I’ve been kicking around different business models over the past year for Jawaya. One of the attractive catch phrases I’ve come up with is “monetize excess capacity”.
(I say that as though I invented it, because Google puts one of my posts at the top of the search. If you’re me, that’s what you get, anyway; Google search supports vanity over accuracy?)
So what does that mean?
- Airbnb: monetize the excess capacity of your home
- Loosecubes.com: monetize the excess capacity of your office
- eBay: monetize the excess in your life
- Jawaya: monetize the excess capacity of your time (one of the options).
- Schooletize: monetize the excess capacity of your school facilities (fictitious)
What else do we have lying around that we can put to good use? Commercial kitchens. Long-haul trucking capacity (logistics software handles this pretty well). Planes. Trains. Automobiles.
It’s a long list.
But the only way these models can be successful is if there’s enough demand. You’ll get your demand initially by stealing it from entrenched players and disrupting the marketplace with lower prices for an adequate alternative.
- Airbnb disrupts the hotel industry. Lancaster Marriott charges $150-195/night. Airbnb has rooms for $70/night.
- Loosecubes disrupts the business real estate market, with its long, inflexible leases and high entry costs. But if you charge $500/month for a desk plus infrastructure, I’m going to consider other options like cheaper Loosecubes space or my own rented office, which I’d then share through Loosecubes.
For Airbnb, the backlash to their disruption from the hospitality industry will come in the form of complaints to local, state, and federal governments, demanding the same regulations and licenses applied to them be applied to each space owner.
So, what excess capacity can you monetize? For me, it’s a brain full of ideas. Just need to code faster. Any developers have some excess capacity they want to monetize?
Charlie Crystle | Digging In 
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