Participation into Profit
Why the strongest business models don’t just sell PRODUCTS, they sell belonging.
Most companies view revenue as something that occurs after the product is built, promoted, and hope the market responds. But the most resilient organizations design revenue models as part of their competitive moat.
It’s not just about more sales. It’s about smarter, more stable streams of income that deepen the customer relationship, and in many cases, redefine it.
One of the clearest examples comes from an unlikely source: a television show about unexplained phenomena in the Utah desert.
When Curiosity Becomes Currency
Skinwalker Ranch isn’t just a show. It’s a business model experiment hiding in plain sight.
For $12 a month, fans can join the Skinwalker Ranch Insider community, gaining access to live feeds, behind-the-scenes research, and private discussions. It’s more than a fan club. It’s a subscription-based research network, funded by individuals who believe in the mission and want to participate .
Every member isn’t just watching; they’re contributing. They fund the investigation, share ideas, and form a community around a shared sense of discovery. That curiosity becomes currency , a recurring revenue stream built on belonging.
The Strategic Advantage Few Businesses See
When executives talk about diversification, they often think of new products or markets. Rarely do they think of community as a profit centre.
Yet, when built with intent, a community becomes both a revenue stream and a defensive moat.
· It creates emotional switching costs.
· It generates insight loops that improve products.
· It aligns engagement with growth.
Think of Tesla’s referral network or Peloton’s instructor-led culture; each turns participation into a flywheel.
This idea isn’t limited to entertainment or technology. It also appears in everyday commerce.
The Costco Example: Turning Membership into the Moat
Costco flipped the traditional retail model on its head. Instead of relying on high product margins, it earns most of its profit from membership fees, rather than from the markup on goods.
That simple change does three things:
1. It aligns the company’s interests with the customer’s (low prices aren’t a gimmick; they’re the model).
2. It creates predictable, recurring revenue that doesn’t depend on daily sales.
3. It builds a psychological and financial moat; people renew because they belong to Costco, not just because they shop there.
And the moat doesn’t end at the checkout. Costco’s partner network of services, insurance, travel, home installation, and optical care extends that same relationship outward. Each partner pays for access to Costco’s trusted member base, creating a second layer of revenue: referral income built on loyalty.
The Architecture of Belonging
The businesses that win aren’t just selling access; they’re architecting belonging.
· Disney does it with D23 memberships and exclusive drops.
· Patreon lets creators transform free content into paid intimacy.
· Costco monetizes membership over merchandise.
· Skinwalker Ranch turns viewers into stakeholders.
In each case, the product is the relationship, and technology amplifies it.
What Leaders Can Learn
Whether you run a SaaS platform, a consultancy, or a brick-and-mortar business, the principle holds:
1. Treat customers like a community, and your community like customers.
Engagement is no longer linear. Every interaction can deepen a sense of belonging and generate revenue.
2. Monetize access, not just output
Memberships, early access, or insider privileges often yield higher margins and stronger loyalty than one-off transactions.
3. Invest in the infrastructure of belonging early
Build systems, digital or physical, that make customers feel known and valued.
4. Create partnerships that extend your ecosystem
Referral or affiliate programs can transform customer trust into shared growth.
5. Use software to scale participation
Membership apps, loyalty programs, and gated content platforms transform relationships into recurring revenue streams.
The Moat of Participation
Every business today competes for attention. The ones that endure will be those that convert that attention into alignment, and alignment into advocacy.
Revenue diversification isn’t about selling more things. It’s about creating more ways for people to belong.
From a ranch in Utah to a warehouse in Seattle, the pattern remains the same: businesses that treat participation as a profit-building strategy create moats that no competitor can easily cross.
The next competitive advantage isn’t scale or speed; it’s the depth of your customer relationship.