Business Model Researcher

Business Model Researcher

When to Use

• Map or critique a business model (canvas, lean canvas, value proposition)
• Research competitor revenue models, pricing, and packaging
• Estimate TAM/SAM/SOM with stated assumptions
• Model unit economics and sensitivity (CAC, LTV, margins, payback)
• Compare monetization options (subscription, usage, marketplace, ads)
• Synthesize public sources into a cited business-model brief

When NOT to Use

• BRDs, user stories, process maps → business-analyst
• Issue trees, operating model, steerCo recommendation → business-consultant
• ASC 606, close, contract accounting → senior-revenue-accountant
• Warehouse metrics and dashboards → bi-analyst
• Long-form API docs or runbooks → tech-writer-researcher
• UX journeys and wireframes → product-designer
• Deal desk CPQ and order forms → deal-operations-administrator
• Monetization PRDs, paywalls, billing product requirements → product-management-monetization

Related skills

Core Workflows

1. Define the research question

State explicitly:

• Subject — company, product line, or greenfield idea
• Decision — invest, pivot pricing, enter segment, fundraise narrative
• Audience — founder, product, investors, board
• Depth — snapshot (2–4h) vs diligence (multi-day)
• Sources allowed — public only vs internal data

List unknowns as hypotheses to validate or kill.

2. Map the current or proposed model

Fill canvas blocks with evidence tags [source] per claim:

See `references/canvas_frameworks.md`.

3. Size the market (when needed)

Use top-down and bottom-up; reconcile or explain gap.

Document every assumption (penetration, ARPU, growth rate).

See `references/market_sizing.md`.

4. Unit economics

Build a simple model:

• Revenue per customer or unit
• Variable cost per unit (COGS, infra, support allocation)
• CAC and payback period
• LTV (state churn and gross margin assumptions)

Run sensitivity on churn, CAC, and price.

See `references/unit_economics.md`.

5. Competitive benchmarking

Compare 3–7 peers on:

Label fact vs estimate vs unknown.

See `references/competitive_benchmarking.md`.

6. Revenue model options (greenfield or pivot)

Shortlist 2–3 monetization patterns; score fit to segment and delivery cost.

See `references/revenue_models.md`.

7. Deliverable

Standard output structure:

## Executive summary (≤ 10 bullets)
## Business model map (canvas table)
## Market size (if applicable) — assumptions table
## Unit economics — base case + sensitivity
## Competitive comparison table
## Risks and open questions
## Sources

Hand strategic recommendation and investment case to business-consultant when exec decision is next.

When to load references

• Canvas / VPC / lean → references/canvas_frameworks.md
• TAM SAM SOM → references/market_sizing.md
• CAC, LTV, payback → references/unit_economics.md
• Sub, marketplace, usage → references/revenue_models.md
• Peer comparison → references/competitive_benchmarking.md

Canvas frameworks

Table of contents

1. Business Model Canvas 2. Lean Canvas 3. Value Proposition Canvas 4. Evidence discipline

Business Model Canvas

Lean Canvas

Order for startups (problem-first):

1. Problem (top 3) 2. Customer segments 3. Unique value proposition 4. Solution (MVP scope) 5. Channels 6. Revenue streams 7. Cost structure 8. Key metrics 9. Unfair advantage

Use when idea is pre-PMF; pair with experiment backlog in business-analyst if building.

Value Proposition Canvas

Per segment:

Fit test: each pain reliever maps to a stated pain; each gain creator to a gain.

Evidence discipline

Every canvas cell should end with:

• Claim — one sentence
• Evidence — URL, filing, interview quote, or ESTIMATE: assumption
• Confidence — high / medium / low

Do not present estimates as facts. Refresh date public data was pulled.

Competitive benchmarking

Table of contents

1. Peer set selection 2. Comparison dimensions 3. Evidence tiers 4. Output table

Peer set selection

Include:

• Direct — same buyer, same job
• Indirect — different product, same budget line
• Analog — different industry, similar model (e.g., take-rate marketplace)

Exclude:

• Aspirational giants unless segment-specific SKU compared
• Pre-revenue startups without pricing unless noted as signal only

Aim for 3–7 peers; explain omissions.

Comparison dimensions

Evidence tiers

Output table

| Company | Model | Entry price | GTM | Scale (source) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peer A | Usage + min | $0.01/unit [B] | PLG | $XXM ARR [A] | ... |

Add implications section: what the subject should copy, avoid, or test.

For legal/commercial terms of competing contracts, use commercial-counsel—not this skill.

Market sizing

Table of contents

1. Definitions 2. Top-down 3. Bottom-up 4. Reconciliation 5. Assumption log

Definitions

State market boundary (geo, product category, customer type).

Top-down

TAM = industry revenue or # buyers × spend per buyer
SAM = TAM × % addressable (geo, segment, use case)
SOM = SAM × achievable share % (justify vs competitors)

Sources: analyst reports, government stats, public company filings—cite publisher and year.

Bottom-up

SOM = # target accounts in beachhead × adoption % × ARPU × years

Or for usage models:

SOM = # users × usage per user × price per unit × penetration

Bottom-up often grounds SOM; top-down sanity-checks magnitude.

Reconciliation

If top-down >> bottom-up:

• Beachhead is narrower than industry label (explain)
• Or bottom-up adoption % is too conservative

Document which figure you use for investor narrative vs internal planning.

Assumption log

Flag hero assumptions that dominate output; recommend validating first in research.

Revenue models

Table of contents

1. Model catalog 2. Selection criteria 3. Packaging patterns 4. Hybrid models

Model catalog

Selection criteria

Score each option (1–5) against:

• Willingness to pay for target segment (interviews, WTP surveys, competitor price)
• Cost to serve per unit (support, infra, fraud)
• Predictability of revenue (finance and planning)
• Alignment with delivery (usage price needs metering)
• Competitive norm in category (deviation needs story)

Packaging patterns

Document expansion path (what drives NDR).

Hybrid models

Common combos:

• Sub + usage overage (SaaS infra)
• Take rate + subscription (marketplaces)
• Hardware + subscription (IoT)

Split economics per stream in unit model; avoid double-counting revenue.

Unit economics

Table of contents

1. Core metrics 2. SaaS template 3. Marketplace template 4. Sensitivity 5. Red flags

Core metrics

State whether metrics are monthly or annual; never mix.

SaaS template

MRR = customers × ARPU
Gross profit = MRR × gross_margin%
CAC_payback_months = CAC / (ARPU × gross_margin)
LTV = ARPU × gross_margin / monthly_churn

For annual contracts, use logo churn and NDR when public data exists.

Marketplace template

GMV = transactions × AOV
Net revenue = GMV × take_rate
Contribution = net_revenue - variable_cost_per_order

Unit may be order or active buyer—pick one and stay consistent.

Sensitivity

Vary one lever at a time (base / low / high):

Show impact on LTV:CAC and payback—not only LTV alone.

Red flags

• LTV computed with revenue instead of gross profit
• Ignoring expansion revenue (NDR >100%) in enterprise
• CAC excludes salaries or credits paid to customers
• Payback >24 months without enterprise contract justification
• Churn assumed without segment split (SMB vs enterprise)

For audited financial statements and ASC 606, use senior-revenue-accountant.