andrewjrg85
New member
People often say “scratch your own itch” or “find someone with a problem”. I find this advice rather frustrating for a number of reasons I won’t go into right now. The following are an incomplete list of business models which I’ve listed to help you brainstorm ideas for your next startup! Let me know what you think I’m missing or additional thoughts
- Find a parade — Find people who are already part of a growing movement and get in front of them. Infiltrate, bring them together, speak their language and “be the DJ”
- Makeover — 10x something that exists. Make it niche-specific, more accessible, better designed, or faster time-to-fun
- Expedite — Find something people do repetitively, and help them do it faster
- Made Easier — Find something difficult or repetitive that people do and make it easier for them
- X but for Y — Tweak an existing application, framework, or model… Apply it to a different audience or a subset of who it is currently offered to
- Agency — White glove bespoke / tailored services for high-value customers
- Convenience — Value offered comes primarily in convenience, bargain, and/or regularity
- Variety — Take something people already like to buy and offer more options
- Customization — Deliver a one-size fits all service with customizable upgrades
- Kingmaker — Provide ownership (however temporary), high-value network, club, recognition, pedigree, or exclusive access
- Database — Sell access to an up-to-date collection of data
- Platform — Give people the ability to build or reach an audience
- Double-Sided Marketplace — Roll-up or unbundle transactions of goods & services
- By-product — Look to waste, underleveraged utility, or excess output. Look for what can be upcycled or re-purposed
- Brand — Package an experience or normal thing, but make it special with craftsmanship, celebrity endorsement, special ingredients, and/or cool-factor
- Discount — Give people a deal in virtue of your leveraged connection to a supplier or manufacturer. Provide a cheaper alternative, or help them buy together in bulk
- Arbitrage — Find something you can re-sell for more than you acquired it for
- Add-on — Integrate with a product or service to add value
- Turn-key — Sell an opportunity that has a proven clear path to success
- Educate — Sell opportunity and hope through courses or curriculum. Synthesize and bundle information
- Freemium — Give away a product/service in order to attract a % of enterprise customers
- Productized Service — Streamline the delivery of a service by automating aspects which allow you to charge less
- Automation — Take a manual process which is human-intensive and make machines do it
- Licensing — Leverage or develop intellectual property. Create a governing body.
- Picks & Shovels — Own the pipes. Procure the means of distribution, manufacturing, or discovery
- Trend Chasing — Look for shifts in policy, regulations, or culture which unlock new opportunities
- Pair down — Feature-bloated apps often have a single feature that gets used most by a specific subset of users. Build only that feature and communicate the value clearly
- Gamify — Find something mundain that can be made fun using game mechanics & reward systems
- Vanity — People like to talk about themselves or showcase their ideas, values, and experiences (especially to like-minded people)
- Match-Making — Dating, hook-ups, and friend-finding
- Endless scroll — Create consistently good content (or leverage someone else’s content)
- Rage — People like to vent and righteous anger is addictive. It solidifies “in-group mentality” by letting them feel affirmed in their position
- Scarcity — Create unique and limited runs of something that can become collectable