A commission model earns you a percentage or a fixed fee on each transaction you help create, instead of charging for the product itself. Marketplaces, brokers, and affiliate sites use it. You carry no inventory, so your revenue moves exactly with the volume and value of deals closed on your platform.
The core number is the take rate: your commission divided by the transaction value. A platform for dog walkers that charges 15 percent on a 30 euro walk keeps 4.50 euros. With 2,000 walks per month, that is 9,000 euros in monthly revenue, while 51,000 euros flows through to the walkers.
That gap matters. Gross merchandise volume is the total value of transactions; revenue is only your cut. Writing 60,000 euros in your plan when you keep 9,000 euros is the mistake investors spot fastest. Business plans, including the ones Foundor generates, ask for both numbers separately for exactly this reason.
Commission can be a percentage, a flat fee per transaction, or a split between both sides. Some marketplaces charge the buyer 5 percent and the seller 10 percent, giving a blended take rate of 15 percent. Higher take rates are possible when you do more work: handling payment, insurance, disputes, or guarantees.
Two risks. First, customers and suppliers who meet on your platform can transact outside it, and then you earn nothing. Repeat services such as cleaning or tutoring are affected most. Payment protection, scheduling, and guarantees are the usual countermeasures. Second, founders assume a take rate they never tested. If competitors charge 10 percent and you plan 20 percent, write down why a supplier would accept it. Check the floor as well: at 15 percent on 30 euro walks, you need about 2,222 transactions per month to reach 10,000 euros in revenue. Model the transaction count first, then the fee.
