For decades, economics has operated according to a simple logic: a company designs a product, sells it, and makes a profit. But this linear vision is becoming obsolete. Today’s growth champions or even young start-ups are no longer content with selling a product. They monetize an ecosystem, that is to say a set of interconnected services, content and experiences, where each element fuels the others.
Their genius?
Having understood that a customer is not only a buyer, but an actor in a valuable environment. An iPhone user doesn’t just buy a smartphone: they enter a world of applications, cloud services, music, accessories and subscriptions.
A Tesla customer doesn’t just buy a car: he or she gains access to an energy network, software, a statutory brand and a technological promise. This new logic no longer consists of “sell more products”but to circulate value through a network of touchpoints where each income triggers others.
Why the product model alone is no longer enough
Managers know it: margins are eroding, competition is accelerating, acquisition costs are exploding. In this context, depending on a single product or a single source of income becomes risky.
There are three main reasons why the linear “one product = one sale” model reaches its limits:
1/ Market volatility.
Product life cycles are shortening. What sells today may become obsolete tomorrow.
2/ Pressure on prices.
Consumers compare everything, all the time. Pure innovation is no longer enough to maintain margins.
3/ The experience requirement.
Customers no longer buy just a feature, but a coherent set of interactions that make their lives easier.
Faced with this, companies that are doing well no longer seek to protect their product, but to develop their ecosystem.
The ecosystem, or the art of multiplying value points
Monetizing an ecosystem means building a system where each brick creates value for the others. We are no longer talking only about “diversifying one’s income” but about orchestrating interconnected economic flows.
Let’s take a few telling examples:
- Apple: the iPhone generates the sale of AirPods, iCloud subscriptions, paid apps and Apple TV+ services. The initial product becomes the center of an ecosystem where each use strengthens customer attachment — and multiplies revenue.
- Lego: beyond toys, the brand monetizes films, video games, licenses and immersive experiences. Result: a complete universe, where the physical product is only an entry point.
- Peloton: the fitness start-up has built a hybrid model: hardware, content, subscription, community. The bicycle is only a support for a recurring service.
These brands no longer sell products: they sell a lifestyle, a belonging, a total experience.
The key principle: interconnection and circulation of value
In an ecosystem, everything is connected. Each element (product, service, content, data or community) can become both a source and an enabler of revenue.
Let’s imagine a software start-up.
Instead of selling a simple tool, it can develop:
- online training to support users,
- a third-party integration marketplace,
- a community of partner experts,
- a premium subscription with exclusive features,
- and even an affiliate program that rewards product distribution.
Each brick strengthens the others.
- Trained users become ambassadors.
- Partners enrich the platform.
- Content increases visibility.
The whole forms a living system, where value propagates in a loop.
From transaction to relationship: the real shift
Monetizing an ecosystem also means changing your mentality: moving from a transaction logic to a relationship logic. In a product model, the relationship with the customer often ends at the time of the sale. In an ecosystem model, this is the beginning of the relationship.
The company no longer seeks to sell once, but to cultivate an ongoing relationship, through different services, experiences and interactions.
It is this continuity that generates value.
A striking example: Adobe.
For a long time, the company sold its software (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) in the form of licenses.
Then it switched to an integrated subscription model — the Creative Cloud.
Result: recurring revenue, a seamless experience, and a hyper-loyal customer base.
But above all, Adobe has created an ecosystem of interconnected applications, where each tool enriches the other.
The three pillars of a profitable ecosystem
Creating a monetizable ecosystem is based on three essential pillars:
- The platform: It is the technological, logistical or symbolic base that connects everything. It must allow customers, partners or creators to connect and co-create value. → Example: Shopify connects merchants, developers and consumers on a common platform.
- Community: An ecosystem without community is an empty shell. It is the community (users, fans, partners) that gives life to the system, nourishes it, makes it grow. → Example: Notion has built a global community of users who create and share templates.
- Data: Interconnection generates valuable information. Properly exploited, they make it possible to optimize the experience, personalize the offer and open up new sources of income. → Example: Tesla collects driving data to improve its cars, its software, etc. and prepare future insurance services.
How to think about your ecosystem (even on a small scale)
You might think that only giants can build ecosystems. Fake.
Even an SME or a young company can adopt the logic.
The idea is not to create “more”, but to connect better.
Here is a simple procedure:
- Map your value chain. Where is value born? Where is she lost? Which actors participate in the creation of this value (customers, partners, suppliers, distributors, communities)?
- Identify possible interconnections. Can we transform a product into a service? A subscription service? Know-how in monetizable content?
- Think in “loops”, not lines. How can each interaction feed into the next ones? How can a customer become a contributor, a user become a prescriber?
- Implement orchestration logic. An ecosystem cannot be controlled, it comes alive. The company must play the role of conductor, not absolute owner.
The concrete benefits of a monetizable ecosystem
Companies that manage to build a solid ecosystem benefit from virtuous effects:
- Recurring and diversified income, therefore better resilience.
- Increased loyalty: the more a customer interacts with different services, the more captive they become.
- Continuous innovation, stimulated by partners and the community.
- Higher valuation: investors value an interconnected system more than an isolated product.
In other words: the richer the ecosystem, the more valuable each part becomes.
Traps to avoid
But be careful: building an ecosystem is not a magic recipe.
Many businesses fail because they confuse ecosystem and opportunistic diversification.
Some classic mistakes:
- Multiplying offers without consistency (which dilutes the brand).
- Launching partnerships without a long-term vision.
- Forget simplicity of use (the ecosystem becomes a labyrinth).
- Neglecting the perceived value for the customer (the interconnection must bring him a real benefit).
A good ecosystem is not a stack of bricks: it is a fluid, readable and useful whole.
The future belongs to platform companies
Look around you: the most successful brands of the decade have all become platforms. They are no longer defined by what they sell, but by what they connect.
Uber doesn’t own vehicles, Airbnb doesn’t own rooms, Amazon doesn’t own original content before Prime Video. And yet, these companies dominate their industries because they understand that maximum value is not found in the transaction, but in the transaction ecosystem.
Their strength? They capture some of the value created by others, while providing a stable and evolving framework.
