Ebook: Models for an 'On Demand Business'

(Ebook download link at the bottom)

About three years ago, no one had ever heard of Uber. Today, if there’s still someone who hasn’t heard of Uber or doesn’t know what the on-demand economy is, they must be living in a cocoon, some thousand light years away. In the years following its launch, on demand business startups like Uber have achieved massive success not by inventing new products or categories (For eg. cabs have been there for a long while now), but by making our lives more convenient in the process. These startups have disrupted the way traditional industries operate. What made Uber’s concept revolutionary was its comprehensive treatment, starting from aggregating the supply, hailing the cabs, payment and reviews. This full stack company decided to deal with all the aspects of taxi hailing experience, making it a brilliant and successful example of an on demand business. Companies like Uber succeed by putting information at our fingertips and giving us what we want: instant gratification. The on-demand economy is all about ‘now’ and ‘transparency’.

There are various key variables of an on demand business that must be understood before you plan the foundation of a business model. Some of the variables that we have covered in our ebook ‘On Demand Economy Business Model’ are :

Degree of Commoditization

Relationship of the supply side with the platform

Price Control

Instant vs Scheduled

Stakeholders

If you are looking to create an on demand business that can be described as an “Uber for X” (or an AirBnB for Y, Postmates for W, Flywheel for Z etc.), more often than not you will be attempting an online-offline integration in a certain vertical. There are so many moving parts associated with the problem at hand that, more often than not, key decisions have a tendency to be overlooked (We have created an infographic that helps you understand the On Demand Economy better). Let’s assume that the problem you are trying to solve through your on demand business idea falls in the broad ambit of creating an online-offline integration. Invariably you will go on to create a solution that leverages ubiquitous smartphones to aggregate demand and make the supply more efficient. Want to get the business model of your On Demand Idea right?