blynk b final 2012 berkeley

BlynkB“Angie’s List for technology products”Customers (Enterprises): 87

Survey Respondents: 48

The beginning of BlynkB

On September 12, 2011

at 8:32 PM PST

Our Initial Team

Sunil Sharma

Program Manager at EMC SalesEWMBA ‘12 - Haas School of Business

Shubhada Hebbar

Product Manager at Lab126 (Amazon)EWMBA ‘12- Haas School of Business

Tony Chang

MS EECS

Jimmy Da

MS EECS

Cindy Alvarez

Director, User Experience, Yammer

Russ Holdstein

Angel Investor

AdvisorsTeam

Week 0: Problem Statement“Yelp for Enterprises”

Enterprises spend a lot of time trying to find right vendors, often unsuccessfully

Introducing : BlynkB

Enterprises

Find right partners for business needs

Vendors

New channel to source deals & build a brand

A unified platform that links enterprises and vendors together to meet specific business needs

We vetted our idea against a diverse group of customers

Customers interviewed

Large companies

Mid sized companies

Small companies

Week 0 - Our initial idea:‘Yelp for Enterprises’

Vendors

Small Enterprises

(SE)

MediumEnterprises

(ME)

Large Enterprises

(LE)

Bly

nkB

Enterprises

Small Vendors

(SV)

MediumVendors

(MV)

Large Vendors

(LV)

NO

TBD

YES

Vendors and enterprises seek to establish a long term relationship

Enterprises to publish their requirements

Enterprises to rate vendors

Vendors post their services

Enterprises who wish to find vendors (system integrators and software products) and publish requirements

Vendors (system integrators and software product companies) who will respond to the requirements

Amazon cloud service

Customer Acquisition Cost

Marketing team to sign up enterprises and vendors

Email/WebSocial MediaCold callsExisting procurement and sales relationships

Enterprises

Vendors looking for new avenues to sell their products

1

3

4 25

6

7

89

9

Business model Canvas (Week 0)

Large & SMB Vendors

Large & SMB Enterprises

Reduce the amount of time it takes to find the right product partner

Easily find the true capabilities of vendors

Reduces ambiguity in comparing vendor quotes

Makes it easier to publicize key offerings

Free service

Affiliate business modelSubscription fee based business model for vendors

Week 1 – Small Vendors (SVs) were excited about the platform…

Small Vendors

(SV)

Small Enterprises

(SE)

MediumEnterprises

(ME)

Large Enterprises

(LE)B

lyn

kB

MediumVendors

(MV)

Large Vendors

(LV)

Small Vendors are excited about:• building brand equity • generating leads• willing to pay up to 25%

affiliate fee

NO

TBD

YES

Vendors and enterprises seek to establish a long term relationship

Enterprises who wish to find vendors (system integrators and software products) and publish requirements

Vendors (system integrators and software product companies) who will respond to the requirements

Amazon cloud service

Customer Acquisition Cost

Staff needed to build a customer base including enterprises, product companies and SIs

Email/WebSocial MediaCold callsExisting procurement and sales relationships

Enterprises

Vendors looking for new avenues to sell their products

1

3

4 25

6

7

89


Build and maintain platform

Promote platform to new companies

Large & SMB Vendors

Large & SMB Enterprises

Helps shorten the time it takes to find the right product partner

Helps find the true capabilities of a vendor

Reduces ambiguity in comparing vendor quotes

Makes it easier to publicize key offerings

Creates new channels to sell products to larger enterprises since Gartner doesn’t include small companies in its list

Free service

Affiliate business modelSubscription fee based business model for vendors

Week 2 - LVs are not our customers but SVs are…

Small Enterprises

(SE)

MediumEnterprises

(ME)

Large Enterprises

(LE)B

lyn

kB

Small Vendors

(SV)

MediumVendors

(MV)

Large Vendors

(LV)

• Have pre-established sales & distribution channels

• Have visibility and brand awareness

• Obtain leads directly from enterprises

NO

TBD

YES

• Enterprises provide feedback and post requirements

• Vendors post key offerings• Partners are

enterprises

• Suppliers are SMB vendors

• % Cut from the vendors, on deal closing• Subscription fee for vendors• Free for enterprises

• Enterprises, who rate products/services

• SMB vendors looking for new ways to sell

1

3

4 25

6

7

89

SMEs

SMB Vendors

Large Enterprises

WebsiteMobile AppBlogsEmail MarketingCold Calls

Finding new ways to sell

Increased visibility Increased revenue

• Lack of feedback on vendors

• Time spent to find vendors

• Lack confidence in chosen vendor

ConferencesProcurement

• Long term relationships


• AWS (Amazon cloud)• Customer Acquisition Cost• Engineering

Large VendorsX

Week 3 – Large companies are not our customers

Large Enterprises

(LE)

Small Enterprises

(SE)

MediumEnterprises

(ME)

Bly

nkB

Small Vendors

(SV)

MediumVendors

(MV)

Large Vendors

(LV)

• Pre-approved list of preferred vendors

• Company policies and legal regulations

• Only trust sources such as Gartner• Difficult to add new vendors

NO

TBD

YES

• Platform• Customer DB

(IP)

• SMB Vendors – Niche content (product details) providers

• SMEs – User generated content (reviews)

• AWS (Amazon cloud)• Customer Acquisition

Cost• Engineering

• % Cut from the vendors, on deal closing• Subscription fee for vendors and

enterprises• Fixed amount / deal for vendors• Free for enterprises

1

3

4 25

6

7

89

* Int’l and Local

• Self Service• Automated services

• Co-creation

• Communities

• Lack of real feedback on vendors

• Time spent to find vendors

• Lack confidence in chosen vendor

• Finding the right partner for a business need

• Procurement

SMB Enterprises

SMB Vendors

Large Enterprises

• Increased visibility Increased revenue

• New ways to sell

Business Model Canvas (Week 3)

• Website• Mobile App• Blogs• Email Marketing• Cold Calls

• Platform Management

• Platform Promotion

X

Week 4: Only Small Businesses are our customers

Small Enterprises

(SE)

MediumEnterprises

(ME)

Large Enterprises

(LE)

Bly

nkB

Small Vendors

(SV)

MediumVendors

(MV)

Large Vendors

(LV)

• Will not use our product for reasons similar to those for large enterprises

• Willing to write reviews

• No regulations• Limited time and

budget

• Will not use our product for reasons similar to those for large vendors

Very Small TAM!!

MEs are not our Customers either!

NO

TBD

YES

Survey Results – SEs: Willingness to write reviews

34%

28%

10%

28%

Research so far shows – Small Companies will use our platform

Small Enterprises

Small Vendors

• Platform• Customer DB (IP)

• SMB Vendors• Medium Vendors

• SMEs User generated content (reviews)

•Startup Vendors – (Product owners)

•Startups – (Generate content - reviews)


• Subscription fee• Fixed amount / deal for vendors

• % Cut from the vendors, on deal closing• Free for enterprises

1

3

4 25

6

7

89

*** International & Local

• Self Service• Automated service

• Communities

•Co-creation

Finding the right business partners for tech. product needs

Small Startups*** (5-15 employees)

Startup Vendors***(2-5 year old)

Increased visibility revenue

• Website• Mobile App• Blogs• Email Marketing• Cold Calls• Google Search

Platform:• Management• Promotion

Medium sized businessesX


XX

X

X

XX

X

Sunil Sharma

Program Manager at EMC SalesEWMBA ‘12 - Haas School of Business

Shubhada Hebbar

Product Manager at Lab126 (Amazon)EWMBA ‘12- Haas School of Business

Jimmy Da

MS EECS

Tony Chang

MS EECS

Cindy Alvarez

Director, User Experience, Yammer

Russ Holdstein

Angel Investor

AdvisorsTeam

Week 4: We lost our engineers

Weeks 1-4: Key learningLarge & Medium Companies

• Have enough brand recognition already• Only trust Gartner and Forrester• Have policies against public feedback and

endorsing• Pre-established sales & distribution channelsCustomer Quotes:• “I don’t see any pain in deciding on vendors”• “Don’t want to publicly claim that one vendor is

better than other”• “Not willing to pay a dime unless you can prove

value”• “Side by side vendor comparison of vendors,

including customer reference ‘can’ be very valuable”

• Need brand recognition and sales channels• Limited time and budget for software apps• Willing to try new technology but low WTP• No rules and regulations and comfortable writing

reviews

Weeks 1-4: Key learningSmall Companies

Customer Quotes:• “Would totally use it...sounds like a great idea.

Looking to compare vendors all the time”• “Would love it as it will help in building further

awareness”• “No one good source to find reviews on all products

in a category”

Week 5: PIVOT! - Introducing - BlynkB VRM (Vendor Relationship Management)

Solution: An internal SaaS based Vendor Relationship Mgmt. platform for enterprises

Problem: Most enterprises have a large list of vendors, but no processes to manage that list

Week 5: Users of BlynkB VRM

Purchasing Manager

- Gather feedback easily- Maintain vendors list- Quickly find the true capabilities

BU Manager- Don’t have to deal with Purchasing- Increases transparency- Find the right vendor

HR Manager- Internal vs. external vendor spending

IT Manager- Research Vendors- Manage vendors- Deploy our platform

BlynkB VRM

NO

TBDYES

• Website• Mobile App• Blogs• Email Marketing• Cold Calls• Google Search





• Subscription fee• Fixed amount/deal for

vendors

1

3

4 25

6

7

89

*** International & Local

• Self Service• Automated service

• Communities

•Co-creation

• Finding the right business partners for technology Product needs

Small Startups*** (5-50 employees)


Increased visibility revenue

Platform:• Management• Promotion• Manage Ads


• Advertising revenue: Category specific ads

Large & Medium sized companies

• Helps manage long list of vendors

• Reduce time spent searching for tech products

Purchasing Manager

- Maintain vendors list

HR Manager- Vendor spending

IT Manager- Research Vendors

BU Manager- Hate working with Procurement

NO

TBDYES

BlynkB VRM


•Website•Blogs• Platform

• Customer DB (IP)




• Subscription fee• Fixed amount/deal for vendors• Advertising revenue

1

3

4 25

6

7

89

*** Int’l & Local

•Self Service•Automated

service•Communities

• Co-creation

• Ability to quickly find the right business partners

Startups*** (15-50 employees)


• Increased visibility revenue

Platform:• Development /

Customization• Review

Management• Promotion• Manage Ads• Licensing


Large & Medium sized companies – BU managers, HR, IT/ Procurement

• Large & Medium Co.– BU Managers

• Sales force• Partners• Cold Calls• Prof. Services

• Easier vendor management and discovery of right vendors

• Details of spending on external vendor

• Time savings in on-boarding new vendors

• License Fees

• Personal Assistance

11

22

6

18

16

0

6

21

8

5

5

12

4

8

Purchasing Manager

- Maintain vendors list

BU Manager- Hate working with Procurement

IT Manager- Research Vendors

BlynkB EE

HR Managers are not our Customers!

HR Manager- Use ERP to calculate vendor spending

NO

TBDYES


•Website•Blogs• Platform

• Customer DB (IP)




• Subscription fee• Fixed amount/deal for vendors• Advertising revenue

1

3

4 25

6

7

89

*** Int’l & Local


service•Communities

• Co-creation

• Quickly find the right vendors Startups***

(15-50 employees)





Management• Promotion• Manage Ads• Licensing


BU Managers, HR Procurement Dept. Large & Medium sized companies


• Don’t have to deal with Purchasing

• Open info. sharing between BUs and Purchasing

• Details of spending on external vendor

• Easier on-boarding of new vendors

• License Fees


15

22

10

1820

0

10

21

8

5

5

12

710

29




Management• Promotion• Manage Ads


• Co-creation• Licensing


• AWS (Amazon cloud)• Customer Acquisition Cost• Engineering• Legal• Accounting

1

3

4 25

6

7

89

Business Model Canvas (Week 8) – BlynkB VRM

Large & Medium sized companiesProcurement/IT Dept.



• Quickly find the right vendors

• Find true potential of vendors

• Don’t have to deal with Purchasing

• License Fees

8

10

9

310

85

12

7

10

Large & Medium sized companies

BU Managers

• Open info. sharing between BUs and Purchasing

• Easier on-boarding of new vendors• Large & Medium

Co.– Procurement

•Website•Blogs•Ads

•Platform•Customer DB

(IP)



•AWS (Amazon cloud)•Customer Acquisition Cost•Engineering•Legal•Accounting

• Advertising revenue

1

3

4 25

6

7

89

*** Int’l & Local


service•Communities•Co-creation of

reviews

• Quickly find the right vendors

• Find true potential of vendors

Startups*** (15-50 employees)



Platform:•Development•Review

Management•Promotion•Manage Ads

and placement

Business Model Canvas (Week 8) – BlynkB Reviews Platform

23

22

18

22

3

33

5

5

12

• Subscription fee

Decision Flow Diagram Internal Vendor Management Platform

Management

(Decision Maker)

Procurement/IT/CIO

(Buyer)

IT Managers (Recommender)

BU Managers (Influencer)

BU Managers (User)

BU Manager(Has vendor

needs)

IT Manager(Researches

Vendors)

Purchasing(Manage vendors

list)

Office of the CIO

(Approves PO from Vendors)

Selected VendorManages

Contracts

Submits PO for Approval

Looking for a new Vendor

IT Researches & Manages on Vendors

Connects BU with previous

vendors

Looking for a new Vendor

Approval Process Flow

BlynkB EE – Manage Vendors

BU Manager

(Fulfill vendor needs)

IT Manager(Researches

Vendors)

Purchasing(Manage vendors

list)

Manage Vendors

Find Vendors

Review & AddVendors

BlynkB VRM

Large enterprises would like to use this platform:

Improves vendor performance

Improves vendor management process

Identifies risks before they become a costly problem

Increases bargaining power with vendors through the centralized repository

VRM Platform should provide:

Self vendor registration and profile management

Centralized vendor management tool over the web

Risk management by alerting about risky vendors

Reporting tool that can generate reports on vendors

Revenue Model

Company Size Pricing/seat/year (License Fee)

Large (5000+ employees) $249Medium (500 – 5000 employees) $249Small (100-500 employees) $49

TAM: 1.1 B USD

Company Size # of Companies in US Managers Total # of Managers Pricing/seat Revenue

Large (5000+ employees) 2,200 600 1,320,000 $249 $328,680,000 Medium (500 – 5000 employees) 24,269 75 1,820,175 $249 $453,223,575 Small (100-500 employees) 92,386 35 3,233,510 $49 $158,441,990

Total $940,345,565

Company Size # of Cos Procurement Team Size

Total # of Procurement Team

MembersPricing/seat Revenue

Large (5000+ employees) 2,200 40 88,000 $249 $21,912,000Medium (500 – 5000 employees) 24,269 15 364,035 $249 $90,644,715Small (100-500 employees) 92,386 2 184,772 $49 $9,053,828

Total $121,610,543

Source: http://www.census.gov/econ/

Wireframes - BlynkB

Wireframes – BlynkB EE

Next steps

Hire engineers and build the prototype

Validate the idea with more customers

Identify the sales channels to sell to enterprises

Questions

blynk b final 2012 berkeley

Education

business model canvas

vendors systemeasily

vendors andenterprises

right vendors andbuild

tofind right vendors

small vendors svs

source business needsdeals

links enterprises