Simply Seven

Description: Simply Seven is a practical framework created to get entrepreneurs and executives started on finding the right Internet business model for their web site. It is based on the idea that there are seven business building blocks - which form the foundation of all Internet business models. SimplySeven emphasizes constant experimentation in selecting and fine-tuning one's business model and encourages using models outside of the narrow range of today's "hyped" candidates. Chapter by chapter, the book guides the reader through the lessons learned by the flagship pioneers of each business model: Skype for services, Blizzard Entertainment for subscriptions, Amazon.com for retail, Google for advertising, eBay for commissions and Apple for license sales. Regarding financial management, it is too early to tell which company will emerge as leader. However, Simply Seven does not just celebrate the successes; it also focuses on the biggest mistakes

Review: 'This book is a must read for all who want to understand how to create a sustainable Internet business. In fact, by systematically covering each Internet business model, the book effectively is a history of Internet business, told in seven parts. Simply Seven is fun to read, well written and covers all the ground.' -- Santiago Iniguez de Onzono, President, IE University, Dean, IE Business School 'Starting an online business is optional. Evolving one is mandatory. Simply Seven is the best guide for online business evolution I've seen yet.' -- Doc Searls, co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, blogger and Fellow with Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society 'In Simply Seven, the authors provide practical advice and challenging insights for entrepreneurs starting an Internet business and those who have a website that is not meeting their expectations. Each point of practical advice is illustrated with examples from successful firms. This book will help you understand your Internet business and take it to the next level.' -- Martin Kenney, Professor, Department of Human and Community Development, University of California, Davis 'In Seedcamp's work with seed and start-up companies, we encourage entrepreneurs to think 'outside the box' and consider alternative business models beyond the obvious. A badly implemented business model can lead to the failure of an otherwise promising Internet business. The seven fundamental business models described in Simply Seven are a valuable eye opener for all who believe they are dependent on a small range of options to make money.' -- Reshma Sohoni, Founding Partner, Seedcamp 'Simply Seven is a fantastic starting point for any budding Internet entrepreneur and is a great reference point for any Internet business wishing to keep on track commercially. It provides first-hand accounts of so many of the well-known and fastest growing Internet companies -- a rare achievement. Non-stop insight from beginning to end.' -- Michael Rolph, VP Commercial Development, Anthemis Edge 'I cannot think of an industry which is not affected profoundly by digital channels such as the Internet or the mobile web. Many of the smartest enterprises do not see the Internet purely as a marketing or sales channel, but are incorporating it deeply into their business model. Such significant transformation requires a profound understanding of the changes which are happening. I highly recommend this book as an easy-to-read introduction to sustainable Internet business. Not only does it cover the whole range of Internet business models systematically, it also discusses some of the key approaches required to excel at digital competition, such as experimentation and analytics.' -- Matthias Hartmann, Vice President, IBM Global Business Services, Leader Global Strategy & Industries

Contents: Acknowledgements PART I: INTRODUCTION - THE SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT MODEL Your Second Priority Getting Started Simply Seven: That's it Business Model Design The Business Model Hype Phases The Making of this Book Stress-Testing the Simply Seven The Selection Criteria Initial Results: Seven Confirmed Our 21 Companies Retail Leads in Sales Many Users and Rapid Growth: The Advertising Business Model Market Valuations: Advertising, Again Margins: The Beauty of Aggregation Key Financial Indicators PART II: THE FIRST BUSINESS MODEL - SERVICE SALES Plain and Straightforward A Business Model with Problems 'Can I Skype you? PART III: THE SECOND BUSINESS MODEL - SUBSCRIPTIONS The Heaviest Weapon in the Arsenal The Rise and Fall of AOL The 'Bouncer Effect' In the 'Dog House' The Future of Clubs Getting People to Subscribe PART IV: THE THIRD BUSINESS MODEL - RETAIL Don't Treat Online like Offline The Million Books Project Early Death in May 2000 Being Good at Bricks is Not Enough The 'Long Tail' vs. 'Superstar Economics' Fighting the Clutter The Future of the Shop is Personal PART V: THE FOURTH BUSINESS MODEL -- COMMISSIONS Don't Believe your Clients are Stupid The Beauty of C2C Listings * ASPs * Conversion Rates = GMV Fraud The B2B Trap Beware of the Smart Client Reports of the Death of the Intermediary PART VI: THE FIFTH BUSINESS MODEL - ADVERTISING You Force it, you Lose it Spam and Pushy Banners Search Revolution 'The Wisdom of Money' The Death of the Newspaper The Sexiness of Statistics Advertising as a Service PART VII: THE SIXTH BUSINESS MODEL - LICENSE SALES You Will Need all your Friends Intellectual Property 300 Years after Queen Anne The Indecisive History of Computing Platforms Distributed Distribution 'Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.' - The rebirth of Apple Platform Building Best Practice The "Battle of Platforms" in Entertainment Micro License Sales: Evolution Continues PART VIII: THE SEVENTH BUSINESS MODEL - FINANCIAL RISK Making Money with Money The Mysteriously Slow Growth of Financial Services Online George W. Bush Wrecks the Party The Brave and Few Virtual Currencies and Coupons: A Hotbed for Future Financial Innovation? PART IX: CONCLUSION - THE FREE FOUNDATION You Cannot Live on Love Alone May we Proudly Present: The 5%/ 95% Rule A Web Powered by Small Deeds of Heroism The Reciprocal Donation Economy and Innovation A Fairy Tale with a GNU One Million Lines of Code Three Million Articles Donated Power for Business Selective Pricing Competing with Free The Facebook Dilemma Learning from Mistakes and Business Model Design as a Continual Exercise

Author Biography: Erik Schlie is Associate Dean and Professor of Marketing and General Management at IE Business School in Madrid, one of the world's leading business schools. As a strong believer in the power of deep learning, Erik broadens the minds of MBA students and executives alike and pushes them beyond their perceived limits. Previously, Erik helped create a new international business school in Berlin, where he was the first member of the founding faculty. He formerly quit a management consulting career to pursue his PhD at Cambridge, started researching the Internet, and later fully embraced the world of learning. Erik's Twitter handle is: @erik_schlie. Jorg Rheinboldt is a serial entrepreneur. While studying management in Cologne, he co-founded the Internet consulting company denkwerk and later alando.de, a marketplace which was acquired by eBay. After the acquisition, Jorg served as Managing Director of eBay in Germany for five years. Today, Jorg focuses on early stage investments in groundbreaking Internet, telecom and media businesses as Founding Partner of M10. Jorg is a Founding Donor of Betterplace.org, a platform for social projects. In addition, he is an advisor to companies and governmental institutions and teaches strategy at the Humboldt Viadrina School of Governance. Jorg can be found under @joerg on Twitter. Niko Marcel Waesche is a consultant, investor and a 15-year Internet veteran. With Cafelido Capital and Consulting, Niko works with enterprise clients to think through and define their business models. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of GMPVC, a media-for-equity fund, which helps entrepreneurs finance breakthrough advertising campaigns. Previously, Niko helped establish one of the first US venture capital funds in Central Europe, GRP Partners, and worked later as an executive for IBM. Niko is the author of a previous book, Internet Entrepreneurship in Europe, and was a columnist for the Financial Times Deutschland. Follow Niko's Tweets on @cafelido.