Sometimes, very clever business models appear that are key to the success of a product. For some research I'm doing, I'd like to collect as many examples as possible
Ask HN: Most clever business models?
1–10 of 16 posts
Re: Ask HN: Most clever business models?
#2There's an extremely clever model that's been losing popularity for a while now: Make something valuable and charge money for it.
Re: Ask HN: Most clever business models?
#3I'm a big fan of the Wyze Labs business model: buy cheap white label hardware from China for really cheap, write westernized software for it and massively undercut the rest of the competition that is doing custom hardware development.
Re: Ask HN: Most clever business models?
#4There's an extremely clever model that's been losing popularity for a while now: Make something valuable and charge money for it.
I've never heard of that. Are there any historical examples?
Re: Ask HN: Most clever business models?
#5There's an extremely clever model that's been losing popularity for a while now: Make something valuable and charge money for it.
Its no good. Right after you make that valuable thing your competitors steal it and murder you.
Re: Ask HN: Most clever business models?
#6I'm working on $1/month social network. Been working on it since December, MVP is about 80% complete now.
Re: Ask HN: Most clever business models?
#7We have a gym that costs less when you train more. You pay €29,- a month but get €1,- discount per training. So if you train every day you train for free.
I'm still not sure wether this is outright genius (most people overestimate the number of times they will actually go) or really dumb (your heavy users train for free).
Re: Ask HN: Most clever business models?
#8I'm working on $1/month social network. Been working on it since December, MVP is about 80% complete now.
would be interested in learning more about this!
Re: Ask HN: Most clever business models?
#9We have a gym that costs less when you train more. You pay €29,- a month but get €1,- discount per training. So if you train every day you train for free. I'm still not sure wether this is outright genius (most people overestimate the number of times they will actually go) or really dumb (your heavy users train for free).
Gym memberships are a clever (or diabolical) business model in general. Few people will ever cancel a gym membership once they sign up, because who wants to admit to themselves that they're now making an active decision to be a lazy out-of-shape bastard? I've had gym memberships where I went 5 or 6 times a week, but then there have been other (longer & more frequent) times where I'd pay a gym $40/month and go only once a month, if that. There was one stretch where I paid more than $1,500 over three years and didn't go a single time. Those gyms must have loved having members like me.
The lesson: a good business model is to come up with a subscription product that's aspirational, where people will feel like they're giving up on their dreams or giving up on becoming better if they cancel, because many people will continue to pay you month after month rather than face the sorry truth.
Re: Ask HN: Most clever business models?
#10We have a gym that costs less when you train more. You pay €29,- a month but get €1,- discount per training. So if you train every day you train for free. I'm still not sure wether this is outright genius (most people overestimate the number of times they will actually go) or really dumb (your heavy users train for free).
Gym memberships are a clever (or diabolical) business model in general. Few people will ever cancel a gym membership once they sign up, because who wants to admit to themselves that they're now making an active decision to be a lazy out-of-shape bastard? I've had gym memberships where I went 5 or 6 times a week, but then there have been other (longer & more frequent) times where I'd pay a gym $40/month and go only on…
This might change. Subscriptions are the new thing and customers expect more. Personally, I won't accept a gym membership anymore that I can't cancel in 3 months max.