Instead of competing with giants like FedEx and DHL, some drone companies are offering them a white-labeled, fully integrated autonomous delivery system. This B2B model allows logistics operators to adopt drone technology without building it from scratch, treating it as an addition to their existing fleet.

Eden Robotics charges customers $10 per hour of robot operation, not a monthly lease for the hardware. This pricing model aligns with the familiar mental framework of paying for human labor and removes the financial and maintenance risks of owning expensive, depreciating assets.

Instead of selling its multi-million dollar aircraft, Joby's strategy is to operate its own taxi service. This shifts the business model from one-time hardware sales to a continuous, high-margin recurring revenue stream, allowing for a fundamentally different revenue growth trajectory.

Initially disliking the capital-intensive nature of building 200 custom robots, the founder now sees it as a key defense. Unlike pure software companies vulnerable to AI disruption, his physical infrastructure and operational processes create a significant barrier to entry for new competitors.

Businesses that sell equipment should operate with three revenue streams: the initial machine sale, consumables the machine uses, and service/maintenance. The real, long-term profit lies in consumables and service, which function as an annuity after the initial sale.

Instead of only marketing to end-users, a rental platform can accelerate growth by empowering new service providers. For a tool rental company, this means enabling locals to start their own power washing or lawn businesses using your equipment, creating a powerful B2B2C growth flywheel.

To incorporate site scanning, Dusty Robotics leveraged a service partner network rather than building the technology itself. These partners bundle scanning, design coordination, and Dusty's layout printing into a single, higher-value package, creating a more profitable distribution channel for the company.

A proven strategy for monetizing AI within existing products is to develop and launch task-specific 'agents.' These agents, as demonstrated by THL's portfolio companies, are sold as additional SKUs or modules, enhancing the core product's value and creating new, direct revenue streams from AI.

To accommodate customers who include notes in their own gift boxes, Handwrytten offers flexible fulfillment. They will write personalized notes and ship them, unsealed and unstamped, back to the client. This solves a critical "last-mile" problem and enables more complex, high-touch marketing campaigns.