email marketing comes as … Continue reading Email Marketing And Automation: 4 Strategies Worth The Effort
10 Technological Trends In Business To Watch Out In The Next Five Years
When a new technology trend shows up, all industries are affected by it. Just think about the way smartphones changed everything. The evolution they brought about is still active. From July 2019, Google made mobile-first indexing a standard. When the original iPhone showed up back in 2007, the tech world assumed it would influence our … Continue reading 10 Technological Trends In Business To Watch Out In The Next Five Years
How China’s Digital Economy Works With Jeffrey Towson
For this episode, we have with us Jeffrey Towson, a keynote speaker on Digital China and Asia tech trends, a business professor at Peking University and author of a great book, which is really a great reading to have a deeper understanding about China, very quickly. The book is called the One-Hour China Book. Let’s … Continue reading How China’s Digital Economy Works With Jeffrey Towson