DIREKT Business Model

Business model summary

DIREKT is a two-sided marketplace with a paid provider-side trust and visibility service. Customers receive core discovery and safety information without paying. Providers pay for ongoing marketplace participation and optional commercial tools, while verification decisions remain independent.

Customer value

  • discover nearby providers;
  • inspect current trust checks and service areas;
  • avoid unknown middlemen;
  • save and compare providers;
  • submit tracked enquiries;
  • review eligible interactions;
  • report inaccurate, unsafe or misleading information.

Provider value

  • searchable local presence;
  • structured profile without building a website;
  • credible evidence-backed trust claims;
  • enquiry and response history;
  • expiry reminders and guided remediation;
  • performance insights;
  • optional enhanced business tools.

Revenue streams

1. Provider subscriptions

Potential tiers:

  • Starter: profile management, services, service area and basic enquiries;
  • Verified: category-appropriate verification processing and trust display;
  • Professional: multi-user management, analytics and enhanced lead tools;
  • Institutional/Supplier: procurement-facing profile and compliance exports.

Exact price, included verification frequency and grace rules require pilot evidence.

2. Verification services

A category-specific initial or renewal verification fee may recover direct operational cost. The fee purchases processing, not approval. Rejection does not become approval because a provider paid.

3. Promoted placement

Clearly labelled sponsored placement may be offered later. It must never imitate organic trust ranking, hide verification state or outrank safety exclusions.

4. Transaction or booking services

A commission may apply if DIREKT later processes a booking or payment. Version 1 can begin with tracked enquiries and direct handoff.

5. Institutional tools

Organizations may pay for:

  • verified supplier discovery;
  • approved-provider lists;
  • compliance expiry monitoring;
  • structured procurement enquiries;
  • audit-friendly exports.

Cost structure

  • Android, backend and admin development;
  • hosting, storage, maps, messaging and notifications;
  • verification review staff;
  • field agents and transport;
  • customer support and dispute handling;
  • legal, privacy and compliance review;
  • provider acquisition and education;
  • fraud prevention;
  • payment processing and reconciliation;
  • monitoring and incident response.

Unit economics to measure in pilot

  • provider acquisition cost;
  • verification cost by category;
  • average review time;
  • field-visit cost;
  • subscription conversion and retention;
  • revenue per active provider;
  • enquiry value and provider response;
  • support cost per provider/customer;
  • refund/rework rate;
  • map/SMS/storage cost per active account.

Commercial integrity rules

  • paying is never described as being verified;
  • subscription state and verification state are stored separately;
  • sponsored results are labelled;
  • a suspended provider cannot buy immediate reinstatement;
  • verification reviewers do not receive approval-based incentives;
  • refunds and appeals follow published rules;
  • price changes are versioned and communicated.

Initial go-to-market

Concentrate supply before broad customer marketing:

  1. choose one pilot geography;
  2. recruit providers in limited high-demand categories;
  3. verify the initial provider cohort;
  4. partner with relevant associations, communities and property managers;
  5. invite customers into a populated marketplace;
  6. measure trust, response and repeat-use behaviour;
  7. refine price and operations before expansion.