Takeaways from Previous class
Leverage the venture capital. In the case of Vetinsurance, Darryl leveraged his relationship with Dan(VC) to reduce his overhead. For instance, the Head of HR for Maveron (VC) was also the Head of HR for Vetinsurance
Raising money from Mother In Law and other angels serves as a valuable character reference.
Ruth Owades - Case
Personality
Positives | Negatives |
1. Passionate | 1. Politically NaiveShe should have prepared better for the meeting. At the meeting she was completely overwhelmed with the end result. |
2. Good networking skills | 2. Ideally, she should have capitalized on her boss’s guilt to get additional resources such as warehousing, shipping, etc. She may also have negotiated for a non-compete clause. |
3. Flexible | 3. Impatience |
4. Good Networking | |
5. Detail Oriented | |
What Ruth could have done
She could have negotiated with Avion to share the mailing list. The incentive could be a commission for every sale made from Avion’s mailing list.
She should have tested the “Product + Distribution Channel” combination through test marketing.
Evaluation of business idea along 5 dimensions
Market | Product | Competitive Insulation | Risk/Reward | Recurring Revenue |
High Potential | Medium | Low | Very low | None |
1. Market
Question: Is there a market for High-end gardening tools through mail-order catalogue?
62% of Avion’s mail order customers showed an interest in gardening. There seems to be some support for a potential market.
2. Product
Question: What does she need to do to release the product?
She needs to arrange for printing the catalogue, get the mailing list and further provide for inventory, warehouse fulfilment, office space, etc . Is the time reasonable?
3. Competitive Insulation
Through the first mover advantage, she would have additional time to test the mailing list. This learning will enable to better target the prospective...