Post by Dr. Monica Schmickler

Nothing beats seeing students move from “describing” a business model to challenging and redesigning it. Last week, our bachelor student teams in the elective course “Digital Business Models” Hochschule Karlsruhe (HKA) / University of Applied Sciences wrapped up their assessment phase with presentations on six real-life platform and ecosystem case studies: BYD, FlixBus, Netflix, PayPal, Trade Republic, and Twitch. All discussions were part of an academic case study exercise based on publicly available information. In the course, we first built a shared language and toolkit for analysing and designing business models — from value creation vs. value capture, to platform thinking, network effects, digital ecosystems, competitive dynamics, and the #BusinessModelCanvas as structured lenses for decision-making. In the final student presentations, we heard thoughtful takes on challenges and redesign options such as: • …how digital players sharpen value capture when market conditions or regulation changes 💡 • …how to make a business model redesign concrete (2–3 clear levers, not a wish list) 🧩 • …which KPIs truly prove impact — growth, retention, margin, trust, risk 🧭 • …and how to defend strategic choices under Q&A pressure: feasibility, competition, compliance, and execution 🔍 A big thank you to all students for the energy, transparency, and professionalism — especially in the final stretch. And many thanks as well to our guest contributors during the semester Lüder Sachse, Kirsten Rieger, Christoph Korn and Stephan Grabmeier for bringing real-world perspectives into the classroom. Looking forward to continuing the discussion on what makes digital business models resilient, scalable, and responsible. But for now: Good luck for the exam period to all my students.🍀