Every company has a business model. Most have never really thought about what theirs is.
You sell something to someone for something. But how — how many customer segments, who pays, when, for what — that's the model.
And it can change completely without changing the product.
A manufacturer of industrial pumps can shift from selling equipment to selling "guaranteed water flow per day" (Product as a Service). A music publisher can shift from selling albums to selling subscriptions. A furniture maker can shift from B2B wholesale to licensing design kits to IKEA-like retailers.
Same core technology. Completely different revenue engine.
If you lead an SME and want to grow without just doing exactly what you do now, the 66 patterns are a practical starting point.
Where the patterns come from
In 2010, Kasper Friis Gassmann and Alexander Frankenberger published "Business Model Navigator" — a systematic catalog of patterns that work. They found 55 recurring patterns in companies that scaled or transformed their business.
Since then, new patterns have been added — especially circular economy patterns and platform patterns. Today we're looking at around 66 well-tested patterns.
Key to remember: they're not invented. They're observed. Thousands of times.
The major categories
Let me group them into categories you probably recognize.
Subscription and membership (5-6 patterns)
You sell access instead of product. Netflix. Spotify. Your gym. Patterns here are "subscription," "membership," "freemium" (free + paid features). All variations on "I pay monthly, not a lump sum."
Concrete example: a Danish equipment manufacturer could offer an annual service subscription instead of per-call repairs. Customer pays 8,000 kr yearly. You get predictable revenue. Covers your parts inventory better than random emergency calls.
Platform and two-sided economy (7-8 patterns)
You don't own the product. You own the meeting place. eBay. Airbnb. Facebook. Patterns here are "platform," "marketplace," "community," "API economy."
Concrete: a B2B component maker could launch a spare-parts marketplace where suppliers sell to each other. You take commission, zero inventory risk. Or build an API where other companies use your data — you sell access, not data itself.
Product as a Service (4-5 patterns)
You still own the product. The customer buys usage. Patterns here are "product as a service," "pay-per-use," "outcome-based."
Concrete: an industrial pump manufacturer doesn't sell the pump. Sells "guaranteed 10,000 m³/day water flow" — customer pays per m³. You're incentivized to keep the pump running. Customer doesn't risk buying a bad pump. Both win.
Freemium and trial (3-4 patterns)
Free basic version, paid advanced. Patterns: "freemium," "free trial," "freemium+"
Concrete: if you sell B2B software, the free tier has 3 users max. Companies test it, love it, get locked in when they scale. 60-70% conversion.
Razor-and-blade (2-3 patterns)
Cheap entry, expensive consumable. The Gillette model. Concrete: a Danish industrial cleaner maker sells the sprayer cheap and profits on the chemical refill. Or vice versa.
Licensing and franchising (3-4 patterns)
You sell the right to use your model, not the product. McDonald's is franchising. Patent licensing. Patterns: "franchise," "licensing," "white label."
Concrete: a Danish design agency could license its system to international partners — "buy our brand guide, our tools, our process for X per year." Scales without opening offices.
Bundling and packages (2-3 patterns)
You sell multiple products together at one price. Patterns: "bundling," "lock-in," "loss leader."
Concrete: a consulting firm sells "2-year transformation package" (strategy + implementation + coaching) at fixed price. Less about what pieces cost, more about what the whole thing delivers.
Experience and community (4-5 patterns)
The product is the cultural gathering, not the physical object. Patterns: "experience," "community," "social."
Concrete: a furniture maker hosts monthly design workshops for residents (free with purchase, or paid admission). Doesn't sell furniture — sells belonging.
Data monetization (3-4 patterns)
Data is the product. Patterns: "data monetization," "data analytics," "data-driven."
Concrete: if you're a product maker with 10,000 sensors on customer machines, you know when they fail, where heat concentrates, where energy is wasted. Sell those insights to energy auditors in your sector. Same data, new revenue.
The 6 fundamental shifts
The 66 patterns aren't random. They follow 6 deeper structural shifts:
1. Segmentation: from one customer group to many. From B2B only to B2B and B2C. From selling to factories to selling to end users.
2. Value proposition: from selling the product to selling solution, experience, or belonging. From hardware to software. From one-time to recurring value.
3. Revenue stream: from one-time payment to recurring. From selling to selling access. From selling the thing to selling data about the thing.
4. Distribution channel: from direct to dealer. From offline to online. From salespeople to platform.
5. Partner ecosystem: from isolated to networked. From owning the whole chain to being one node in others' networks.
6. Cost structure: from big upfront investment to variable cost. From CapEx to OpEx. From inventory risk to zero inventory risk.
When you evaluate the 66 patterns, ask: which of these 6 shifts would move the needle for me?
A concrete example: Danish furniture maker
Let's imagine a fictional Danish office furniture maker selling ergonomic desks B2B to Danish companies since 1985. 1.5 billion kr revenue. 60 employees. Thin margins. Intense competition from IKEA and cheap imports.
A traditional furniture maker thinks: "We need to be cheaper or more designed." It's a resource fight.
A pattern thinker asks: "What if we use these patterns?"
Pattern 1: Outcome-based (Product as a Service) Instead of selling chairs, sell "employee health." Customer pays per employee per year. You measure through their HR system how sick leave drops after you install furniture. You sell the result, not the chair. Margin balloons because you scale without building new factories.
Pattern 2: Community / Experience Instead of selling to building managers, sell to health-conscious companies through "workplace wellness community." You host designer talks, videos on LinkedIn, benchmark reports. Companies pay to belong. Furniture is a side benefit.
Pattern 3: Data monetization Every sold chair has an IoT sensor. Data flows: how much do people sit? What temperature feels right? How many hours is the chair in use? Sell the insights to ergonomic consultants. More money in data than in chairs.
Pattern 4: Licensing License your design process to furniture makers in Germany, Sweden, Poland. They pay 5% royalty yearly. You build zero furniture. Global scale with no inventory.
Same manufacturer. Four possible transformations. All from the 66 patterns.
Why patterns work
Patterns work because they're tested by thousands of companies before you. You learn from their mistakes without making them.
If you invent your own business model from scratch without knowing the patterns, you risk:
- Building something that looks like "licensing" but without knowing what needs to be contracted
- Copying "subscription" without making "switching cost" high enough so customers don't leave month two
- Building "platform" without solving the cold-start problem — no sellers, no buyers, dead market
With patterns you get a manual that says: "Ah, you're trying subscription? Here are the 5 pitfalls others hit, and here's how you avoid them."
How to use them
Start here:
1. Map your current model. Who pays you? When? What do you give back? What are your revenue streams? (Usually you'll find you're already mixing 2-3 patterns without realizing it.)
2. Pick 3-5 patterns you're curious about. Read what others did. That's it.
3. Simulate one or two. What would shift X cost? What would it earn? How big is the risk?
4. Pilot the smallest version. If your target pattern is "subscription," maybe start with your best 20% of customers and offer them annual plans. Measure what happens.
You don't need to transform the whole business. You just need to ask: "Of the 66 patterns, which fit me — and which one could shift the value?"
That's good strategy: not changing everything. Knowing what to change.
If this interests you, 360° Sprint has the full pattern catalog built in. You can map your current model, simulate a new one, and see where it leads.
The 66 patterns aren't invention. They're observations of what works. That should be permission enough to try.