Key Factors that Make ‘Free Business Models’ Successful in Software as a Service Ventures ALI MEKOUAR DINO POHILJ Master of Science Thesis Stockholm, Sweden 2015 Key Factors that Make ‗Free Business Models‘ Successful in Software as a Service Ventures Ali Mekouar Dino Pohilj Master of Science Thesis INDEK 2015:30 KTH Industrial Engineering and Management Industrial Management SE-100 44 STOCKHOLM Master of Science Thesis INDEK 2015:30 Key Factors that Make ‘Free Business Models’ Successful in Software as a Service Ventures Ali Mekouar Dino Pohilj Approved Examiner Supervisor 2015-May-26 Terrence Brown Gregg Vanourek Abstract This thesis research analyzes why and how Software as a Service (SaaS) ventures can succeed or fail using the two forms of free business models: freemium and free based on a multi-sided platform. Software as a Service ventures nowadays need a strong market presence and visibility to be financially sustainable, and that is why they are constantly innovating methods to reach solvency. Many of those companies chose free business models to reach that market presence and economic growth. Academic research in this subject is very limited, and there is no framework or guide that shows how companies using these business models can succeed. The aim of this research is to address that gap and determine the key factors that lead to success for ventures using these business models. The researchers‘ approach of understanding, analyzing and deciphering these business models stands on a qualitative open-ended research strategy with case studies, backed by interviews of companies using these business models. The findings are based on the gathered and analyzed data from the case studies and the interviews. The result of this research is the classification of key factors in three major groups: Customers, Development Strategy, and Business Sustainability. This research expands the information and understanding in the field of business models, and more precisely freemium and free based on a multi-sided platform. Also, it demonstrates that both free business models can be a viable choice for SaaS ventures. Keywords Customers, Business Models, Business Model Innovation, Business Sustainability, Development Strategy, Free, Freemium, Free based on a Multi-Sided Platform Table of contents Abstract ..................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements ................................................................................... 4 Terms ........................................................................................................ 5 Abbreviations ............................................................................................ 6 List of Figures ........................................................................................... 7 1. Introduction ............................................................................................ 8 1.1 Background ......................................................................................... 8 1.2 Research Question and Aim ............................................................... 10 2. Literature Review ................................................................................. 11 2.1 Industrial Dynamics ............................................................................. 11 2.2 Business Model Innovation ................................................................. 12 2.3 Free Business Models ........................................................................ 14 3. Methodology ......................................................................................... 19 3.1 Research Design and Method ............................................................ 19 3.2 Data Collection and Analysis .............................................................. 20 3.3 Limitations ........................................................................................... 22 3.4 Delimitations ....................................................................................... 23 4. Empirical Findings ................................................................................ 24 4.1 Case 1: Facebook ............................................................................... 24 4.2 Case 2: Shazam ................................................................................. 28 4.3 Case 3: Everpix ................................................................................... 31 5. Discussion ............................................................................................. 34 5.1 Customers ........................................................................................... 34 5.2 Business Sustainability ....................................................................... 35 5.3 Development Strategy ........................................................................ 37 6. Conclusions ........................................................................................... 38 6.1 Further Research ................................................................................ 40 7. Bibliography ............................................................................................. 41 8. Appendix ................................................................................................. 48 8.1 Appendix A: Interviewees ................................................................... 48 8.2 Appendix B: Interview Guide ............................................................... 49 3 Acknowledgements First and foremost, we would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to our supervisor, Gregg Vanourek. His guidance, recommendations, critical feedback and expertise in our area of research have been very helpful throughout the whole process. Secondly, we want to thank Terrence Brown, our program director, for sharing insights and guidance regarding the thesis structure and content. Lastly, we are thankful for the time and insights that our interviewees--Siavash Ghorbani from Tictail, and Gustav Gyllenhammar from Spotify--shared with us. 4 Terms Business Model: The rationale for how an organization creates, delivers and captures value. Business Model Canvas: is a visual tool that describes the key components of a business. Created by A. Osterwalder. Closure: A concept that describes how an industry or a product can reach specific technological limitations after a period of development. Conversion rate: The rate at which customers convert from free to the premium version of a product or service. Cumulative technologies: Sticking with current technologies, practices and routines, since the payoff of the new ones are uncertain. Customer acquisition cost: Cost incurred when trying to convince potential customer to use, buy or subscribe to product or a service. Customer lifetime value: The projected value that will come from a customer throughout their future relationship with a company. Dominant Design: New, key features (often technological) that become a standard. Engagement rate: The rate at which customers interact with a product or service. Free based on MSP: is a business model where businesses create value for at least two different types of customers, providing products or services that allow a mutual interaction and benefits. Freemium: is a business model where the main product or service is free, whilst additional or premium features are being charged for. Hosted applications: Applications that are based on Internet (cloud). Term often used to describe Software as a Service (SaaS). Lock-in-effect: A situation when the probability to change to other option is decreased, once an investment has been made. Network effect: A situation when some product or service is more valuable when more/other people use it, and therefore new users are coming because of existing ones. 5 Path dependency: A concept that describes how previously made decisions limit future possibilities. Razor and Blades: is a business model where customers acquire a heavily discounted product, or even free of charge, but then they are locked-in with expensive replacements or add-ons. SaaS: Any cloud services where people use the Internet to access software applications. Tag: A term that has several different purposes and is a common term with web ventures. Shazam uses it to define the results of song recognitions. Viral coefficient: Metric used to determine how many customers each current customer brings on an average. Abbreviations BM: Business Model BP: Business Plan DAU: Daily Active Users IT: Information Technology MAU: Monthly Active Users MSP: Multi-sided Platform ROA: Return On Assets ROI: Return On Investment SaaS: Software as a Service SEM: Search Engine Marketing SEO: Search Engine Optimization SNS: Social Networking Site 6 List of Figures Figure 1. Five components of a business model innovation ............................ 13 Figure 2. Business model canvas – Facebook ............................................... 26 Figure 3. Revenue by segment – Facebook .................................................... 27 Figure 4. Key statistics – Shazam ................................................................... 29 Figure 5. Exponential growth in tags - Shazam ................................................. 30 Figure 6. Revenue vs. Cost graph - Everpix ...................................................... 32 Figure 7. Gross income from operations – Everpix ........................................ 32 Figure 8. Key