Architecture Process: Searching for Value
A Practical Framework for Modeling Value Across Markets and Roles
You just shipped a feature your team pushed hard on for weeks, and no one uses it. Or maybe your project backlog is full of high-effort ideas with unclear outcomes. Sound familiar? That’s what happens when we chase delivery without first asking: What’s the value?
But what exactly is value, and how do we identify it? Let’s unpack that.
What Is Value?
Let’s start with the definition. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, value can mean:
The amount of money something can be sold for
The importance or worth of something to someone
How useful or important something is
A belief about what is right or important in life
A numerical amount
In summary, value is contextual. It’s something useful or meaningful to someone—it can be money, time, trust, reputation, or utility. Value is often exchanged and typically measured in monetary terms. But ultimately, it’s in the eye of the beholder.
The most valuable things are hard to make yourself. So you buy them, hire someone to do it, or customize an existing solution. Whether through barter or currency, value is exchanged—chicken for potatoes or dollars for coffee. That is the essence of an economy.
Types of Value Offered to the Market
1. Product
A tangible item you make and sell repeatedly. Products can be physical (such as a phone) or digital (like an e-book), and they must be manufactured, stocked, and delivered. Their value often lies in functionality, convenience, or emotion.
Example: Books, phones, appliances, custom software, T-shirts
Success factors: Quality, cost control, inventory, pricing
2. Service
An activity or expertise offered in exchange for money. Services are often bespoke or tailored, and they rely heavily on human talent and time.
Example: Consulting, freelancing, therapy, coaching, home repair
Success factors: Trust, skills, time management
3. Shared Resource
A single asset made accessible to many users, usually on a pay-as-you-go basis. This model increases efficiency through communal access while minimizing individual cost.
Example: Gyms, coworking spaces, car-sharing platforms, public bike systems
Success factors: High utilization, reliability
That pay-per-use spirit reappears in other scalable delivery models.
4. Subscription
A model that charges customers repeatedly for ongoing access to a product or service. It creates predictable revenue and long-term customer relationships.
Example: Netflix, Spotify, SaaS tools, monthly subscription boxes
Success factors: Retention, continuous delivery
5. Resale
Buying goods and reselling them at a markup. The key is to find undervalued inventory and create value through curation, convenience, or location.
Example: Retail stores, eBay resellers, Amazon FBA sellers
Success factors: Sourcing, turnover, pricing
6. Lease
Letting others temporarily use something you own. Leasing creates value from idle assets and provides access without full ownership.
Example: Equipment rentals, real estate, camera rentals
Success factors: Maintenance, contracts
From here, models start to focus more on brokering, attention, and financial instruments.
7. Agency
Acting as a broker or intermediary between buyers and sellers. Agencies create value through matchmaking, negotiation, and reducing friction in transactions.
Example: Real estate agents, ad agencies, talent agents
Success factors: Network, trust, deal-making
8. Audience Aggregation
Attracting a large group of people and monetizing that attention. It could involve selling ads, sponsorships, or direct memberships (like Patreon).
Example: YouTube channels, blogs with affiliate links, and podcasts with sponsors
Success factors: Content quality, engagement
9. Loan
Providing money today in exchange for future repayment with interest. This model depends on trust, creditworthiness, and legal safeguards.
Example: Banks, payday lenders, peer-to-peer lending platforms
Success factors: Risk modeling, enforcement
10. Option
Selling the right, but not the obligation, to make a future decision. Options allow buyers to hedge, plan, or reserve scarce resources.
Example: Stock options, concert ticket pre-sales, domain name options
Success factors: Scarcity, clarity
11. Insurance
Offering financial protection against risk. Buyers pay premiums in exchange for peace of mind and conditional compensation.
Example: Car insurance, travel insurance, business liability coverage
Success factors: Risk pooling, fraud prevention
12. Capital
Investing money in exchange for a stake in future profits. Capital fuels growth and takes risks in pursuit of returns. It includes reward-based crowdfunding, where backers contribute to a campaign in exchange for early access or perks.
Example: Angel or venture capital investment, crowdfunding campaigns
Success factors: Due diligence, alignment
These models can be combined and modularized—for example, Amazon combines Product, Subscription, Resale, and Audience Aggregation. See Josh Kaufman’s The Personal MBA for more on value creation archetypes.
Value Exchange: The Core Transaction
Value exchange is a mutual, voluntary transaction where each party gets something they perceive as more valuable than what they gave.
Types of Value Exchange
Monetary – Money for goods/services. Example: Paying for a coffee, purchasing enterprise software, or hiring a freelancer.
Barter – Direct trade of goods or services without money. Example: Swapping website design for legal advice, or vegetables for baked goods at a local market.
Attention/Data – Individuals provide their time, attention, or personal data in exchange for access to information or services. Example: Watching ads on YouTube and providing an email address to receive a free e-book.
Time-for-Value – Contributing time in exchange for knowledge, access, or connections. Example: Volunteering at an event to gain industry contacts or participating in an unpaid internship for experience.
Capital Investment – One party provides money with the expectation of future profit or equity. Example: An angel investor funding a startup in return for a 10% ownership stake, or someone buying company stock.
Value Exchanges Within a Business
Business (Provider) → Investor (Customer)
Investors fund the business—often early on—in exchange for future financial gain through equity, dividends, or profits. They take on risk with hopes of a high return. Venture capital firms do this routinely, aiming for large exits when startups go public through an IPO or get acquired.
Business (Provider) → Prospect / Audience (Customer)
To spark relationships, businesses offer free content, tools, or trials. In return, they earn attention, time, or contact details. It fuels inbound marketing and product validation. A freemium SaaS tool or a free e-book download is a classic example.
Business (Provider) → End User (Customer)
That is your classic sale: the customer pays for something useful, enjoyable, or time-saving. The business earns revenue and, ideally, loyalty. Every product or subscription purchase is based on this mutual value exchange.
Business (Customer) → Employee (Provider)
Employees give time, talent, and energy. Businesses offer pay, benefits, and opportunities for professional growth. Purpose, belonging, and development matter just as much as salary. In return, employers expect results, innovation, and commitment.
Business (Customer) → Vendor (Provider)
Vendors offer specialized services that the business opts not to build in-house, from design and logistics to infrastructure and legal services. Businesses pay for speed, expertise, or scale. This outsourcing unlocks focus and flexibility.
Conclusion: The Business Value Chain
Understanding value exchange is the foundation of designing effective business systems. Each actor in the chain plays a vital role:
Investors provide money for future returns from the business
Employees create the product or service using vendors
Businesses offer free value or pay for attention to attract customers
Customers pay for a product or service
The formula:
Deliver more value to customers at lower cost. Grow revenue. Increase company valuation. Make investors happy. And keep your employees happy, too—because they make it all happen.
In the following article, we’ll zoom in on mapping these exchanges to value streams.
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