Partnership design and development for technology startups is based on a Business Model design. Partnership decisions impact the entire business model and require a disciplined approach.
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About Me
Tech Scouting and Market Development Services
Aero Engineer (PoliMi), MBA (IMD Lausanne)
IBM, P&G, HP + a couple of (failed) startups
Lived and worked in 5 countries
In USA since 1998
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Agenda
• Prep work assignment (done, hopefully)
• Part 1: Defining the Biz Dev model - 45’
• Part 2: Interactive session - n*15’
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Part 1
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Defining the Business (Development) Model(s)
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Biz Plan ≠ Biz Model
• Business plan is a story
• How the business will evolve in the future i.e. science fiction
• Business model is a snapshot
• A diagram of the business engine i.e. in/outputs and flows
• It is not just “how you make money”...
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Biz Model = How moving parts interact
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A good model...
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• Shows HOW value flows
• Shows HOW results are achieved
• Shows WHY company needs money
• Shows WHERE to put it to work
• Shows WHO to partner with...
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Cost Structure
Activities Value
Proposition
Adapted from the Business Model Canvas by Alex Osterwalder et al., 2010
Partners Customer
Segments
Revenue Streams
Resources
Customer
Relations
Channels
Biz Model Biz Dev
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Example: Small Inc.
• Developed advanced web recommendations software
• Built to integrate with eCommerce sites
• Sells software licenses to large eCommerce retailers
• Has 4 customers, sales of $700k/year
• Has two sales people
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Example: Small Inc.
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#ofCompanies
1
10
100
1000
Sales cycle (days)
0 30 60 90 120
$320
$90
$40
Large Retailers
Medium Retailers
Small eCommerce Retailers
Partnering with Software Platform
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Cost Structure
- Customer Acquisition
- Sales Team
- Consulting and Customer Support
Activities
- R&D
- Product
Development
- Sales
Value
Proposition
- Customers: Increase
sales through
recommendations
- Users: Easier to find
what you want
- Partners: Add valuable
feature to your offering
overnight
!
Partners
- eCommerce
platform
vendors
Customer
Segments
- Medium
Online Retailers
- App Stores/
Digital Media
- Large
Multichannel
retailers
Revenue Streams
- Licenses + Maintenance
- SaaS subscriptions
- Services
Resources
- Intellectual
Property
- Dev Team
Customer
Relations
- Prof services
- Maintenance
- Training
Channels
- Direct sales
- SaaS
- Channel sales
- OEM
Example: Small Inc.
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It’s about the whole model
• Partner model impacts entire model
• Different partnership model = different tradeoffs
• Multiple partner choices = runaway complexity
• Small Inc. and Big Inc. must have “mirror” models
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“Why is a customer/vendor not a ‘partner’?”
✓ Business model integration
✓ Collaborative business value creation
✓ Shared sales/profit upside
✓ Shared investment/upfront risk
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Part 2
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Workshop: How are YOU going to partner?
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Cost Structure
Activities Value
Proposition
Partners Customer
Segments
Revenue Streams
Resources
Customer
Relations
Channels
What is your model?
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Housekeeping
• 5 minutes presentation
• 10 minutes Q&A
• Focus on one partner type/model
• Focus on (partner) value proposition
• Discuss among peers (It is not a pitch!)
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