Claire Holzheimer, Rebekah Paul, and Jaime Buitrago On Tuesday, March 14, 2017, we went to the Scalable offices to meet with our assigned startup to work on our consulting projects. We met the co-founder of our startup, Intra-preneur, Jonathan Frojmowicz along with Sandra Gorin, an entrepreneur interested in empowering women in leadership roles. After brief personal introductions, we began to dive into what Intra-preneur is and what they are trying to do. It was interesting to hear first-hand about the Argentine market and to offer them advice for different solutions based on our own experiences back home.
Jonathan was able to walk us through Intra-preneur's three business units and how they are planning on handling each one using different technology along with the relationships they have built in their network. We were able to see what they have done so far with social media, marketing and existing roadmaps they are utilizing. As a group, we brainstormed of ways to improve their business units and models in order to get one step closer to successfully rolling out their consulting and educational services. Between the many options that we look in our meeting, we focused most of our time on two topics, first the main steps to start the process to apply intrapreneurship on companies and second which market focused first. First, we show to Jonathan and Sandra our research on how to apply intrapreneurship on companies they were very interested in the result of our research. Second, we have a brainstorm about the pros and cons of start offering the company services in the different markets (small, medium, big, and multinational companies) even we didn’t have a conclusion on this topic we were able to learn more about the market in Argentina for the service. Tayo, Edwin, Mark Our group had the opportunity to meet with with Alejandro, the General Manager of Scalabl, and Francisco, the lead developer working for Digital Doctor. We discussed with them, at length, the direction that Scalabl was heading in the future as well as where the Digital Doctor team fits in with their future goals. It was an extremely insightful conversation, as we were both able to learn and apply many of the topics that we as MBA students are taught within our program. Within the Scalabl company, we were tasked with assisting the Digital Doctor team in improving their product for their users. Digital Doctore is a platform for doctors and patients to have efficient access to their medical records, prescriptions, and appointments. The aim of this application is aid in the facilitation between physicians, administration staff, and patients in order to make interactions more pleasant, efficient, and cost effective. One benefit of this application is that it will enhance communication between physicians. For example, with patients that see more than one physician for treatment, this app will allow the patients electronic health record and other information to be shared amongst these physicians. The creators of Digital Doctor are in the process of acquiring subscribers however, they have been encountering problems through their marketing strategy. As such, the many potential clients have yet to hear about Digital Doctor. We have suggested to the Digital Doctor team that they not only alter their marketing strategy but also their differentiation strategy. Since there are are many similar products now emerging on the market, the market has now become highly competitive. Thus, when in a competitive market it is more advantageous to want to differentiate your product through a specific value in your company or price. It is our suggestion to the Digital Doctor company that they should find ways to separate their product from competitors. Alex Callahan Rubin Chen James Tanner We made several suggestions to Francisco before our visit to Argentina. We were delighted to find that some of them were put into practice by the time we met in person. Precios Ninja has made several partnerships with companies providing supporting services. They are also purchasing through a company Grupo Nucleo. The company is shipping products directly to the customer with invoices from Precios Ninja. This dramatically decreases the time between orders and final delivery of the product. This improves the ability to compete with other larger companies. Precios Ninja is now using Streak as a CRM service. We provided an addition idea of having a physical store location. This could potentially give them more viewability by more potential customers as well as increase their perceived reputation. Francisco is currently working on how to differentiate themselves from other potential companies that may want to compete with them or enter the market. This is something that will need to be addressed to successfully combat potential competition. Unfortunately for our group Francisco is also the head of another Scalabl company Digital Doctor. The other partner Marcos was unable to attend our event so the second half of our time was spent with Alejandro the General Manager of Scalabl. During the time spent with Alejandro he informed us that the partnership has recently begun to implement more clearly defined roles. Marcos is now in charge of running the operations and sales with Francisco being in charge of the technological development. This change is beneficial for when either partner is on vacation and controls the amount of times there are both partners working on the same thing without each others knowledge. In order to grow their product from here we discussed the need for more development of their website to provide an easier search method for items than their current manual procedure. It seems that currently they are in the process of customer validation before investing more time on their website. Last month their website received 70 customer requests which was their largest total request to date. In order to scale up their method needs to be more refined as customer request bogs down their current system. We have identified the need for a discounted retail model in Argentina and with proper execution Precios Ninja could be the team to fill that need. Evan Harris, George Mann, Beth Greenwood We met with Francisco Santolo, managing director of Scalabl, an incubator for entrepreneurs in Buenos Aires. Santolo shared with us his philosophy and vision for fostering successful startup businesses in Argentina. One surprising element of Santolo's vision is that it has little to do with the pursuit of financial rewards. During the several hours we spent with him, Santolo described a structure for enabling entrepreneurial success that is defined by creating a symbiotic business environment where competition among entrepreneurs is displaced by mutual success. It's a vision he hopes to expand to international markets in the coming months and years. Santolo explained that Scalabl has 3 business units: an incubator, an academy, and a consulting business. He describes his business model as disruptive because unlike the traditional incubators which seek seed money from venture capitalists or angel investors to fund the early stages of business development, businesses that join his incubator invest no money, which, he explains, creates no risk. He said that Scalable "focuses on the development of our entrepreneurs and on generating a participatory community, with common values, where networking promotes the success of all its members. Our methodology is based on the selection of business models with high profitability and scalability and low risk." Santolo, who was recently profiled in the Argentina edition of Forbes magazine, started his business in March 2016. The primary source of Scalabl's revenue comes from the academy business unit. Entrepreneurs who join the Scalabl community pay a fee of $1,000 USD to participate in a training course (15 hours per week for 2 months) which teaches fundamentals of organizing and launching an entrepreneurial business. The academy curriculum focuses on topics like minimizing organizational overhead and complying with tax laws. During and following the academy experience, Scalabl (Santolo) provides the intellectual capital as well as work space to budding entrepreneurs. In exchange, Santolo receives a 20% ownership stake in the company, and he serves as an advisor on the company's board. For the most recent fiscal year, Santolo estimates Scalabl's revenue at $800,000 USD with a 40% profit margin. Santolo's expansion goals are aggressive, and this is where he's looking for some support. He's hoping to bring 1,000 prospective entrepreneurial ventures through the Scalabl academy in the next year (since the company's founding in 2016, 75 companies have completed the academy workshops). While he has laid the foundation for expanding in Mexico and he made an exploratory trip to Israel, Scalabl has yet to enter other geographic markets. Our next steps are to identify opportunities for Francisco to expand into other regions. Specifically, we will identify:
Yanisel Jordan, Anne Lebold, Tiffany Lyons Gonni Studio is essentially a marketing agency that specializes in branding and identity, founded by two design college graduates. The majority of their work has been with companies wishing to rebrand themselves or reflect any changes within the company, although they have worked with start-up companies looking to solidify their initial image. They also focus on connecting the company with the right targeted audience. Gonni uses a 3-stage model to implement their solutions: Research, Diagnosis, Design. Their initial stages are focused on due diligence and research to truly understand the company and their areas of needed improvement, in most cases where the company does not truly know it themselves. They then use their design expertise to create several scenarios where branding would be used. They go far beyond just marketing, and create methods to portray the entire new DNA of the company.
We must say, we highly underestimated Gonni before meeting with them in person. We had an initial Skype call with them, where we previewed some of their work and understood their desires for growth. However, being essentially two young kids in a shack, we did not truly believe in the quality nor preparedness of their work. We were pleasantly surprised to see some of their latest work and how deep into the process they go. Their advantage is their ability to deliver the same or superior quality branding solutions for a fraction of the cost. They had a one-time cost for the software they use, which they purchased prior to entering Scalabl, and do not have nor need any additional overhead costs. The majority of our time with them was spent viewing examples of what they do and the process in which they do it. While Gonni is confident in their ability to deliver quality and cost-effective results, their main current struggle is in reaching new clients. They expressed their pessimism about the branding market in Argentina, calling it underdeveloped and unwilling to pay. Their research indicates that the U.S. and U.K. are great market opportunities for them, with a high need and companies currently providing the service for a much higher price than they would. However, while they have identified a few potential clients, they have found it difficult to actually connect with the large companies they desire. They have a list of middle-size companies that have equally proven to be a struggle. They have a great MVP that has worked for them in the past; the issue is actually getting to these companies. Our recommendation to them was to potentially partner with middle to large general marketing agencies, who would ideally outsource the specific branding projects to them. On most occasions, companies are not aware they have a specific branding issue, and call a general marketing agency firsthand. Partnering with said agency would expose them to a diverse larger number of clients, and potentially clients of larger size as well. The remainder of our work will be researching potential partners for Gonni in both the U.S. and U.K. that we feel are more easily attainable, either through similarities we find or connections we already have. After taking 11AM shots and partying in Buenos Aires with the owners of Gonni, we look forward to continuing our work with them! Catherine Humphrey
Jasmin Grindon Matthew Randall We genuinely had a wonderful day spending time with the founders of StartupXperience in Buenos Aires! Both entrepreneurs under this company are extremely passionate and their excitement was contagious. This startup is concerned with bringing individuals from diverse age groups and backgrounds from around the entire country of Argentina, into the city of Buenos Aires to experience, network, and hear from executives of companies within this booming city. We began by fleshing out the specific problems at hand as well as inquiring about the exact steps the founders have already taken to get the company up and running. Throughout the day, we determined exactly what elements this Case Western team can help with. We first came to the conclusion that StartupXperience could use our assistance in defining and testing the market age groups they are targeting. They are also currently struggling to reach college age students as these would be (supposedly) the most popular age group, but many simply to do not have the money to fund such a trip. This is why we will continue to brainstorm ways to ensure that everyone who wants to attend, is able to attend. Furthermore, since this is a bootlegging startup model, there is not much money available for marketing. Therefore, our group is also working with StartupXperience to determine where the most aggressive marketing should take place as well as how we will accomplish this. Overall, we loved meeting the founders of this company and hope that we not only helped them during our in-person meeting but that we will also continue to assist and consult with them over the next month. Alec Janda Giancarlo DiFranco Michelle Miller Meeting with Scalabl and the entrepreneurs involved with this incubator gave us another eye-opening experience into the universal nature surrounding the desire to create a company. It was a passion we have seen throughout the US, in our travels abroad for work, and through the Weatherhead trip to Strasbourg last year. We appreciate the fact that no matter where we travel in the world, we can find dedicated entrepreneurs who are eager to discuss their businesses. Learning about Scalabl as an entity was interesting in itself, but what was even more fascinating was how easily we were able to jump right into a brainstorming session with the founder of Bras Up, Facundo.
Once the formalities were out of the way and we gained a better understanding of the business model, the session became truly exciting. Upon learning that Facundo has a great grasp on the market, supply chain, and demand for his product in Brazil, we determined that we could best help the business by creating expansion plan for the US. The session rapidly turned into an exciting discussion surrounding an entire business plan for this large potential market. It held all of the excitement of any initial meeting involving a new business, and by the end, we were all fired up. Ideas were flowing freely, traditions were shared, and the group exuded enthusiasm for the project. The real work has yet to begin, but it was great to experience the thrill of entrepreneurship, all while sitting on an Argentinian balcony with new friends, sipping Mate and dreaming of perfectly grilled Asado, freshly charred from a Bras Up induced flame. Neha Desai Humzah A. Quereshy Abby Radcliffe We had the pleasure of working with Manuel as pseudo-consultants for Sushi On The Go. Initially having begun his career as a chef at both sushi and other genres of restaurants, Manucho wanted to expand his career by starting his own business with several dimensions: general sushi delivery and catering; sushi-making classes; and sushi catering for catering services (B2B practice). The nature of the market for sushi has a rather interesting history. With the water purity around the city of Buenos Aires at a relatively low level, the supply of good fish and seafood is very limited. In this way, food demand shifted towards large markets for South American beef and an increasing Italian food market. However, as the fad for sushi grows globally, Sushi On The Go enters the market to serve the niche population that is willing to try new things beyond the standard Argentine diet. Primarily, with the goal of providing higher quality fish, Manuel hopes to reach the wealthier communities in Buenos Aires for corporate events and weddings for catering needs, as well as small groups for his classes. There are a couple of main issues that Manuel identifies as critical roadblocks to seeing truly “Scalabl” success. Primarily, the consistent demand for high quality sushi has simply not yet hit the wealthy Buenos Aires community. Particularly, this manifests itself in his scheduling, where, in summer months of November and December – times of holiday parties and weddings – he is busy all the time! However, the couple of months following that, as people are a little more conservative with their budgets at the beginning of the fiscal year, he has almost no work. Upon returning to Cleveland, this will be at the forefront of our consulting work for Manuel to discover ways to stabilize year-round demand for Manuel’s sushi. As university students, an immediate thought was to reach out to the local university as a fairly consistent level of demand. For example, several students at our university operate as ambassadors for the local restaurants to drive demand. Perhaps this is an opportunity for growth for Manuel. The other main obstacle for Sushi On The Go is the slow progression of affinity for sushi. As people slowly begin to experiment with new types of food, it is taking a long time for demand to skyrocket for his food. Particularly, new sushi eaters tend to experiment with basic Philadelphia and California rolls, both of which don’t exactly mesh with Manuel’s vision for his company. Furthermore, many customers – such as businesses for corporate events – while they want to buy Manuel’s product, understand that not all people generally like sushi, so they settle for a more traditional pizza delivery service. While he has expressed a lot of interest in expanding his menu, the major roadblock exists in the foundation of the company being named “Sushi On The Go” – if sushi is in the name, odds are that he only does sushi. Manuel has been increasing his response to this by collaborating with larger caterers, and he can try to address this further on the marketing side, by vertically integrating and making the Sushi branch a subsidiary of a larger catering company. Upon returning to Cleveland, we are excited to seek out similar companies to Manuel’s and explore opportunities for growth and improvement in Buenos Aires. We hope to reach out to our peers for demand research on our college campus to understand wants and needs of university students. While, on the operations level, Sushi On The Go is an A+ with low costs and high profit margins, we hope to drive Sushi On The Go to its fullest potential by stabilizing demand for consistent production. Pictureto is a photo editing application for iOS devices that allows users to add filters, textures, and stickers to a photo and then save the photo or share it on social media. Contrary to my initial impression, Pictureto is NOT the same as Instagram, though they are still quite similar. The difference is that Pictureto has more photo editing options and is not a social media platform. Matias, Pictureto co-founder, was very adamant that the application was simple and easy to use. It is currently available for free at the app store. So, I tried it out (See bottom picture). I really liked the ability to add textures rather than just filters that are available in all other photo editing programs. Currently there are several filters, textures, and stickers that were designed by the entrepreneurs themselves. However, in the future, the application will allow users to create additional editing contact that they can then sell to other users, with Pictureto receiving a portion of that profit. This was one of several potential revenue models that they are exploring. It may depend on who the customer is, which is where we come in. Our project will focus on developing a customer profile. Is it people older than 45 who like pictures but want an easy way to edit them? Is it graphic designers who want an outlet to create content? Or is it someone else entirely? |
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