Top Five Asset-light Business Models You Should Invest in

How do you evaluate the success of any venture? The success of a venture is measured by the higher returns on the capital invested to start the venture. Presently, there are numerous business models, including the conventional ones like the proprietorship and the modern ones like the network models, on which companies operate to ensure as high returns as possible. But nothing had lowered the investment amount of the venture with the assurance of returns higher than the investment until the asset-light business model made its remarkable entry.

As the name suggests, the asset-light model (also known as the capital-light business model) is a business model where a business owns relatively fewer capital assets compared to the value of its operations. Based on the concept of a shared economy, the asset-light model is an innovative model on which a business can be run for better revenue. Here are some of the lucrative asset-light business models that are worth investing.

#5 Online Grocery Delivery

Grocery delivery services are the need of the hour. As people are becoming more and more occupied with their professional lives, we tend to forget some trivial but essential needs of life such as buying groceries. With online grocery delivery, it has become less hectic for customers and quite profitable for such service providers. In a grocery delivery service, customers will contact you for the delivery of their groceries and all you have to do is arrange the groceries via wholesalers. You buy these deliverables on wholesale but you sell them at their MRP, so you earn the margin. The online grocery delivery app Grofers has made it a million-dollar business and it sets an example for a lot of upcoming businesspeople.

#4 Hospitality/Hotel Chains

Indian hotel brands are embracing the concept of the asset-light model to push their revenue. From global brands to budget hotels, the concept is catching fire as people are saying to invest in the unpredictable real estate while they can still enjoy a revenue worth millions by just managing and sourcing hotel rooms for the millennials. OYO, an Indian hospitality brand that is spreading its wings wider and wider with the time, serves as a big example for bigger brands as they follow OYO’s growth path. By tying up with hotel chains, they can enjoy a certain amount of commission, and this makes it a perfect business model to invest in.

#3 Ride-Sourcing/Sharing Business

Ride-sharing or ride-sourcing is not a new term for the millennials as most of our transportation takes place via ride-sharing apps such as Uber and Ola. However, it is important to note that ride-sharing apps like these are not the owners of those taxis that commute in. So how do these apps work? The concept of ride-sharing is purely based on the asset-light model. The taxi owners use their own car when providing services and Uber gets 20% of the fare. This way the uber drivers share their revenue with Uber, helping both of them earn greater profits. Just a very wide network of drivers, an investment in designing the app and you can earn a revenue of crores! There are a lot of ride-sourcing or sharing businesses that are evolving seeing the huge potential of the segment, hence a profitable business model to invest in.

#2 Online Food Delivery

Another big segment that is burgeoning like never before is the online food delivery. With technology as quick as tapping on the mobile screens, online food delivery has made satiating hunger so quick and convenient as food can be delivered right at our doorstep. Online food delivery apps like Swiggy, Zomato, and FoodPanda, act as middlemen between the restaurants and the customers and earn revenue by charging a commission from the restaurant based on the order value. As a matter of fact, food businesses are one of the fastest-growing business, and with the asset-light model, it becomes one of the most lucrative business ideas.

#1 Cloud Kitchens

A restaurant-model with no storefront, not tables and chairs, no diners at all – cloud kitchen is one of a kind business model that is shaking up the entire restaurant industry with its low-investment structure. Cutting so many errands aids the concept in becoming a high profit-low risk model. Faasos, being one of the biggest examples of cloud kitchen category, was once a QSR chain but has completely transformed itself into a cloud kitchen-based venture and expands via franchising.