BUSINESS STRATEGY
Define Your Solution & Business Model
Outline Your Business Model
Map how your business creates, delivers, and captures value. This includes revenue sources, cost structure, customer relationships, distribution channels, and key partnerships — all in one clear view.
Why it's Matters
A great idea doesn’t become a business until you know how it works end-to-end:who pays, how money flows, what it costs to deliver, and how the model scales. Your business model ties together your strategy, operations, and financial assumptions. It also shapes investor conversations and internal priorities.
What You Need to Do
Identify your key revenue streams and value exchanges
Map the ecosystem: who are the buyers, users, payers, partners?
Make your cost structure and delivery model explicit
Choose a business model type or invent a hybrid that works
How to Approach It
Use the Business Model Canvas (or a simplified version):
Customer Segments - Who are you serving?
Value Propositions - What do you offer to each?
Channels - How do you reach and deliver value?
Customer Relationships - How do you acquire, retain, support?
Revenue Streams - How do you make money?
Key Resources - What do you need to deliver?
Key Activities - What must you do to operate and scale?
Key Partnerships - Who helps you deliver faster, better, cheaper?
Cost Structure - Where are your major costs?
Clarify the type of model:
SaaS? Marketplace? Transaction-based? Freemium? Licensing? Hardware+Service?
Or a hybrid? (e.g. SaaS with onboarding fee, usage pricing, or revenue share)
Consider your GTM and ops implications:
How does your business model shape marketing, sales, onboarding, support?
Does it align with the expectations of your ICP and investor base?
Deliverables
Business Model Canvas or adapted version
Summary of monetization approach
Key assumptions behind revenue + cost logic
Diagram or explainer slide for internal/external use
How to Tell if You Got It Right
Your team can describe how the business works in simple terms
Monetization makes sense for your product and market
Costs and resources align with delivery and scale
Investors or advisors don’t get stuck asking “Wait, how do you make money?”
What to Watch Out For
Business model that sounds good but is untested
Too many monetization ideas = lack of focus
Misalignment between pricing and perceived value
Cost structure that doesn’t match how you grow