NEW AGE BUSINESS MODELS

Name of the Faculty: Prof. Srivardhini K. Jha

K. Ganesh (Adjunct faculty)
Designation: Associate Professor

Teaching Area: Entrepreneurship

(such as Finance & Accounting; Marketing;
Production & Operations Management;
Strategy)
This course may be offered to: PG Programmes
(PG Programmes / Doctoral Programme)
http://www.iimb.ernet.in/programmes
Credits (No. of hours): 3 credits (30 classroom hours)
(3 credits=30 classroom hours; 1.5 credits-15
classroom hours; session=90 minutes)
Term / Quarter: September
(Starting April /June /September/December)
Course Type:
(Core or Elective) Elective

Offered as: Regular Course

(Regular Course: staggered across the term or
Workshop1 Course: 3-5 continuous days)
Grading Norms Standard
Standard (On a scale of 1 to 4) OR
Qualitative (Excellent, Good, Satisfactory and
Unsatisfactory)
Are there any financial implications to this None
course, apart from the allocated budget?
Additional information required Both instructors will be equally involved in
the course. Adjust faculty profile enclosed.

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Workshop course: Please provide reasons as to why the course is being offered in workshop mode and why it cannot be offered
as a regular course (that is spread over 5-10 weeks). As an institution, IIMB prefers courses offered in the regular mode, since it
results in better learning experience for the students and avoids overlapping of courses. Not more than 15 hours will be
scheduled for a workshop course conducted on campus during workshop week.

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Course Summary

Over the last 15 years, India has witnessed a meteoric rise of technology companies on the back
of rapid proliferation of digital technologies. These technology companies have aimed at solving
different problems, for different audiences, using different technology and business models. Along
the way, the Indian tech and startup industry has matured significantly from copying the US
business models for serving a growing consumer base, to innovating with business models to serve
increasingly tech savvy Indian consumers, building digitally enabled global businesses and digital-
only brands. This course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the digital business
models that are driving the growth of these new age companies and the keys levers of their
operation and success.

What are the different business models that underpin these new age companies? What are the core
elements of these companies that drive their success? What are the challenges faced by them? How
to create value as an operator or founder? How to measure and value these companies? How to
maximize and appropriate value from these companies? What is the individual level and corporate
level competencies required for growth of these companies? These are the important questions
addressed by this course.

The course will address these questions by examining types of digital business models, value
creation and measurement of value, maximization and appropriation of value across different
business models, expanding the opportunity to grow further, and skillsets to achieve this growth.

Learning Objectives / Outcomes

The course is designed with the following learning objectives:

● To learn how digital technology (hardware and software) can solve Indian and global
consumers' problems in new-to-world ways.
● To unpack the business models of companies and understand their strengths, challenges,
and key levers for success.
● To understand how to create, measure, optimize and appropriate value of digital
businesses.

The course will prepare students to:

● Incorporate the learnings from new age business models in their role in Product
management, Corporate planning, Investment Banking, Management consulting and
VC/PE industries
● Grasp the emerging business landscape and identify promising new opportunities
● Build/manage a digital business through various stages of growth
● Play a key role in the digital transformation of large companies

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Pedagogy

The course will use a flipped teaching method. Students are expected to come well-prepared to the
class, having read the case, articles or other reading material that has been assigned. Each session
will have a set of preparation questions that students are expected to mull over and come ready to
discuss. The class time will be structured into multiple discussion pastures with the instructors
acting as facilitators. Some sessions may include in-class individual/group exercises. Student
preparation and participation is central to this course.

Since this is a course that deals with a phenomenon that is unfolding as we speak, the materials
assigned for reading are put together from a variety of sources including journal articles, industry
reports, a few cases and secondary data available on digital businesses. There is no prescribed
textbook. However, here are some optional readings students can pick up based on their interest.

Optional readings:
1. Blitzscaling: The lightning-fast path to building massively Valuable Companies by Reid
Hoffman and Chris Yeh
2. From Pony to Unicorn: Scaling a Start-up Sustainably by Sanjeev Aggarwal & T.N. Hari
3. Winning in The Digital Age: Seven Building Blocks of a Successful Digital
Transformation by Nithin Seth

We will also have two guest speakers from industry who have been instrumental in successfully
building and growing digital businesses.

Course Evaluation & Grading

Class participation: 15%

This is a discussion-oriented course, and the learning is heavily dependent on the quality of class
discussion. Therefore, class preparation and participation are crucial for your success and for the
success of the course.

The secret to effective class participation is simple: strong preparation and respectful debate.
During the discussions, the comments that are most useful are those that reflect a thorough
reading and assimilation of the material assigned. Such comments help move the discussion to a
deeper and more valuable level. Please keep in mind that it is usually obvious if you have not
read the material. Trying to mask a lack of preparation with generic comments wastes class time
and compromises learning. In other words, quality trumps quantity. Also, consistent class
participation will be rewarded over sporadic brilliance.

Group assignment/presentation: 45% (Two assignments: One submission only (20%); One
submission + presentation (25%))

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For this component, you will work in groups of your choosing. Each group will be assigned two
cases at random in Module 3 – Analyzing business models. The case analyses should apply the
concepts learned in class. The assignment should be turned in the day before the case is scheduled
for discussion in class. Each group will be asked to present and lead and the class discussion for
one of the two assigned cases. Further guidelines for the assignment will be shared during the first
week of the course.

Final Exam: 40%

Take-home exam or an open book proctored exam. Details will be shared by mid-term week.

Session-wise plan

Module 1: Digital Business Models

1 Introduction to the course
Objectives To understand the concept of business models.
To grasp the range of business models that are emerging with the
proliferation of digital technologies.
Platform and Pipeline Businesses.
Need/relevance of new business models in the post Covid world.
Readings ● Johnson, M. W., Christensen, C. M., & Kagermann, H. (2008).
Reinventing your business model. Harvard business
review, 86(12), 57-68.
● Baden-Fuller, C., & Haefliger, S. (2013). Business models and
technological innovation. Long range planning, 46(6), 419-426.
● Shafer, S. M., Smith, H. J., & Linder, J. C. (2005). The power of
business models. Business horizons, 48(3), 199-207.
Assignment ● What is different about new age business models?
questions ● What are the factors that give rise to new models?
● What’s the relationship between strategy and business model?
● What are the differences between traditional business models and
digital business models?
2 Mapping the New Age Business Models
Objectives To understand the evolution of business models (particularly in India).
To understand challenges, enablers, and key success factors for the four
waves of business model evolution in India.
To draw learnings from the Chinese context.
Readings ● Kavadias, S., Ladas, K., & Loch, C. (2016). The transformative
business model. Harvard business review, 94(10), 91-98.
Assignment ● Reflect on the new business models that you see in the Indian
questions business context.
● What are the key changes in technology, consumer behavior and
preferences, and regulation that are driving the new models?

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 Module 2: Business Models as an Engine of Value Creation
3 Creating and Measuring Value
Objectives To understand the concept of value creation and value appropriation.
New age metrics versus Traditional metrics.
To understand the suitability of different value metrics for different types
of businesses, stages of growth (thru analysis of some business models).
Readings ● Heinonen, K., Campbell, C., & Ferguson, S. L. (2019). Strategies
for creating value through individual and collective customer
experiences. Business Horizons, 62(1), 95-104.
● Mauboussin, M. J. (2012). The true measures of
success. Harvard Business Review, 90(10), 46-56.
Assignment ● How is value created? How do you know you are creating value?
questions ● Do you need different metrics for the new business models?
● Aren’t the new metrics such as CAC/LTV relevant for traditional
business models?
4 LTV – Lifetime Value of Customer and CAC – Customer Acquisition Cost
Objectives Measurement of LTV and CAC
How to Calculate LTV and CAC?
Why is it important?
LTV and CAC for different Business Models – Key drivers
Readings ● Bauer, H. H., Hammer schmidt, M., & Braehler, M. (2003). The
customer lifetime value concept and its contribution to corporate
valuation. Yearbook of Marketing and Consumer Research, 1(1),
49-67.
● https://www.profitwell.com/recur/all/calculate-customer-ltv
● https://visible.vc/blog/k-factor-what-is-your-saas-companys-
viral-coefficient/
Assignment • What are the various challenges for LTV?
questions • What role does retention and virality plays in LTV and CAC
calculation?
• What are long-term and short-term CAC?
5 Managing and Growing LTV, CAC, Payback Period
Objectives ● Understand customer acquisition and CAC optimization
● How to drive LTV
● Understand various acquisition models – Viral, Advertisement,
Content Marketing, Direct sales
● CAC vs Growth Objectives
Readings ● Haenlein, M., & Kaplan, A. M. (2009). Unprofitable customers
and their management. Business Horizons, 52(1), 89-97.
● https://www.profitwell.com/recur/all/calculate-and-reduce-cac
● https://www.klipfolio.com/metrics/difference/cac-payback-
period-vs-ltv-cac-ratio
● https://www.thesaascfo.com/cac-payback-period/

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 ● https://openviewpartners.com/blog/cac-payback-basics-what-it-
is-how-to-calculate-it-and-why-it-matters/#.YKNGcGZKi3I
Assignment ● What are some ways in which a company could reduce CAC?
questions ● What steps can company take to grow the LTV in businesses with
very low frequency of purchase?
● For businesses with low LTV either due to low ticket size or low
frequency of purchase, how does company make money and
build value over the years?
Module 3: Analyzing Business Models
6 Case Study 1: D2C Business Models MamaEarth, Nykaa, Licious,
Objectives To understand factors giving raise to explosion of D2C sector, what
approaches can D2C brands take to differentiate, what factors determine
the success or failure of D2c brands, top segments in D2C. How
companies can win in D2c game
Readings ● Avendus D2C
● Students are expected to read up on latest articles on the said
companies as preparation for the report submission and
presentation. Access to Venture Intelligence and Traxcn is
available to students. Additionally, other popular blogs, podcasts
will be given at the beginning of the course
Assignment Some student groups will submit a report and also present in class
questions as per the guidelines provided. Others will go through the
readings assigned in preparation for class.

7 Case Study 2: SAAS business models: Freshdesk, Postman, Druva, Zenoti

Objectives To understand success of Indian SAAS sector.

The attributes of a successful SAAS business model.
Covid Impact on SAAS companies.
Marketing and Business Development strategy of SAAS companies.
Readings ● Ramanathan, A. and Raghavendra, S. (13 Dec, 2019). Startup
School to Saas: Binny Bansals xto10x Stepping Stone. The Ken
India.
● Raghavendra, S (17 June, 2020). How Postman delivered a US$ 2
Billion valuation. The Ken India.
● https://www.profitwell.com/recur/all/calculate-and-reduce-
payback-period
Assignment ● Some student groups will submit a report and also present in class
questions as per the guidelines provided. Others will go through the
readings assigned in preparation for class.
8 Case Study 3: Pure digital Business; Cred, Dream11, Netflix

Objectives To understand the business model of pure play digital business model
like Cred, Dream11

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 What determines the success?
Monetization strategies
Valuation drivers
Readings ● Damodaran, A. (2015). Musings on Markets. Netflix: The Future
of Entertainment or House of Cards.
● Students are expected to read up on latest articles on the said
companies as preparation for the report submission and
presentation. Access to Venture Intelligence and Traxcn is
available to students. Additionally, other popular blogs, podcasts
will be given at the beginning of the course
Assignment ● Some student groups will submit a report and also present in class
questions as per the guidelines provided. Others will go through the
readings assigned in preparation for class.

9 Case Study 4: Market places and Aggregators: Swiggy, Zomato, Urban Company

Objectives To understand the key drivers of marketplace / aggregator platforms.

What made some click and others fail
Challenges of disintermediation
Two sided marketplaces
Conflict resolution and Value capture between marketplace and service
providers
Readings ● Students are expected to read up on latest articles on the said
companies as preparation for the report submission and
presentation. Access to Venture Intelligence and Traxcn is
available to students. Additionally, other popular blogs, podcasts
will be given at the beginning of the course
Assignment ● Some student groups will submit a report and also present in class
questions as per the guidelines provided. Others will go through the
readings assigned in preparation for class.
10 Case Study 5: Ecommerce – Egrocery : Bigbasket, Dealshare

Objectives To understand drivers of Horizontal Ecommerce, Domain Niche

Ecommerce and Subscription based Ecommerce models.
Contrast Grocery models – Bigbasket vs Dealshare vs Instacart vs
Milkbasket.
Group Buying and Community Commerce.
Readings ● Students are expected to read up on latest articles on the said
companies as preparation for the report submission and
presentation. Access to Venture Intelligence and Traxcn is
available to students. Additionally, other popular blogs, podcasts
will be given at the beginning of the course

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 Assignment • Some student groups will submit a report and also present in
questions class as per the guidelines provided. Others will go through the
readings assigned in preparation for class.

Module 4: Scaling and Growth

11 Expanding the opportunity – Business model diversification/portfolio

Objectives To understand how to maximize a given opportunity.
To understand business model diversification
Readings ● Aversa, P., Haefliger, S., & Reza, D. G. (2017). Building a
winning business model portfolio. MIT Sloan Management
Review, 58(4), 49-54.

Assignment ● Given that India is a large Market, what is the need for Indian
questions companies to look outside the country for expansion? Why not
focus on the next tier of towns and cities?
● For businesses that inherently grow slowly and steadily, (how)
can companies achieve exponential rate of growth? E.g.:
Traditional FMCG - the population is growing at steady pace, the
need for toothpastes is steady.

12 Expanding the opportunity – Business model innovation

Objectives ● Understand when and why business model innovation is
necessary
● Understand how to undertake business model innovation
Readings ● Girotra, K., & Netessine, S. (2014). Four paths to business model
innovation. Harvard Business Review, 92(7-8), 97-103.
● Hacklin, F., Björkdahl, J., & Wallin, M. W. (2018). Strategies for
business model innovation: How firms reel in migrating
value. Long range planning, 51(1), 82-110.
Assignment ● Why is business model innovation necessary?
questions ● Is it a sustainable source of competitive advantage?
13 Scaling Business – Iterative and Constant growth.
Objectives To understand how to achieve iterative and constant growth.
How to handle pangs of growth?
To understand the changes in approach and organizational resources
necessary as company grows from a startup to a mature company.
Blitzscaling – Techniques of Scaling.
To understand when not to scale.
Readings ● Piaskowska, D., Tippmann, E., & Monaghan, S. (2021). Scale-up
modes: Profiling activity configurations in scaling strategies.
Long Range Planning, 102101.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2021.102101

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 ● From Pony to Unicorn: Scaling a Start-up Sustainably by Sanjeev
Aggarwal & T.N. Hari, Chapter 2
Assignment ● 0 to 1 is very different than 1 to 10 – What are various challenges
questions across functions to go from 1 to 10 for young companies?
14 Skill sets to achieve growth
Objectives To map out the skill sets required to achieve the growth.
To understand the role of data in analyzing growth opportunities; various
testing methods to determine avenues of growth
To understand the role of experiments, growth mindset, user insights and
feedback
Readings ● Fountaine, T., McCarthy, B., & Saleh, T. (2021). Getting AI to
scale: Don't try to change everything at once, but do begin with
something important. Harvard Business Review, 99(3), 116.
● Pine II, B. J., & Gilmore, J. (2016). Integrating experiences into
your business model: five approaches. Strategy & Leadership.
Assignment ● What are the individual and organizational skills required to be
questions successful in achieving growth?
● How does company transform itself in terms of DNA, CXO team
to handle various stages of growth
15 The growth dilemma
Objectives To understand Blue-Sky/Greenfield value.
Value versus Valuation; Growth versus Monetization.
To understand the role of competition.
Is bootstrapping your way to create value a dated concept?
Readings: ● Gnanasambandam, C., Miller, A., and Sprague, K. (October 17,
2017). Grow fast or die slow: The role of profitability in
sustainable growth. McKinsey & Company Insights.
● Damodaran, A. (2020). An Introduction to Valuation.
● Damodaran, A. (2020). Insights on VC Pricing: Lessons From
Uber, WeWork And Peloton
Assignment ● How do investors value new company in new sector? E.g.
questions Valuation of Facebook, Flipkart in Series A, Series B rounds
● How to decide whether to burn cash and grow for growth and
market share or look at more sane metrics like margins,
monetization, path to profitability? What decides the path?
Module 5: Looking ahead
16 Digital Business Transformation: Creating New Business Models in Incumbent
Legacy Business Models
Objectives To understand how old economy, traditional businesses can leverage new
technologies and tools to seize the opportunity and defend against
disruption.

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 How to integrate legacy strengths, resources and DNA while
transformation
Examples of what has worked well and where it has failed.
Readings • Westerman, G., Bonnet, D., & McAfee, A. (2014). The nine
elements of digital transformation. MIT Sloan Management
Review, 55(3), 1-6.
• Tabrizi, B., Lam, E., Girard, K., & Irvin, V. (2019). Digital
transformation is not about technology. Harvard Business
Review, 13, 1-6.
• Seth, N. (2021). Winning in The Digital Age: Seven Building
Blocks of a Successful Digital Transformation. India: Penguin
Random House India Private Limited. Chapter 1
Assignment ● What are the major challenges to large successful companies
Question taking advantage of new business models?
● Take one example of success and one of failure where market
leaders handled the transformation into new business scenario.
● Is entrepreneurship, acqui-hire way to address the challenge?
How do companies marry need to preserve value and build on
their existing strengths and the need to innovate and potentially
cannibalize their own business?
17 Emerging Technologies and Concepts
Objectives ● To understand the emerging technological landscape and the new
business concepts that it is seeding. E.g.: Cryptocurrency,
Blockchain, NFT, SPAC
Readings ● Pls read articles from the internet to have a basic understanding
of Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, SPAC, NFT and DeFi

Assignment ●How might these emerging technologies impact business models?

questions ●What is the relevance of cryptocurrency, digital assets as
alternative store of value and medium of exchange? Will it
become mainstream?
● Is SPAC new wine in old bottle, variation of blank cheque
companies? Will too many SPACs spoil the party? Is it really risk
free for initial investors as it is made out to be?
● Future of DeFi in global economy – What do you see as
challenges as traditional financial institutions come under
pressure?
● Is NFT a Fad? Will it apply to real world and non-digital assets
seamlessly?
18 Pandemic Impact on Business Models
Objectives To understand the long-term impact of the pandemic on business models
To understand the new opportunities in post-pandemic world.
Readings ● Seetharaman, P. (2020). Business models shifts: Impact of Covid-
19. International Journal of Information Management, 54,
102173.

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 ● Napier et al. (2020). Modern business models will drive the post
pandemic world, MIT Sloan Management Review.
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/modern-business-models-will-
drive-the-post-pandemic-world/
● Brynes and Wass (2021) How to create a winning post-pandemic
business model. Harvard Business Review.
https://hbr.org/2021/03/how-to-create-a-winning-post-pandemic-
business-model
Assignment ● What are the two top consumer behavior changes you feel would
questions impact businesses most and how should companies handle it?
● What in hindsight should organizations badly affected, could
have done to be better prepared to handle this?
● In terms of business canvas, organization structure, what do you
think will be lasting changes as companies plan for any such
future events?
19, Guest Lecture 1 and2 (placeholder only, can be anywhere)
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Profile of adjunct faculty:

K Ganesh, Serial Entrepreneur, Partner – GrowthStory.in

Promoter – BigBasket, Portea Medical, Bluestone ,HomeLane, HouseJoy, HungerBox,
FreshMenu & other Cos.

Ganesh is a successful serial entrepreneur with four successful

greenfield ventures and exits. He currently runs GrowthStory.in, a
leading venture builder platform that promotes and incubates new
ventures along with great entrepreneurs.
Over the last few years, GrowthStory has promoted leading
companies like Bigbasket.com – India’s largest eGrocery company,
Portea Medical - India’s largest and fastest growing home healthcare
company with 4000+ employees and operations across 16 cities in
India,Bluestone.com – a leading online jewellery company,
FreshMenu -India’s largest B2C food tech company,HomeLane - India’s leading end to end,
vertically integrated interior design and manufacturing provider, HungerBox – India’s largest B2B
foodtech platform serving over 5 lakh orders a day, Verloop.io - an AI/ML solutions provider and
Home Screen Network – a vernacular digital media company

His last venture, TutorVista was acquired by US and UK listed education leader Pearson for $ 213
MM.Previously, Ganesh founded and was the chairman of data analytics BPO firm Marketics until
March 2007, when the company was acquired by NYSE-listed WNS for $ 63 MM.

In 2000,Ganesh started CustomerAsset, a pioneer in BPO / Call center space. The company was
later acquired by NYSE-listed ICICI Bankand is now publicly listed in India as First Source
Solutions.Ganesh founded IT&T in 1990 and built it into one of India’s top multi-vendor IT service
and support companies. The company was acquired by iGate (a listed company) in 2003.

Ganesh actively mentors, incubates and funds start-ups .His angel investments include
LittleEyeLabs (acquired by Facebook in Jan 2014), delyver.com (acquired by BigBasket in 2015),
DealShare, Oto Capita, Hackerearth, CredR, Pokkt, SilverPush, DogSpot ,Vogo,Boloetc

Ganesh has also worked as the CEO of Wipro/Bharti British Telecom – a British Telecom JV in
India, and held a senior management position in HCL Ltd.

Ganesh is a post-graduate from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and has a degree in
Mechanical Engineering from Delhi University. He is recipient of Distinguished Alumnus award
from both the institutions.

He served as Member, Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and
was founder director at IIM Calcutta Innovation park & Incubation cell.

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He is also a popular speaker at entrepreneurship, start-up and technology events. He has been
recognized as one of the "Iconic Entrepreneurs of India" in a document published by National
Knowledge Commission, Government of India and was a nominee for The Economic Times
‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award in 2015.

During March 2020, he cofounded a Social initiative to feed migrant and daily wage workers and
served 45 lakh meals over a three month period across five cities in India under FeedMyBangalore
and FeedMycity banner.

Contact Details: ganesh@growthstory.in, 9845054263, Twitter: @ganeshk03

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