The 55 Business Models: Your Toolkit for Starting a Business

Below you will find a brief overview of all 55 business models. Each model is a proven principle that you can adapt to suit your own venture.

1. Add-on

Logic: The core product is offered at a low price, while profit is generated through add-on services. Customers pay for features that go beyond the basic package.
Practical example: Budget airlines such as Ryanair attract customers with low fares, but generate profits through baggage fees, seat reservations, and snacks.
Relevance for founders: The add-on model is particularly attractive in markets with strong price pressure. Founders can keep the entry price low while still operating profitably. It is important to validate customers' willingness to pay for extras at an early stage.

2. Affiliation

Logic: Businesses earn through commissions by referring customers to partners. They act as intermediaries or multipliers.
Practical example: Amazon Affiliate – bloggers or website owners recommend products and receive a commission for every purchase.
Relevance for founders: Particularly attractive in online marketing, as it is scalable with low start-up costs. However, it is heavily dependent on reach and partners.

3. Aikido

Logic: Market leaders are not attacked head-on, but outmanoeuvred through a radically opposing offer.
Practical example: Swatch broke with the Swiss watchmaking logic of "quality = precision" and focused on affordable, fashionable lifestyle watches.
Relevance for founders: Well suited to markets dominated by established players. Founders can achieve differentiation by deliberately acting against industry norms.

4. Auction

Logic: Products or services are auctioned rather than offered at a fixed price, allowing the market price to form dynamically.
Real-world example: eBay revolutionised the second-hand market through online auctions.
Relevance for founders: Particularly suitable when supply and demand fluctuate, or when scarcity is a key value driver.

5. Barter

Logic: Services are not paid for with money but exchanged directly.
Practical example: Bartercard – a global network that enables barter trade between businesses.
Relevance for founders: Highly useful in early stages when capital is scarce. This allows initial services or products to be exchanged without risking liquidity.

6. Cash Machine

Logic: Customers pay upfront, before the service is delivered – this secures liquidity.
Practical example: Gyms with annual membership fees or SaaS models with prepaid subscriptions.
Relevance for founders: Simplifies financing, as upfront payments serve as seed capital. Risk: Customers must trust that the service will be delivered reliably.

7. Cross-Selling

Logic: Alongside the main product, complementary add-on products are systematically sold to increase the average basket value.
Practical example: Banks offer insurance products or credit cards alongside current accounts.
Relevance for founders: Particularly valuable when customer acquisition is costly. This model significantly increases customer lifetime value.

8. Crowdfunding

Logic: Many small investors finance the project, often combined with pre-orders.
Practical example: Kickstarter or Seedmatch – products are pre-financed before they exist.
Relevance for founders: Provides capital alongside simultaneous proof of market. Risk: If the campaign fails, the signal it sends is negative.

9. Crowdsourcing

Logic: Companies outsource tasks to the crowd, typically via digital platforms.
Practical example: Wikipedia as a collaborative project involving millions of users.
Relevance for founders: Reduces costs, drives innovation and speed. Challenge: Quality assurance and keeping the crowd motivated.

10. Customer Loyalty

Logic: Customer retention through reward systems, points, or status benefits.
Practical example: Miles & More, Payback.
Relevance for founders: Customer retention reduces acquisition costs in the long term. Ideal in markets where switching barriers are low.

11. Digitisation

Logic: Analogue products or services are digitalised, making them more scalable, more cost-effective, and more accessible.
Practical example: Spotify revolutionised the music industry by replacing physical media with streaming.
Relevance for founders: Digitalisation enables significant economies of scale and global reach, but requires a robust IT infrastructure. Founders should assess early on whether their solution can be digitalised in order to unlock growth potential.

12. Direct Selling

Logic: Products or services are sold directly to the customer without intermediaries.
Practical example: Dell relied on direct sales of computers for many years – with customised configuration.
Relevance for founders: Direct sales creates closeness to the customer and saves on intermediary margins, but requires strong sales capabilities. Particularly interesting for start-ups with a high level of consultancy involvement.

13. E-Commerce

Logic: Sales run entirely through digital channels. Customers buy online rather than in-store.
Real-world example: Zalando radically shifted fashion retail to the internet and built trust through processes such as free returns.
Relevance for founders: Low barriers to entry, but high competition. A strong USP and a clear customer experience are decisive.

14. Experience Selling

Logic: The purchase is enhanced by an emotional experience that goes beyond the product itself.
Practical example: Apple Stores stage the brand as a lifestyle experience.
Relevance for founders: Particularly powerful for products that require explanation or face strong competition. Differentiation is achieved through storytelling, staging, and customer experience.

15. Flat Rate

Logic: Customers pay a fixed amount and receive unlimited access to services.
Practical example: Netflix offers unlimited streaming for a monthly flat fee.
Relevance for founders: Flat rate pricing increases predictability, but often reduces margins. Particularly suitable when variable costs are low.

16. Fractional Ownership

Logic: Multiple users share ownership of a high-value product.
Real-world example: Shared private jets or timesharing in holiday apartments.
Relevance for founders: Reduces entry barriers for expensive goods, but requires trust and contractual clarity. Particularly attractive in markets with high acquisition hurdles.

17. Franchising

Logic: A proven business model is licensed out. The franchisor provides the brand, processes, and support, while the franchisee operates locally.
Real-world example: McDonald's as a global franchise system.
Relevance for founders: Franchising carries less risk than a traditional start-up, but comes with limited freedom. Founders benefit from brand strength, yet must accept predefined guidelines.

18. Freemium

Logic: The basic version is free, while premium features come at a cost.
Real-world example: Spotify and LinkedIn use the freemium model with great success.
Relevance for founders: Enables rapid reach, but monetisation must be clearly defined. Risk: A large number of free users, but too few paying customers.

19. From Push to Pull

Logic: Instead of "pushing" customers through advertising, they are "pulled" in by the attractiveness of the offer.
Practical example: Google AdWords – customers actively search for solutions and are directed to relevant offers.
Relevance for founders: Marketing efficiency increases as customer needs are placed at the centre. However, this requires a relevant product with genuine added value.

20. Guaranteed Availability

Logic: Customers pay for reliable availability, not just the product itself.
Practical example: Rolls-Royce sells "Power by the Hour" – guaranteed engine availability rather than engines.
Relevance for founders: Particularly interesting for B2B start-ups offering critical services. Provides differentiation through security and reliability.

21. Hidden Revenue

Logic: The customer apparently pays nothing, while revenues come from hidden sources – often advertising or data.
Practical example: Google offers search services free of charge, yet earns billions through advertising.
Relevance for founders: Attractive because reach grows more quickly, but there is a risk of dependency on third parties (e.g. advertisers). Founders must carefully assess whether the monetisation model is sustainable.

22. Ingredient Branding

Logic: A product gains value through the integration of a strong brand.
Practical example: "Intel Inside" turned the microchip into a quality hallmark for PCs.
Relevance for founders: Works when founders operate as suppliers and can make their brand a differentiating factor. Strong potential when partnerships are realistic.

23. Integrator

Logic: All steps in the value chain are handled by the company itself – no dependency on partners.
Real-world example: Zara controls design, production and sales entirely in-house.
Relevance for founders: Increases control and margins, but requires capital and competence across the entire chain.

24. Layer Player

Logic: Specialise in one layer of the value chain – and dominate it with outstanding excellence.
Practical example: PayPal focuses on the payment process, not on e-commerce itself.
Relevance for founders: Ideal when you can serve a niche exceptionally well. Works particularly well in B2B markets.

25. Leverage Customer Data

Logic: Customer data is used to improve products or generate new revenue streams.
Practical example: Facebook monetises data through targeted advertising.
Relevance for founders: Data is gold – but beware: data protection and trust are critical factors.

26. Licensing

Logic: Products or technologies are not sold but licensed.
Real-world example: Microsoft earns billions through software licences.
Relevance for founders: An attractive model for tech start-ups that can protect and monetise intellectual property. High long-term margins are achievable.

27. Lock-in

Logic: Customers are retained through high switching costs.
Practical example: Apple combines hardware, software and services in a way that makes switching unattractive.
Relevance for founders: Lock-in can secure strong loyalty, but only if the customer value proposition holds up. Artificial barriers without added value lead to frustration.

28. Long Tail

Logic: Many niche products together make up a large market.
Practical example: Amazon generates massive revenue through the sum of thousands of niche sales.
Relevance for founders: Ideal for platforms and e-commerce. Requires strong logistics or digital infrastructure.

29. Make More of It

Logic: By-products or waste materials are monetised as new products.
Practical example: Dairies sell whey (formerly a waste product) as a fitness drink.
Relevance for founders: The sustainability trend makes this model particularly attractive. Founders can unlock additional revenue streams.

30. Mass Customisation

Logic: Products are individually customised but produced at mass-manufacturing costs.
Practical example: Nike enables individual shoe designs ("Nike ID").
Relevance for founders: Offers differentiation through personalisation. Technologically demanding, but highly customer-centric.

31. No Frills

Logic: Everything superfluous is stripped away – what remains is an extremely competitive base offering.
Practical example: Aldi and Southwest Airlines have relied on minimalism and efficiency for decades.
Relevance for founders: Attractive for markets with price-sensitive customers. A word of caution, however: the USP must be consistently grounded in cost efficiency. Every unnecessary addition puts the model at risk.

32. Open Business

Logic: Knowledge, technologies or resources are made openly available to engage external partners.
Real-world example: Tesla released its patents to advance electric mobility as a whole.
Relevance for founders: Open models increase reach and innovation capacity, but carry the risk of imitation. Particularly effective in ecosystem strategies.

33. Open Source

Logic: Software or technology is released for free, with revenue generated through services, support, or premium versions.
Real-world example: Red Hat built its business on support services around Linux.
Relevance for founders: Open source drives community growth, but monetisation must be clearly defined. Risk: Many users, little revenue.

34. Orchestrator

Logic: A company coordinates a network of partners without delivering all services itself.
Practical example: Nike barely manufactures anything itself, but instead orchestrates suppliers worldwide.
Relevance for founders: Enables rapid scaling and reduces your own capital commitment. However, dependency on partners must be actively managed.

35. Pay per Use

Logic: Customers pay only for actual usage.
Practical example: Car-sharing providers such as Share Now or cloud services like AWS.
Relevance for founders: Lowers the barrier to entry for customers. However, it can be risky for founders when usage fluctuates – fixed costs still need to be covered.

36. Pay What You Want

Logic: Customers decide the price themselves.
Practical example: Radiohead released an album that fans could download at a price of their own choosing.
Relevance for founders: More of a marketing or PR tool than a long-term model. Only works with strong customer loyalty and a community effect.

37. Peer to Peer

Logic: Users offer services directly to other users – the platform merely acts as an intermediary.
Real-world example: Airbnb and Uber have revolutionised the markets for accommodation and mobility.
Relevance for founders: Highly scalable, but with regulatory risks. Only successful with network effects and trust.

38. Performance-based Contracting

Logic: Payment is made only when agreed outcomes are achieved.
Practical example: Energy-saving contracting – providers are paid per kilowatt-hour saved.
Relevance for founders: Strong incentive to actually deliver value. However, there is risk when outcomes are not within your control.

39. Razor and Blade

Logic: Base product priced low, consumables or add-on products priced high.
Real-world example: Gillette sells razors cheaply but makes its money on replacement blade purchases.
Relevance for founders: Works well for products with a high repurchase compulsion. Risk: Customers can quickly feel exploited if the price ratio becomes too extreme.

40. Rent Instead of Buy

Logic: Instead of purchasing, customers pay for time-limited use.
Practical example: Car rental companies, modern rental platforms such as Grover (electronics).
Relevance for founders: Particularly compelling in markets where ownership is expensive or inflexible. However, cash flow can be volatile.

41. Revenue Sharing

Logic: Revenue is shared between multiple parties – typically between the platform and content providers.
Real-world example: YouTube shares advertising revenue with creators.
Relevance for founders: Ideal for platform models to create incentives for partners. Challenge: finding a fair distribution that motivates both sides over the long term.

42. Reverse Engineering

Logic: Successful products are analysed, replicated, and offered at a lower price or with improved features.
Practical example: Many Asian electronics manufacturers adapted Western devices.
Relevance for founders: Enables rapid market entry, but carries legal risks (patents, copyrights). Advantage: Proof of market already exists.

43. Reverse Innovation

Logic: Products are developed in emerging markets and subsequently launched successfully in developed markets.
Practical example: GE Healthcare developed affordable ultrasound devices for India – and later sold them in the USA as well.
Relevance for founders: Opportunities lie in cost-consciousness and frugal innovation. Founders with a global perspective can unlock large markets here.

44. Robin Hood

Logic: Wealthy customers subsidise lower-income ones by combining different pricing models.
Practical example: Grameen Bank provided micro-loans to those in need, financed by more affluent customers.
Relevance for founders: Well suited to social business models or impact start-ups. Balance is key: cross-subsidisation must not lead to losses.

45. Self-Service

Logic: Customers take on parts of the value creation process themselves – such as ordering, configuration, or operation.
Practical example: IKEA reduces costs by having customers assemble furniture themselves.
Relevance for founders: Increases efficiency and lowers costs, but can affect customer satisfaction. Must be communicated clearly.

46. Shop in Shop

Logic: Brands use space within existing stores of other retailers.
Practical example: Douglas integrates branded counters into its branches.
Relevance for founders: Reduces market entry barriers and rental costs. Particularly interesting for B2C startups with physical products.

47. Solution Provider

Logic: Instead of offering individual products, a company sells complete solutions to customer problems.
Practical example: IBM transformed itself from a hardware manufacturer into a full-service provider.
Relevance for founders: Strengthens customer loyalty, as everything comes from a single source. Requires significant consultancy effort – more suited to B2B.

48. Subscription

Logic: Customers pay regularly (usually monthly or annually) for ongoing services.
Practical example: Netflix, SaaS models such as Salesforce.
Relevance for founders: Predictable revenue, straightforward cash flow. Challenge: Customer retention and churn management.

49. Supermarket

Logic: A broad range of products under one roof – everything customers need in one place.
Practical example: Walmart as a full-range retailer.
Relevance for founders: Well suited to platform or retail models. Risk: excessive diversification and lack of focus. Founders should assess whether sufficient product depth is achievable.

50. Target the Poor

Logic: Products and services are developed specifically for low-income customers.
Real-world example: Unilever sells small unit sizes of shampoo in developing countries.
Relevance for founders: Enormous market, but low margins per customer. Success requires volume, scale and cost efficiency.

51. Trash to Cash

Logic: Waste products or residual materials are used as a resource and transformed into new value.
Practical example: TerraCycle has built a business model around recycling hard-to-process materials.
Relevance for founders: Particularly attractive within the sustainability trend. Founders can reduce costs while simultaneously unlocking new revenue streams. Key requirement: a clear value-creation process.

52. Two-sided Market

Logic: A platform brings together two distinct customer groups – value is created through the interaction between them.
Practical example: Airbnb connects hosts and travellers, Uber connects drivers and passengers.
Relevance for founders: Extremely scalable, but the "chicken-and-egg problem" at launch is a real challenge. Founders must build both sides of the market simultaneously.

53. Ultimate Luxury

Logic: Exclusivity and prestige are at the core of the value proposition. Customers pay for status, not function.
Practical example: Rolex or luxury fashion houses such as Hermès.
Relevance for founders: Only successful if brand building and storytelling are absolutely consistent. A niche model, but with high margins.

54. User Design

Logic: Customers actively co-design products, which increases identification and willingness to pay.
Practical example: Spreadshirt enables individual designs for T-shirts.
Relevance for founders: Promotes customer loyalty and differentiation. Risk: overly complex processes if mass customisation is not implemented efficiently.

55. White Label

Logic: Products are offered without branding, allowing other companies to sell them under their own name.
Practical example: Own-label products in the food sector.
Relevance for founders: Interesting for B2B start-ups looking to benefit from established distribution channels. Drawback: the brand stays in the background and margins are lower.

The 55 business models are not a rigid recipe book, but a toolkit for founders. The best innovations often emerge from combining several patterns. Those who understand these principles can align them with their own strengths and market opportunities.

The next step: Before committing to one or more patterns, test your concept in the market. For a deeper dive, the book Business Model Navigator is well worth a look. It offers detailed explanations, real-world examples, and a clear methodology for successfully applying the 55 patterns to your start-up.

➡️ Read more:
• Business Model Innovation – Securing Future Growth
• Understanding and Applying the Business Model Canvas
• Testing Your Own Business Model
• Case Study: Airbnb
• Case Study: Nespresso

• Case Study: Ryanair
• Case Study: Spotify