What Factors Affect How Much You Pay for Insurance?

If you are like most people, you think that drivers who zip around the city in shiny, red sports cars are the ones who pay the most for car insurance. You may also think that older adults pay more for life insurance, and people with preexisting health conditions pay...

Pandora’s Business Model Experiment

Internet radio giant Pandora Media is the world’s largest Internet and mobile radio service. In June 2011, the company went public at $16 per share. Quickly after the IPO, investors drove the stock down, concerned about Pandora’s ability to generate...

Is the Angry Birds Business Model Unique?

Angry Birds Space just broke a new record becoming the first app to hit 50,000,000 downloads in only 35 days, two weeks better than Draw Something, the previous record-holder.  Across all platforms, Angry Birds boasts over 700 million downloads. With the Angry Birds...

More sales is never the problem

Entrepreneurs are the best people in the world. They are ever-hopeful and optimistic. They believe there is a solution to every problem; and they are usually right. However, this same optimism tends to lead entrepreneurs to believe that all business problems can be...

Business Model Lessons from Ken Burns Prohibition

As I found myself engrossed in Ken Burns’ well told Prohibition story, I noticed an underlying business model theme.  Back in the 1800’s beer companies effectively controlled the retail distribution of beer.  The brewery business model of the time was to offer free...

Is a Recession Good for Business Model Innovation?

It seems that many entrepreneurs have crawled into their caves to wait out the recession.  For many of them, the battle cries have become: If in doubt, don’t spend Just ride it out Change is dangerous, one small mistake might break the camel’s back This general...