APIs come from the technology side. But quite recently APIs have evolved from “something that the techies do” to a product with serious business value. The IPOs of API-based companies, such as Twilio, are examples of that mind shift.

So when designing new APIs we have to stop seeing APIs as merely cool technology. We have to design APIs as products for customers with needs, wants and desires.

In this talk I show you how we use approaches from Design Thinking to elicit the needs of API customers and identify valuable APIs. But we should not stop there, we also want to find a viable business model for the API. We use the Business Model Canvas as a methodology for describing the business model of the API and iterate over several business models quickly, until we find the one that works.

This talk was presented at the nordic APIs Platform Summit on October 24th-26th 2016 in Stockholm.

Want to learn systematically, how to describe the business model of your digital product or API? Check out this course.

What is the Business Model of your API?

Also published on Medium.

Matthias Biehl

As API strategist, Matthias helps clients discover their opportunities for innovation with APIs & ecosystems and turn them into actionable digital strategies. Based on his experience in leading large-scale API initiatives in both business and technology roles, he shares best practices and provides both strategic and practical guidance. He has stayed a techie at heart and at some point, got a Ph.D. Matthias publishes a blog at api-university.com, is the author of several books on APIs, and regularly speaks at technology conferences.