The document summarizes and analyzes 10 business models that have the potential to succeed in Pakistan with some localization. These include PatientsLikeMe (an online community for patients), Groupon (group buying deals), Spotify (free music streaming with ads and premium subscriptions), Airbnb (renting out spaces to travelers), and Kickstarter (crowdfunding platform for projects). With the right adaptation, localization of language, and addressing security issues, these models could create new opportunities for online businesses in Pakistan.

1. C OV E R S TO RY Ammar Yasir
Ten on ten
Ten business models that have the potential
to create waves on the Pakistani Web
It is ironic that the value of one’s which listed the top ten online business
entire business – both online models. Here is an analysis of how these
and offline – is determined by a models could be applied to cater to the
few numbers. These “numbers” measure local business landscape and create a
important factors like Profit and Loss, fierce online presence.
Return on Investment (ROI), Click through
Rate, and followers on Facebook, Twitter 10: PatientsLikeMe.com
etcetera. You could be sitting at the top of One of the few good virtues still left in
the food chain, and your new product some of us is that we want to help others
could be the ultimate tool to completely by teaching them something we learnt from
revolutionise the concept of, let’s say, e- our life-changing experiences.
mail and messaging; but you could still PatientsLikeMe.com provides a platform for
fail (remember Google Wave?). You could patients to help other patients. And, it’s a
fail because you were unable to emerge free service.
from obscurity or because you were a
not-so-known online
re-seller, whose
company – in spite of
having a great idea to
work with – managed
to re-sell only one
unique product a day
(Woot.com). So, who is
to be credited or
blamed for one’s
success or failure in
such an unpredictable
market? Not viral
marketing or a lavish launch
party at a five star hotel;
ironically, not even your state-of-
the-art product. In fact, all tactics
and strategies are futile unless you
have a decent (if not great) business
model. The writer came across a
study by the Board of Innovation,
| 36 | february 2011 | SPIDER

2. C O V E R S T O RY
What makes it click Local adaptation
So, if it’s free, how do you make money With no PayPal or MasterCard in the picture,
from it? With the patients’ there is a huge potential for a similar
permission, PatientsLikeMe sells system in Pakistan. Since this
the patients’ personal business model omits the
experiences and need to punch in account
inferences to third details every time you
parties like want to make a
pharmaceutical donation – big or
companies and small – it could
research-based work well for social
organisations for causes, where
a good sum of people are too
money. lazy or too busy to
make a small
Local donation. The local
adaptation institutions, of course,
Local internet need to be proactive in
entrepreneurs could take incorporating the model
a cue from this and create into their strategy, in order to
similar website that also make it work.
supports regional languages. This
could create a comfortable environment for 8: Groupon.com
the local masses – especially considering Groupon is a broker platform that uses
our cultural tendencies and limitations. social media to offer exclusive deals (on
the best stuff to buy, eat, watch and do in
9: Flattr.com your local city). It’s a win-win situation for
We live in an age where freedom of both – the local businesses and the
information comes with a cost. Last year, consumers.
when PayPal, MasterCard and others
abandoned WikiLeaks, the Swedish What makes it click
startup Flattr ensured that with the help of Groupon communicates a mind-blowing
their donation system, everyone deal to a group of randomly selected
continued to have access to all the users via social media. If enough
groundbreaking leaks. The result: One people go for the massive discount,
WikiLeaks article led to nearly 4,000 the deal goes ahead as per plan
donations. and Groupon bags 50 per cent of
the revenue made from the
What makes it click promotional campaign.
How did that happen, you ask? First, the
writers add the Flattr button to their Local adaptation
content. Readers of the content click the Judging by the rapid
Flattr button if they want to make a advancement and changes in the
donation, and at the end of each month, shopping and purchasing
the writers get paid for every “Flattr”. A behaviour of Pakistan’s urban
further explanation is that subscribers of population, this model has a
Flattr choose a minimum monthly good chance for success, if
subscription fee every month, and the properly executed. Local businesses
amount is equally distributed among all the already use e-mail and text messages
writers whose content they “Flattr-ed” over to offer deals to consumers; then why
the month. Oh, and Flattr takes just 10 per not work on a social media platform
cent of the subscription fee. that facilitates it all!
| 37 | february 2011 | SPIDER

3. C O V E R S T O RY
doing the same? If they are
compensated, all artists – big
or small – will be happy to
contribute to your music library
6: PayWithATweet.com
Yes, that’s exactly how
valuable our tweets are for
businesses. Here, all kinds of
consumer brands, service
providers, entertainment
companies etcetera, offer
attractive deals just for a
tweet from you. This is
perhaps the best example to
show how social media is
almost as powerful – if not
more – as mainstream media.
What makes it click
Pay with a Tweet, at present, is
7: Spotify.com more of a marketing tool with no clear
What is the one thing that everyone likes? business model. However, it has a great
Freebies, of course! Spotify offers 10 potential – thanks to its uniqueness.
million music tracks, free of cost to its
subscribers, who can share all this music Local adaptation
with their friends via their social network. Local online entrepreneurs can learn from
The idea is such a hit that at the last count, this and explore the numerous possibilities
750,000 users were already hooked to it. behind social media. Any idea that can help
brands promote their products and services
What makes it click to a large audience will definitely get you
The thing that makes Spotify unique some revenue in return.
compared to other online music stores is
the fact that it compensates the 5: HumbleBundle.com
musicians for their creative work. The ad- Humble Bundle was experimental series of
based revenue model helps Spotify game-bundling experiments that allowed
provide free music to its users, while gamers to buy independently developed
giving the artists their due. Users who video games that run on Windows,
want full access to the music store have MacOS X, and Linux based systems.
to pay a small amount for premium
services. It’s an ad-plus-premium model; What makes it click
and a win-win-win (subscriber-artist- The website owners gave unprecedented
company) situation. buying power to purchasers who were free to
decide what percentage of the total amount
Local adaptation they wished to pay 1) the developers, 2) the
We have a success story related to music charity and 3) Humble Bundle itself. The
of our own. According to the YouTube team company was able to make 1.8 million US
that visited Pakistan last year, Coke dollars at the end of its campaign.
Studio’s YouTube channel was the 5th most
visited channel in 2010. If Coke can make Local adaptation
such an enormous investment in music, NGOs and charitable organisations – take
what’s stopping other companies from a note. There are numerous ways in which
| 38 | february 2011 | SPIDER

4. C O V E R S T O RY
we can use technology to serve social connect with owners who are willing to rent
causes; but by empowering the buyers, we out the place to you.
can maximise the results.
What makes it click
4: In-App Sales About 12 per cent of the commission goes
Do you know how the people of the out to the Web platform, depending on the
subcontinent got addicted to an English rental price. Some similar websites also
drink called chai or tea? The legend goes charge users with posting fees.
that it was first offered for free; then,
people got so addicted to it that they Local adaptation
couldn’t do without it, and were willing to It’s a brilliant, economical and convenient
pay for it. In-App Sales work with a similar model for Pakistan – after the security
cross-selling strategy. issues are taken care of! You can include
guest houses and budget hotels in the
What makes them click client list and take standard commission on
Users can use apps and games free of the business that comes their way.
cost; but once they get addicted to it (as
they usually do), they are willing to pay for 1: Kickstarter.com
the extra credits. Reportedly 80 per cent of Kickstarter is doing a wonderful job of
revenue comes using this business model. connecting startups with sponsors, who are
willing to support them. Essentially, they
Local adaptation give the fund-seekers and their ideas the
No rocket science here. But just be careful. promotion they need.
3: Quirky.com What makes it click
Imagine you have a brilliant idea that (in They follow the full-or-no-funding-at-all
your opinion) is bound to work. You pay 10 policy, especially since getting half the
to 99 US dollars to Quirky.com, and submit money you need does your budding
your idea. Once evaluated by the project no good. It also cuts down the
community, it goes into research and risks for the start-ups and the sponsors.
design. If the pre-sales of the product hit Kickstarter takes five per cent
the standard threshold, your product goes commission on the funding, and the
into production. sponsors get rewarded, depending
on the amount they invested.
What makes it click
The product goes to Quirky’s e-shop where Local adaptation
30 to 45 per cent of the profit goes to the Locally we have a website IdeasHut
idea initiator, 30 per cent to the influencers that supports a similar concept; all it
and the rest to you-know-who. needs is a business model similar to
Kickstarter. This way, they will not only
Local adaptation be facilitating the community but also
What we can learn from Quirky? 1) Interact sustain themselves.
with potentially great minds to build a
product that has great potential, and 2) Final thoughts
There is nothing wrong in sharing profits There was a time when we used to look at
with people who generate ideas and help the dot-com models from the Silicon Valley
bring the product to life. and tell ourselves that it will not work here.
But with rapid transformation and adaptability
2: Airbnb of businesses – big and small – the dynamics
If you are travelling and are looking for an have changed. Now, we can look at these
inexpensive place to live for a day, week or business models, localise them as per our
month in a strange city, Airbnb helps you needs and launch them in the desi market.
| 39 | february 2011 | SPIDER