Business Models

How companies actually make money — and what makes some structures more durable than others.

What Business Model Articles Cover

Every company has a business model, but most descriptions stop at the surface: "they sell software" or "they make cars." These articles go one layer deeper. They describe the mechanism — how revenue is generated, where costs concentrate, what creates switching costs, and where structural advantages compound or erode.

A subscription business and an advertising business both generate recurring revenue. But the structural mechanics are different: one charges the user directly, the other monetizes attention through a third party. These differences shape margins, capital requirements, customer relationships, and competitive dynamics in ways that matter long after the current quarter ends.

Why Business Models Matter Structurally

Understanding a company's business model is the foundation for understanding everything else about it. Margins, capital efficiency, competitive position, and vulnerability to disruption all follow from the model's structure. A company with high fixed costs behaves differently under pressure than one with variable costs. A platform business faces different competitive dynamics than a manufacturer.

These articles describe each model's mechanics without evaluating whether it is "good" or "bad." A capital-intensive model is not inherently worse than an asset-light one — it operates under different constraints and produces different structural properties. The goal is to make these mechanics visible so that structural reality can inform understanding.