Business Model Examples

There are many examples of inspiring business models and business model innovators described and referenced on this blog and elsewhere. To provide a quick read with popular examples, a list of business model innovators is presented below. Please feel free to comment or contact me on great business model examples that you find missing.

Amazon - Leveraging assets

Launched in 1994 as an online book seller, Amazon has constantly altered its business model leveraging its assets and capabilities to generate new business… Read more

Apple - Providing convenient solutions

Apple has revolutionized the computer industry, the music industry and now the mobile phone industry, and the classic example is iPod and iTunes… Read more

Better Place - Using per-distance fees

Better Place aims to use the margin between electricity and gas to subsidize the cost of new electric cars, even providing electric cars for free... Read more

Etsy - Mass customization of arts

Aggregating the long tail in an online marketplace for handmade goods with the goal to enable people around the world to make a living making things… Read more

Gillette - Razor and blades

Gillette's success with its razors and blades is a story about superior technology, design and the use of control mechanisms, foremost patents… Read more

Lego - Turning users into developers

Lego has turned its most loyal users into designers and co-creators of their own products. More than 30000 kits have been shared so far… Read more

Tata Motors - Modular distribution

Tata Nano is not only cheap to buy it is constructed of modules that can be built and shipped separately to be assembled in a variety of locations.… Read more

Threadless - Dressing the long tail

Threadless was one of the first firms to systematically mine a community for designs, a trend that today can be seen in various industries… Read more

Xerox - Business Innovation in 1959

The company decided to lease the equipment, instead of selling it, at a relatively low cost and then charge a per copy fee for copies in excess of 2000 copies per month… Read more

Zara - a devastating business model

Zara has managed to substantially shorten the time to develop a new product and get it to stores, and in doing so it can react quickly to changing market trends… Read more

More inspiring examples will come, send me your suggestions!

Further reading:

Using the crowd as a part of the business model

10 Initiatives using the crowd to generate new ideas

Business model example: Xerox - Business Model Innovation in 1959

The business model around Xerox Model 914, introduced to the public in 1959, has become a classical example of how a new technology sometimes needs a new business model to become successful. The Xerography technology, to produce images using electricity that avoids the use of wet chemicals, was superior to other available methods, but also very expensive. When Haloid (later renamed Haloid Xerox and then Xerox Corporation) tried to find marketing partners for its Model 914 the company was constantly turned down by the likes of GE, IBM and Kodak. Haloid decided to lease the equipment, instead of selling it, at a relatively low cost and then charge a per copy fee for copies in excess of 2000 copies per day. The company provided all the required supplies, service and support and the customer could cancel the lease on only fifteen day's notice. This was a bold move given that the average business copier at that time produced an average of 15-20 copies per day. Haloid took a large risk as customers were only committed to the monthly lease payment and paid no more unless the performance of the Model 914 led them to make more than 2000 copies. The Model 914 became a huge success, with customers averaging two thousand copies per day (instead of month) and the company sustained a compound annual growth rate of 41% over a 12 year period. Also, the company became highly incentivized to develop faster machines that could handle high volumes with maximum machine uptime and availability.

Further reading:

• List of business model examples