You’re splitting dinner with friends. Someone pulls out their phone, taps a few buttons, and boom—money appears in your account instantly. No cash. No cards. No awkward IOUs. That’s Zelle magic. But here’s the million-dollar question (literally): How does this free service actually make money?
Picture this: You’re running a startup, and every month feels like financial whiplash. One day you’re tracking expenses on spreadsheets that look like hieroglyphics. The next, you’re chasing down receipts like a detective hunting clues. Then someone mentions Ramp, and suddenly your financial chaos transforms
Introduction Ever wondered why some startups zoom from zero to hero while others sputter along? I’ve been on both sides – building companies that took off like rockets and others that just… didn’t. After investing in startups and watching hundreds more from the sidelines, I’ve
The Confusion of “Software and a Service” vs “Software as a Service” Hey there! Remember when we used to buy software in those big colorful boxes at the store? You’d take it home, pop in a CD, and pray the installation went smoothly. Man, those
As a startup entrepreneur turned angel investor, I’ve seen my fair share of business models. The choice can make or break a company from B2B (business-to-business) to B2C (business-to-consumer). It’s a fundamental decision that impacts everything from marketing to operations to revenue streams. So how
WeWork took the world by storm with its innovative co-working spaces. The startup achieved cult status and a meteoric valuation rise. However, its failure in the USA and other startup ecosystems was as dramatic as its initial success. Interestingly, WeWork found steady success in the
Imagine you’re a kid again, playing with toy cars and building cities out of Lego bricks. Now, think about how you’d design the roads connecting all those cities. The simplest way would be to have one big road in the center (the hub) with smaller
Today we’re going to dive into something that’s taking the world of online shopping by storm – quick commerce, or as the cool kids call it, q-commerce. If you’re an entrepreneur or just someone who loves to stay ahead of the curve, this is a
You know how when you want a candy bar or a new toy, your mom or dad doesn’t just give it to you for free? They make you pay for it out of your allowance money first. Well, believe it or not, that’s how lots
You have a great product idea. You know it can sell. But should you slap your own brand on it and call it your own? Or let someone else brand it while you manufacture it in the background? Deciding between private-label and white-label business models
The internet has enabled many great things, but one of the most powerful is the ability to offer free products and services at scale. In the past, any business that wanted to give things away for free faced limitations – you could only reach people
Have you ever wondered why some companies seem to have your loyalty no matter what – even when there are competitively priced or even free alternatives available? These companies have mastered the art of the lock-in business model. What is a Lock-In Business Model? A
Back when I was just a little startup tyke, data was something companies collected but didn’t use. It just sat around gathering digital dust in spreadsheets and databases. But over the years, things have changed faster than my baby pictures faded. Now, data is one
The fee for service (FFS) model has existed since the early days of commerce. At its core, it involves providing a service to customers and charging a fee directly related to said service. This seems straightforward enough, but as with most things in business, the
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a trend that was already happening in education – the move to online learning. As schools and universities shut their doors, they had to scramble to take courses virtually. What they found is that remote education works better than they imagined.
The subscription business model has become a popular way for companies to create a steady, predictable revenue stream. The basic idea is that instead of selling products or services one-time, you offer access via a subscription. Customers pay a recurring fee, usually monthly or yearly,
APIs (application programming interfaces) have become a vital part of software development, allowing different applications to communicate with each other. As APIs grow in popularity, API licensing has emerged as a profitable business model for companies with valuable APIs. But what exactly does an API
Multi-level marketing, direct sales, referral marketing—you’ve probably heard these terms used interchangeably with “network marketing.” But what exactly does network marketing mean and how does it work? As a business model, network marketing has managed to persist over decades despite controversy and misconceptions. Supporters tout
Open-source software has come a long way since its early days as a niche movement among hobbyist programmers. Today, open source is mainstream – used by Fortune 500 companies, governments, and organizations of all sizes and industries. But how do open-source companies actually make money
The pay-as-you-go business model, also known as pay-per-use or usage-based business model, is a pricing strategy that allows customers to pay only for the products or services they use, rather than buying a large upfront package. This model has become increasingly popular in recent years,