Brave is an open-source, privacy-centric web browser developed by Brave Software Inc. The company was founded by Brian Bondy and Brendan Eich in 2015. Brave makes the bulk of its revenue through banner advertising. In a rather unique arrangement, Brave users take 70% of the advertising revenue with the company taking the remaining 30%. Brave sells subscriptions to its video conferencing, VPN, and firewall products. It also makes money through affiliate commissions and merchandise sales in its decentralized web store.
Business Model Element | Analysis | Implications | Examples |
---|---|---|---|
Value Proposition | Brave’s value proposition includes: – Privacy and Security: Offering enhanced privacy features, such as blocking trackers, ads, and harmful scripts, to protect users’ online activities. – Fast and Efficient Browsing: Providing a faster browsing experience by blocking ads and trackers that slow down web pages. – Rewarding Content Creators: Allowing users to voluntarily opt into the Brave Rewards program, which compensates content creators with Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) based on user attention. – User Control: Empowering users with greater control over their online experience and data privacy. Brave delivers a unique browsing experience centered around privacy, speed, and user rewards. | Attracts users concerned about online privacy and security. Provides a faster and more efficient browsing experience. Offers a novel model for compensating content creators through BAT rewards. Empowers users with control over their online experience and data. Establishes a strong value proposition in the web browser industry. | – Enhanced privacy and security features. – Faster browsing experience without intrusive ads. – BAT rewards for content creators and users. – User-friendly control over privacy settings. |
Customer Segments | Brave serves the following customer segments: 1. Privacy-Conscious Users: Attracting individuals who prioritize online privacy and security. 2. Content Creators: Offering a platform for content creators to earn BAT rewards from user attention. 3. Advertisers and Marketers: Providing access to the Brave Ads platform for targeted advertising that respects user privacy. 4. Developers: Encouraging developers to build and extend Brave’s functionality through open-source contributions. Brave caters to a diverse range of users, content creators, advertisers, and developers. | Appeals to users who value online privacy and security. Offers content creators an alternative revenue stream through BAT rewards. Provides advertisers with privacy-respecting advertising opportunities. Engages developers in the open-source community to improve the browser. Targets multiple customer segments within the online ecosystem. | – Privacy-conscious individuals concerned about online tracking. – Content creators interested in earning BAT rewards. – Advertisers seeking privacy-respecting ad platforms. – Developers contributing to Brave’s open-source development. |
Distribution Strategy | Brave’s distribution strategy includes: – Browser Downloads: Allowing users to download the Brave browser directly from the official website and app stores. – Partnerships: Collaborating with content creators, publishers, and organizations to promote the browser. – Brave Ads: Offering a platform for targeted advertising while respecting user privacy. – Community Engagement: Building an active user and developer community around the browser. Brave employs browser downloads, partnerships, Brave Ads, and community engagement to distribute its web browser. | Provides accessibility through official website and app stores. Expands its user base through partnerships and promotions. Offers advertisers a platform for privacy-respecting ads. Builds a dedicated community of users and developers. Implements a multi-faceted distribution strategy aligned with its mission. | – Downloads from the official website and app stores. – Partnerships with content creators and organizations. – Brave Ads platform for advertisers. – Engaged user and developer community. |
Revenue Streams | Brave generates revenue through the following channels: 1. Brave Ads: Earning revenue from the Brave Ads platform by providing targeted advertising opportunities to advertisers. 2. BAT Sales: Selling Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) to users who wish to contribute to content creators but do not earn BAT through browsing. 3. Search Engine Partnerships: Earning a share of revenue from search engine partnerships within the browser. 4. Brave Certified Publishers: Earning a share of BAT contributions made by users to content creators. Brave’s revenue primarily comes from Brave Ads, BAT sales, search engine partnerships, and contributions to content creators. | Generates revenue from targeted advertising through Brave Ads. Sells BAT to users who want to contribute to content creators. Earns a share of revenue from search engine partnerships. Shares BAT contributions with Brave Certified Publishers. Diversifies its revenue streams within the privacy-focused browser industry. | – Revenue from targeted advertising on Brave Ads. – Sales of BAT tokens to users. – Shares of revenue from search engine partnerships. – BAT contributions to content creators through the browser. |
Marketing Strategy | Brave’s marketing strategy involves: – Privacy Advocacy: Advocating for online privacy and security through its browser’s features. – Content Creator Partnerships: Collaborating with content creators and publishers to promote BAT rewards and Brave as a platform. – User Education: Providing educational resources and content on privacy and the benefits of the Brave browser. – User Incentives: Encouraging users to refer others to download and use Brave through referral programs. Brave focuses on privacy advocacy, content creator partnerships, user education, and incentives to promote its browser. | Advocates for online privacy and security to attract like-minded users. Collaborates with content creators and publishers to expand its user base. Educates users about the advantages of the Brave browser and BAT rewards. Encourages user referrals through incentive programs for growth. Implements a comprehensive marketing strategy aligned with its mission. | – Advocacy for online privacy and security. – Partnerships with content creators and publishers. – Educational content about Brave and BAT rewards. – User referral programs for growth. |
Organization Structure | Brave’s organizational structure includes: – Development Team: Comprising engineers, developers, and designers responsible for browser development and updates. – Marketing Team: Focusing on marketing campaigns, partnerships, and user engagement. – BAT Platform Team: Managing the Brave Ads platform and BAT-related features. – Community and Support Team: Engaging with the user and developer community and providing customer support. Brave maintains an organized structure to support its browser development, marketing efforts, BAT platform, and community engagement. | Led by a development team responsible for browser development. Employs a marketing team for promotion and partnerships. Manages the BAT platform for advertising. Engages with the community and offers customer support. Maintains an organized structure aligned with its business model and mission. | – Development team for browser development. – Marketing team for promotional efforts. – BAT platform team for advertising. – Community and support team for user engagement. |
Brave origin story
Brave is an open-source web browser developed by Brave Software Inc. Like Google Chrome, Brave is based on the Chromium codebase.
Brave Software was founded in 2015 by Brian Bondy and Brendan Eich, with the first Brave Browser launched in January of the following year.
Brave is privacy-centric, with the browser blocking ads by default and refraining from tracking cookies or collecting IP addresses. What’s more, Brave offers protection against malware and phishing scams.
In June 2018, the company released a pay-to-surf version of Brave. Initially, the browser came preloaded with around 250 advertisements.
As the user surfed the internet, they sent a detailed browsing history log back to the company for the purpose of testing said functionality.
They were also paid in Bitcoin, with the total amount reliant on how many ad impressions they’d received.
The growth of the browser stalled soon after the release of the Brave Payments service, where users receiving Bitcoin could send the currency directly to content publishers.
This happened because users were reluctant to part with their hard-earned Bitcoin.
In 2017, the popularity of cryptocurrency skyrocketed with many holding Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) to take advantage. Brave followed suit, raising $35 million in less than 30 seconds after launching its own currency called Basic Attention Token (BAT).
To attract content creators to its platform, it handed out promotional BAT to YouTube and Twitch users on a first-come-first-served basis.
The following year, Brave grew its user base to around 5.5 million, with many joining the platform to escape Google’s pervasive privacy policies.
The company then entered into multiple new partnerships, allowing Brave users to tip publishers on Twitter, Reddit, and Vimeo.
A video conferencing tool was then developed in 2020 to take advantage of the surge in remote work.
Perhaps the most significant announcement from the company to date came in March 2021. After acquiring the creators behind the open-source search engine Tailcat, Brave launched its own search engine in June and replaced Google as the default option four months later.
Recent figures show Brave had 36.2 million monthly active users, with 12.5 million of those active daily.
Brave revenue generation
Brave generates revenue through a variety of means, including advertising, subscription fees, product sales, and affiliate commissions.
Following is a general description of each.
Advertising
The majority of company revenue comes from banner advertising served to Brave users.
Users who opt to receive ads while browsing take 70% of the ad revenue Brave receives from advertisers. As stated earlier, this is paid in the form of BAT.
Brave then collects the remaining 30%.
Subscriptions
In addition to its browser, Brave also offers ancillary products and services including a firewall, VPN, and video conferencing.
For use of its firewall and VPN services, the company charges $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. The video conferencing tool, Brave Talk, is free to use. But users are charged $7.99 per month if they desire premium features.
Affiliate commissions
Brave also makes money through affiliate links.
Users can purchase various cryptocurrencies through the browser and the company also has a dedicated deals page called Brave Offers.
The page offers heavily discounted products, ranging from smart televisions to online courses.
In both cases, the company receives a portion of the total sales price. Some partnerships with cryptocurrency exchanges also allow the company to be compensated for repeat purchases.
Product sales
Brave also sells physical and digital products through its Swag Store. Most of the items for sale are token-branded merchandise and include jackets, hoodies, children’s apparel, socks, stickers, and hats.
Like the Brave browser, Swag Store is decentralized. It runs on a peer-to-peer distributed file system with zero tracking cookies or scripts.
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