What's the difference between SaaS, marketplace, and transactional business models?
SaaS = you rent software for recurring fees (predictable, high margin, sticky). Marketplace = you connect buyers and sellers and take a cut (huge upside, brutal cold-start problem). Transactional = you make money per transaction or unit sold (simple, but you re-earn every customer each time). Pick the one whose hardest problem you're actually excited to solve.
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YC's Startup Library is the canonical, no-fluff reference on how startups actually make money, curated from partners who've seen thousands of companies. It cuts through business-model jargon with practical framing founders can apply immediately.
Lenny's Newsletter is the most trusted operator-written resource on product, growth, and monetization, drawing on data from hundreds of companies. It's specific and tactical where most business-model writing is generic.
A16z is the definitive source on marketplace and network-effect business models, having funded and studied more of them than anyone. Their writing explains take rates, liquidity, and the cold-start problem with real rigor.
