The business model journey: From idea to invention to sales

Business Model: A Journey

So, you have an idea or already have the product but you’re not sure how to establish your business model to make the sales. Well, you’ve come to the right place!

Ajay Agrawal, the Peter Munk Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Univeristy of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, gave this week’s lecture on how to create a business model. Ajay pointed out three areas all entrepreneurs need to hash out in order to establish how they will transition from taking an idea to making a product to making sales.

1. Power

Work through the structures of your industry to understand the power dynamics involving suppliers, distributors, competitors and other actors in the ecosystem in which your product exists. Addressing the power dynamics influences the way in which a business model is made.

2. Incentives
What are the incentives of all the players in your ecosystem? What are the ambitions for each player and how can you address all of them in your business model?

3. Potential Customers
Who are your potential customers? Are there multiple types of customers? Can you attract a new set of customers by adding to the products you provide?

Ajay also provided two key resources for entrepreneurs to read:

• David Teece (1986) “Profiting from Technological Innovation,” Research Policy
• Gans, J and Stern, S. (2003) “The Product Market and the Market for ‘Ideas’: Commercialization Strategies for Technology Entrepreneurs,” Research Policy, 32(2), pp 333-50.

Downloads and Resources:

• Class Summary: Building a Business Model
• Video: Building a Business Model
• Presentation: Building a Business Model
• Articles: 1. Business models, 2. Business model design
• Join the Facebook Group: Entrepreneurship 101
• Register to get weekly updates

Entrepreneurship 101 2010/11 – Week 8 – Building a Business Model from MaRS Discovery District on Vimeo.

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