---
title: "Revenue streams and cost structure"
course: "ENTR 242 · Start your own business"
unit: "Business models and riskiest assumptions"
lesson: 13 of 43
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/start-your-own-business/revenue-streams-and-cost-structure
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Revenue streams and cost structure

Lesson 13 of 43 in **Start your own business** (ENTR 242), unit "Business models and riskiest assumptions". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Identify common startup revenue streams (subscription, transaction fee, freemium, advertising) and match them to what a segment can and will pay.
- Distinguish fixed from variable costs in a startup's cost structure and judge whether revenue per customer could cover the cost to serve.

## Teaching notes
Use Dropbox's freemium model and Duolingo's mix of free ad-supported learning and a paid subscription.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 13 complete: Revenue streams and cost structure."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Drafting a Lean Canvas" (lesson 14 of 43), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/start-your-own-business/drafting-a-lean-canvas.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: Mapping fit with a Value Proposition Canvas
Next lesson: Drafting a Lean Canvas