You need a business model and it needs to be simple
Two of the quickest ways to kill your startup are to:
- Have no business model
- Have an overly complicated business model
So many Indie Hackers here destroy their chance at building a viable company by having weird or unconventional models.
Complexity is almost certainly going to be added to the business over time too (growth, additional revenue streams, partnerships etc). And with the high failure rate of startups, simple business models are preferable - at least to start with.
What do you think? Let's talk about it!
One way I like to put it is to have a "working model"
Once you find what works, double down on it.
This covers a lot of the big factors. I'd also throw in the importance of your market. They need to have a problem, they need to have money, and they need to be reachable.
Ideally it's a growing market too because that really makes everything easier.
This comment was deleted 5 years ago
"Things "will only get more complex" I love this"
This is so true. Making a plan is easy, but once you start, somehow things will always increase in complexity.
When you say simple, what do you really mean? Can you explain it a little more
I wrote more about it here: https://www.karllhughes.com/posts/startup-business-model
Things like multi-sided marketplaces or complicated pricing structures are the biggest culprits. Generally, the more stakeholders that have to be involved in a transaction of money, the harder it is to pull off.
"So many Indie Hackers here destroy their chance at building a viable company by having weird or unconventional models."
I had to laugh at this. I never knew there were so many ways to depart from the simple idea of charging money for a product or service of value.
I think people are influenced by the weird unprofitable or only-profitable-at-scale business models of some prominent VC-backed startups.
@karlhughes Completely agree with you. Without the right business model, it's next to impossible to create a successful startup.
QQ - What is the tech stack for your website? Are you using wordpress/wix or self-coded website?
Jekyll. It's a static site generator so it's really fast and free to host on GH pages.
Oh that's really cool!
It's a great list @karlhughes. 👏
We're definitely guilty of having a bit of a complex model for OneSub under the hood... but hopefully, to the actual consumer, the proposition is pretty straight forward - a subscription for something of value.
I'll let you know if it works!
Yeah, News is tough. Low margins, lots of competition, and it sounds like you've got a two-sided market to work with.
My first startup was a news site, so I've been there. Good luck!
Thanks! Yeah, I'm definitely feeling like an ant amongst massive dinosaurs (which these days even includes Google & Facebook)....
If you've got any tips, I'm all ears. 🐜 🦖🦕
No, I couldn't make it a viable business, so I moved into content marketing. It's not as idealistic, but the money's much better.
yes. +1. i've recently been struggling to think through this for my project, but, i've landed on a
subscriptionprice that makes sense.but, it takes time to think through pricing. so hard.