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Process Report by Andreas Rafn ([email protected])
Lucian Lungu ([email protected])
Miruna Antonia Olesen ([email protected])
Pernille Frederikke Sindberg ([email protected])
Group 2 / Semester project 1
MSc Entrepreneurial Engineering 2016-18
Aalborg University
4th January 2017
Number of pages: 76
Number of appendices: 7
Supervisor: Sven Vestergaard
Example of a 1. semester Process Report and Business Report (with permission from the authors).
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TableofContents1 SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................................4
2 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................62.1 PREFACE.............................................................................................................................................62.2 THETEAM...........................................................................................................................................62.3 THED-I-AAPPROACH...........................................................................................................................82.4 PROJECTTIMELINE................................................................................................................................92.5 COMPANYANDPRODUCTDESCRIPTION.................................................................................................10
2 DISCOVERYI...................................................................................................................................102.1 INTRO...............................................................................................................................................102.2 IDEAGENERATION..............................................................................................................................10
2.2.1 CreativityWorkshops.................................................................................................................102.2.2 Brainstorming............................................................................................................................112.2.3 Threeinitialideas.......................................................................................................................12
2.3 IDEASCREENING.................................................................................................................................132.3.1 TheSixThinkingHats.................................................................................................................132.3.2 GastroTravel.............................................................................................................................132.3.3 AnalogueCafé............................................................................................................................142.3.4 AlternativePlayground..............................................................................................................14
2.4 SUPERWISENET1...............................................................................................................................152.4.1 PreparationandPitch................................................................................................................152.4.2 Feedback....................................................................................................................................15
2.5 GENESISPADOPPORTUNITY.................................................................................................................162.6 REFLECTION.......................................................................................................................................18
3 DISCOVERYII..................................................................................................................................193.1 INTRO...............................................................................................................................................19
3.1.1 Achangeofcourse....................................................................................................................193.2 IDEAGENERATION..............................................................................................................................19
3.2.1 Brainstorm.................................................................................................................................203.2.2 Mind-mappingandmarketresearch.........................................................................................21
3.3 CONCEPTDEVELOPMENT-FROMIDEATOURBEAN.................................................................................213.3.1 Conceptualization......................................................................................................................213.3.2 ThenameURBEAN.....................................................................................................................233.3.3 BusinessModelOptions.............................................................................................................243.3.4 BlueOceanStrategyCanvas......................................................................................................26
3.4 REFLECTIONSABOUTDISCOVERYII........................................................................................................28
4 INCUBATION..................................................................................................................................294.1 INTRO...............................................................................................................................................294.2 PROOFOFCONCEPT............................................................................................................................29
4.2.1 Prototyping................................................................................................................................304.2.2 SuperWiseNet2..........................................................................................................................334.2.3 PlaceboTesting..........................................................................................................................384.2.4 Producttesting..........................................................................................................................39
4.3 PROOFOFBUSINESS...........................................................................................................................404.3.1 BusinessModelCanvas1...........................................................................................................414.3.2 TargetcustomeranalysisandBuyerPersonas..........................................................................424.3.3 MarketStrategyandMarketanalysis.......................................................................................45
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4.3.4 Budget.......................................................................................................................................534.3.5 BusinessModelCanvas2...........................................................................................................554.3.6 SuperWiseNet3..........................................................................................................................57
4.4 REFLECTIONSABOUTINCUBATION.........................................................................................................58
5 ACCELERATION...............................................................................................................................595.1 INTRO...............................................................................................................................................595.2 GROWTHSTRATEGY............................................................................................................................59
5.2.1 Strategyforyear1-2..................................................................................................................605.2.2 Strategyforyear3.....................................................................................................................605.2.3 Strategyforyear4.....................................................................................................................615.2.4 Strategyforyear5.....................................................................................................................615.2.5 Strategyforyear6-10................................................................................................................62
5.3 BUDGET2.........................................................................................................................................625.4 REFLECTIONS.....................................................................................................................................63
6 OUTRO...........................................................................................................................................636.1 CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................................636.2 PERSPECTIVE......................................................................................................................................656.3 THREEQUESTIONSFOREVALUATION......................................................................................................66
7 BIBLIOGRAPHY...............................................................................................................................67
8 APPENDICES...................................................................................................................................698.1 SIXTHINKINGHATS.............................................................................................................................698.2 BEANBROWNIERECIPE.......................................................................................................................72
Canbefoundhere:http://www.thefoodclub.dk/boenne-brownies/.....................................................728.3 PLACEBOTEST...................................................................................................................................73
................................................................................................................................................................738.4 QUESTIONNAIREFORPRODUCTTESTING................................................................................................74....................................................................................................................................................................748.5 RESULTSFROMPRODUCTTESTING........................................................................................................758.6 BUDGET............................................................................................................................................75
8.6.1 Year1.........................................................................................................................................758.6.2 Year2.........................................................................................................................................76
8.7 MOOD-BOARDFORSWN3PRESENTATION.............................................................................................76
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1 Summary
Dennerapportomhandlervoresarbejdemedsemesterprojekt1påkandidatuddannelsen
EntrepreneurialEngineeringpåAalborgUniversitet.Projektetarbejdettagerudgangspunktien
modelkaldtD-I-A,sominddeleretprojektitrefaser,henholdsvisDiscovery,Incubationog
Acceleration(Arteaga&Hyland,2014).IvorestilfældegennemgikvitoDiscovery-faser,førvi
bevægedeosvideretilIncubation-fasen.VinåedeikketilAcceleration-fasenindenforprojektets
tidsramme,hvorforviblotharbeskrevet,hvordanviplanlæggeratagereidennefase.
Rapportenomhandler,hvordangruppeanalyseredeogvidereudviklededemangeidéer,vifandt
fremtilviabådeindividueloggruppevisbrainstorming,fortilsidstatvælgeénidé.Formåletmed
denneidévaratskabeenbæredygtigforretningsmulighedillustreretvedatopbyggeenfiktiv
virksomhed.Denendeligeidé,somgruppenvalgteatarbejdevideremedidetteprojekt,var
bønneis–enfrossenbønnedessertmedislignendekonsistentogtekstur.Idéenvarbaseretpåden
stigendeinteressefraforbrugerneforsundere,økologiskeogplantebaseredefødevareprodukter
(MINTEL,2016).IdéenogvirksomhedenkaldteviURBEAN–enkombinationaf”urban”og”bean”.
Vivalgteenforretningsmodel,dergikudenomallemellemledogistedetfokuseredepådirekte
salgogkontakttilforbrugerne.Vibesluttedederfor,atproduktetskullesælgesisåkaldte”dessert
studios”,hvormansomkundekannydehjemmelavedeogsundedesserter.Selvomderkanvære
højerisicivedatåbneenvirksomhedirestaurationsbranchen,valgtegruppenstadigatforfølge
dettesomforretningsmodel.Beslutningenblevtaget,fordidenførstelokationkanfungeresomet
pilotprojektforatfåforretningsidéenvalideret.Dissestudiosskalafspejledenuværende
designtendenser.Foratundgå,atURBEANbliverensæsonvirksomhed,tilføjedevinogleekstra
produktertilvoresproduktrække.
URBEAN’smålgruppeblevanalyseretforatfindeudaf,hvilkenslagsforbrugeredenindeholder,
samthvaddisseefterspørger.Tildettebliverblevderopfundetforskelligeforbruger-personer
(buyerpersonas),derillustreredeforskelligeforbrugerespersonligeværdieroglivsstilsvalg.
Baseretpådettebesluttedevi,atmålgruppenforURBEANnetopbørfokuserepåforbrugeres
værdieroglivsstilsnarereendalder.Denværdi,somkundernefårvedatvælgeURBEAN,vilvære
enunikkombinationafatnydeenindbydendeogsunddessertimoderneogatmosfærefyldte
omgivelser.Detbetyder,atproduktkvalitetoginteriørdesignernogleafdevigtigstedrivkræfter
forURBEANsombrandtilatgenererekunderogsikre,atdevendertilbage.
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Forskelligeundersøgelsererudførtforatkunnereducerenogleafdeusikkerheder,somURBEAN
nuståroverfor.Viønskedebl.a.atfindeudaf,omkundernevillebliveafskrækketvedatbruge
bønnerivoresdesserter.Indledendemarkedsundersøgelserviste,atdetteikkevaretproblem.
Dettekræverdogyderligereundersøgelser.
Rapportenindeholderogsåeteksempelpå,hvordanURBEAN’sbudgetkunnekommetilatseud
deførstetoår.Budgettetviser,atdervilgå17måneder,førURBEANgårinul.Idettebudgeter
løntiltofuldtidsansatteogtodeltidsansatteinkluderet.Dissefirepositionervildeførstetoår
beståafgruppemedlemmerne,hvorforlønnenvillekunnebliveivirksomheden,dabootstrapping
ermetoden,viønskeratanvendeforatsikrehurtigvækst.Budgetteterskabtudfraenrække
antagelser,derskalvalideresvedåbningafdenførstepilot-lokation.Rapportenslutterafmeden
vækststrategiforURBEAN.Planenerathavemereend15lokationeritreforskelligelandeefter10
år.
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2 Introduction 2.1 Preface
ThisprocessreportistheoutcomeofthefirstsemesterprojectinthestudyofMSc
EntrepreneurialEngineeringatAalborgUniversity.Thisprojectholdsanoverallthemeof
“EntrepreneurialPractice”andiscreditedwith15ECTS.Thefirstsemesteratthismaster’sdegree
primarilyfocusesontheDiscoveryphase.
WewouldliketosaythankyouespeciallytooursupervisorSvenVestergaardforguidance
throughouttheproject,andFrankGertsenforansweringandhelpinguswithallourquestionsand
practicalissues.Additionally,wewanttothankthesupervisorsatthethreeSuperWiseNets(SWN)
forexcellentfeedbackandBoChristensenfromAAUSEAfortipsandconstructiveadviceinorder
tocarryonwithURBEAN.Lastly,wewanttothankourclassmatesandeveryoneelsewhotasted
ourprototypesforgivingusvaluablefeedbackandinsights.
2.2 TheTeam
WeareanInternationalteamoffourpeople–allwithdifferenteducationalbackgrounds.Our
professionalskillsarewidelyspreadandrangefromsoftwaredevelopment/design,business
models/systemdevelopment,biotech,foodscience,productdevelopmentandproject
management.Somehavepracticalexperiencewhileothersmainlyhavetheoreticalexperience.
Furthermore,onlyoneoftheteammembershasstudiedatAalborgUniversitybeforeandthereby
workedwithproblembasedlearning.Theresthaveworkedingroupsandwithprojectwork
beforehand.Weseeourdifferencesasastrengthastheyhaveprovideddifferentperspectivesin
discussionsandduringgroupwork.Amoredetaileddescriptionofeachteammemberfollows
below.
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Table1Presentationofgroupmembers.
Andreas Rafn
Education: Holds a BSc in Global Business Engineering from Aalborg University Work experience: Collaboration with different companies during projects Strengths: Knowledge about how a business operates Weaknesses: Sometimes a bit too quiet
Lucian Lungu
Education: Holds an AP degree (2 years) in IT-Networking from Erhvervsakademiet Lillebælt and a top-up (1.5 years) in Product Development and Project Management Work experience: Internship at Danish Technological Institute and collaboration with LEGO on Bachelor’s thesis Strengths: Structuring, planning and communication Weaknesses: Sometimes easily distracted, perfectionist
Miruna Antonia Olesen
Education: Holds a PBA in Software Development from University College Nordjylland Work experience: Software developer for 4 years Strengths: Fast learner and good at getting stuff done Weaknesses: Not being persistent
Pernille Frederikke Sindberg
Education: Holds a BSc in Bioprocess Technology from Aarhus School of Engineering Work experience: Internship and Bachelor’s thesis conducted at Arla Foods Ingredients Group P/S Strengths: Creative and works with high commitment Weaknesses: Not very technical, perfectionist
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Inthebeginningoftheproject,weintroducedMario(Figure1),aplasticfigure,
toactasatotemofsaying“no”.Thismeantthatinsteadofsaying“no”toan
ideaorasuggestion,Mariowasputinthemiddleofthetable.Thiscreateda
positiveandsafeenvironmenttogiveone’shonestopinionaboutasubject.
Later,theMariowasalsogiventoapersondriftingawayfromthetopicduring
adiscussion.
2.3 TheD-I-AApproach
TheprojectfollowstheD-I-AmodelintroducedinthebookPivot–HowTop
EntrepreneursAdaptandChangeCoursetoFindUltimateSuccess(Arteaga&
Hyland,2014).Thismodelguidesentrepreneursthroughthedifferentstages
whendealingwithhigheruncertaintyinnovation.Themodeltakesnameafterthefollowingthree
stages;Discovery,IncubationandAcceleration(Figure2).Asmentionedearlier,themainfocusof
thisprojectistheDiscoveryphase,butIncubationandAccelerationhavealsobeen
conducted.TheDiscoveryiswhereideationanddivergentthinkingisbeingemphasized.This
phaseisabouttranslatinggoodideasintobusinessopportunities.Incubationisfocusedon
experimentingwiththeopportunityandexploringwhereitcango.Finally,theAccelerationis
aboutexecuting–thestepbeforegrowingintoafull-scalebusiness.
WeusedtheD-I-AmodelasaguidelinewhenpreparingforthethreeSuperWiseNetmeetings.The
purposeoftheSuperWiseNetmeetings(SWN’s)wastogetagroupofcompetentpeopleto
challengeourideasandopportunitiesinordertoimproveandfinetunethem.Throughoutthe
projectweconsistentlytriedtoapplytheD-I-Amind-setandtools.
Figure1Mario–ourtotemofsaying"no”.
Figure2TheD-I-AModeladoptedfromPivot–HowTopEntrepreneursAdaptandChangeCoursetoFindUltimateSuccess(Arteaga&Hyland,2014).
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2.4 ProjectTimeline
ThetimelineofthisprojectisshowninFigure3.Itdisplaysthemajormilestonessuchascreativity
workshops,SWNmeetings,etc.
ForSWN1wecameupwiththreeideasthatcouldpossiblybeturnedintobusinessopportunities.
Ourthreeinitialideaswere:
1. GastroTravel;atravelagencyprovidingtravelswithinthesegmentofgastronomyandfood
relatedexperiences
2. Analternativeplaygroundforintrovertedchildrenorchildrenwithspecialneedsthatwere
notmetonthecurrentschoolplaygrounds
3. Ananaloguecaféwheresmartphonesandotherdevicesshouldbelockedawayduringthe
stayinordertopromotesincereconversationsandqualitytimewithyourrelativesor
friends
ItcanbeseenintheFigure3thatwehadtwoDiscoveryphasesaswemadeachangeofcourse
afterSWN1.Wedidnotjustpivotbutcompletelydiscardedourinitialideas.Thisdecisionwas
madeafterevaluatingtheoverallfeedbackfromSWN1andthoroughlydiscussingitinthegroup.
Wewentbacktobrainstormingandcameupwiththeideaofahealthyfrozendessertbasedon
beans.WenamedthisideaURBEAN.
Figure3ProjecttimelinedividedintothefourphasesofDiscoveryI,DiscoveryII,IncubationandAcceleration.Majoroccurrencesanddeadlinesaremarkedinred.
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Asanextracurricularassignment,wealsoappliedforVentureCupwithURBEANontheideastage.
WeseeVentureCupasanopportunitytogetmorefeedbackonourideaandvalidatethebusiness
caseaswellasapotentialfundingsourceifweweretowin.Unfortunately,wewerenotselected
tomoveonforthefinals.
2.5 CompanyandProductDescription
URBEANisanurbanbrandproducingdessertsbasedonbutterbeanswhichwillbesoldinourown
dessertstudios.Thestudioisaphysicalspace,likeacafé,wheredessertsaretakentothenext
levelbycombiningauniqueexperiencewithfunkyflavoursandfuelforyourbody.Oursolutionis
astudioservingavarietyofhealthydesserts.Themainattractionisafrozenonebasedonbeans
andwithaconsistencyandtexturecomparabletoicecream.Theproductswillcomeindifferent
flavoursaccordingtoseasonandwithanadditionofhealthytoppings,everythingbeingorganic
andnatural.
2 DiscoveryI 2.1 Intro AsreferredtointheIntroduction,DiscoveryisthefirstphaseoftheD-I-Aapproach.Itisthe
startingpointforhighuncertaintyinnovationprojects.Discoveryisfocusedondivergentidea
generationandidentifyingbusinessopportunitiesbasedonemergingmarketneedsaswellas
earlyvalidation.OurgroupwentthroughtwoiterationsoftheDiscoveryphase,withthefirst
iterationendingshortlyafterSWN1.Topicssuchasideageneration,creativityandbrainstorming
tools,aswellasthefirstSWN,ourideasandprocesseswillbediscussedthroughoutthischapter.
2.2 IdeaGeneration2.2.1 CreativityWorkshops
Thissectionwilllookintohowthegroupstartedworkingtogetherwithaseriesofcreativity
workshopsfacilitatedbySørenHansen,lectureratAalborgUniversityandpartoftheCreative
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Geniusprogramme.Theworkshopsconsistedofseveralexercisesthatsupportedtheprojectwork
andtrained“acreativemind-set”usefulforideageneration.Thetechniques“Creative
Collaboration”and“SixThinkingHats”areusedtoconvertanideaintoapotentialbusiness
opportunity.
2.2.2 Brainstorming
Thefirstcreativityworkshopimpliedgeneratingandscratchingthesurfaceofasmanyproject
ideasaspossible.Theprocessbeganwithabrainstormingusingatechniquecalled“Creative
Collaboration”orthe“1-2-Group”(Figure4)whichisdividedintothreephases.Thismethodhelps
increasethequality,aswellasdiversityoftheconcepts.Firstly,theteambrainstormed
individuallybecauseresearchshowsthatgeneratingideasingroupscanhaveanegativeimpacton
creativity(Badke-Schaub,2010).Secondly,theteammembersdiscussedeachideainpairsoftwo,
buildingonandstrengtheningtheinitialconceptbyconstructivelycontributingwithasentence
beginningwith“Yes,and…”.Inthatway,thecreativeprocesswasnothinderedbythepresenceof
aninterruptive“no”.Inthethirdphase,theconceptswerediscussedinthecriticalcircumstances
ofagroupdiscussion.
Figure4VisualpresentationofcreativeCollaboration(1-2-Group)thatbeginswithindividualbrainstormfollowedbypitchingitforanddevelopingitwithapartnerbeforepresentingitforthewholegroupandscreeningit.
Ourprocessfollowedthe“1-2-Group”timelinewhereeachmemberbrainstormedfacingawhite
wallandavoidingdistractions.Following,wediscussedinfacilitatedone-on-oneconversations
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wherewetooknotesforourinitialideas.Afterfourtofiveroundsofdiscussions,wesatdownin
ourpredefinedprojectteamsanddefendedourideaswhiletheothersgroupmembersbrought
constructivefeedbacktothem.Ourconceptswereasfollows:
• Ananaloguecafe
• Alarmclockwithodours
• Afunwaytoeathealthy
• Motivationbooster
• Analternativeplayground
• Afaucetwithbuilt-insoapdispenser
• GastroTravels
• Habitableroomsfromrehabilitatedcargocontainers
• Start-upincubatorvillagemadefromcargocontainers
•
2.2.3 Threeinitialideas
Afterbrainstormingsessionswhichledtooverthirtyideas,wechosethethreeoptionswiththe
highestpotentialandtherichestinapplications.Whenchoosinganidea,weconsideredthe
criteriaitneededtofulfil.Firstofall,welookedathowachievabletheideawasandwhether
someoneelsehaddoneitbefore.Butmostimportantly,howwillingtheteammemberswereto
workwiththeidea,andwhetherwewouldusethesolutionourselves.Asareflection,wefound
the“WouldIuseitmyself?”techniqueafastandusefulvalidationtoolwhilescreeningthebulkof
ideas.
Afterthescreeningprocess,whichwillbedescribedbelow,wecameupwiththefollowingthree
ideas:“GastroTravel”,“TheAlternativePlayground”and“TheAnalogueCafé”.The“Gastro
Travel”ideawasatravelagencybasedonexperiencingthetraditionalfoodofthedestination
countryorcity,whilehavingthepleasureofmakingthefoodyourselfasatourist.Thegoalwasto
helpourcustomersexploredifferentculturesthroughexperiencingthelocalfood.
“TheAlternativePlayground”addressedadifferentmarket.Itwasasolutionforintroverted
childreninschoolsandkindergartensinneedofaplacetorelax.Itwouldcreateaquiet
atmosphereforthosewhowouldpreferforexamplereadingabookorplayinganinstrument
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ratherthanrunningaroundorplayingfootballintheschoolyard.Thesolutionwouldconsistof
independentphysicalmoduleswhichcouldbeplacedintheperimeteroftheschool.
Finally,theconceptof“TheAnalogueCafé”consistedofcreatingalocationwherecustomers
couldexperiencepersonaldeepercommunication–acafétopromotesocialinteractionby
removingdistractionscausedbymoderntechnologysuchasthesmartphone.Thecustomers
wouldnothaveaccesstotheirmobilephonesasitwouldbeenclosedunderthetableforthe
durationofthecustomers’stay.
2.3 IdeaScreening2.3.1 TheSixThinkingHats
Inneedofamethodtostructureandscreenourideasfrom
theindividualbrainstormwedecidedtouseamethod
introducedtousduringthecreativityworkshops.Themethod
isdevelopedbyEdwardDeBonoandiscalledTheSixThinking
Hats(ThedeBonoGroup,2013).Itforceseverymemberofa
grouptolookatanideafromthesameperspectiveatthe
sametime.Themethodisusedbyputtingonthedifferent
hatsmarkedbysixdifferentcoloursandexploringtheidea
fromthedifferentanglesthatthecolourssymbolise(Figure5).
WeusedTheSixThinkingHatstonarrowdownthreeideasto
presentatSWN1.Weinitiallychosefiveideastousethismethodon,beforechoosingthefinal
threeideas.Theresultsofourdiscussionusingthemethodonthethreeideascanbeseenbelow.
ThecompletenotesfromusingthemethodcanbeseeninAppendix8.1SixThinkingHats.
2.3.2 GastroTravel
ThefirstideaweappliedTheSixThinkingHatstowastheonecalledGastroTravel.Puttingonthe
differenthatsmadeusawareofthefactthatthereisgrowinginterestinfoodandtravelling.
Furthermore,TheRedHatdisplayedthatthemajorityofthegroupfeltgoodaboutthisideaand
Figure5EdwardDeBono'sSixThinkingHats.
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wereexcitedtoexplorethisfurther.TheuncertaintiesthatTheBlackHatbroughtforward,suchas
alargenetworkbeingneededortheideabeingaconcepteasytocopy,werechallengesthatthe
groupthoughtwouldbeinterestingtotackleinsteadofbeingabarriertothepotentialbusiness
case.ThefeedbackfromSWN1focusedonthethreatthatfreealternativessuchasTripAdvisor
andsimilarappswereposing.Inretrospect,thiscouldimplythatweshouldhavekeptTheGreen
Hatonlonger.
2.3.3 AnalogueCafé
ThesecondideathatweappliedthemethodtowastheAnalogueCafé.Inthiscase,TheBlackHat
againturnedouttobeuseful.ThefeedbackwegotforthisideaonSWN1mirroredourworries
andalsomadeusunderstandthatwemighthaveunderestimatedsomeoftheuncertaintiesthis
ideaheld.Althoughresearchshowsthatpeoplespendmoretimeusingtheirsmartphones
(Chaffey,2016),mostconsiderthemselvesdisciplinedenoughtonotlookingattheirphones
duringconversationswiththeirrelatives.AgainTheGreenHatcouldhavebeenhelpfultohave
spentmoretimewithaswedidnottakeintoaccountthefactthatcustomerscouldjustmakea
gameoutofnotusingtheirphonesinsteadofgoingtotheAnalogueCafé.
2.3.4 AlternativePlayground
The“AlternativePlayground”wasthethirdapplicationforTheSixThinkingHatsmethod.Bearing
thewhitefactshatrevealedthatthereisalargenumberofintrovertedchildreninschoolsand
thatdifferentpersonalitieshavedifferentwaysofacquiringknowledge.Also,theybuildenergyby
spendingtimealone,asopposedtheirextrovertedcounterpart.Theyellowhatofpositivity
towardstheideaindicatedthatwealllearnbyplayingandwehadnumerousthemesandbusiness
modelsthatcouldbeappliedfortheconcept.Wearingaredhat,theteam’sfeelingsconverged
towardsworkingwiththeidea,becausethethoughtofhelpingchildrenwasagoodenoughmoral
motivatorforustocarrytheideafurther.
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2.4 SuperWiseNet12.4.1 PreparationandPitch
Thediscoverypitchisamust-haveinanentrepreneur’stoolkit.Itisafastandpowerful
communicationtoolconsistinginapresentationwiththegoaltoattractinterestinfurther
discussions.UsedattheDiscoverystage,thepitchprovidesavisionofwhatcouldberatherthan
detailsabouttheopportunity.Thetimeframeforthediscoverypitchshouldfollowthelengthofa
genericpitch,whichismosteffectivelydeliveredinunderoneminute.Itslengthvariesdepending
onthecircumstancesunderwhichthelisteneranddeliverermeet,yetitwilloftentakeonly30
secondsbeforethelistenerstopspayingattention.
DeliveringacompellingshortpitchwasimportantforussincethefirstSWN.
Theteamprepareda9-minutepresentationfollowedbya35-minutediscussionandfeedback
session.Weallowedoneminutefortheintroductionandatwo-minutepitchforeachofthethree
ideas.Thatwaytherewasenoughtimetointroducetheteamandsettheagendaaswellas
presenttheopportunities.Westructuredthethreepitchesinthesameway,bybriefingthepain,
thecureandtheconcept,followedbythetargetcustomersandaninitialmarketresearch.Each
ideaconcludedwiththebusinessvalueandmostsignificantuncertaintieswewouldfaceifwe
chosetopursuetheopportunity.
2.4.2 Feedback
FromSWN1wegotdirectfeedbackforourideas,consistinginexperiencedopinionsaboutthe
businessmodels,feedbackondeliveringthepitch,whethertheysawvalueinourconceptsorsaw
theneedbehindthem,andfinallyquestionstochallengetheteamifmovingforwardwiththe
concept.
For“GastroTravel”,SWN1wasaneye-opener.Thefeedbackconfirmedoursuspicionthatifthe
teamweretogothroughwiththisidea,wewouldfaceseverecompetitionasthetravelagency
marketisalreadysaturated.GastroTravel’scompetitiveadvantageconsistedinofferinga
completepackagefocusedonfoodandfoodrelatedexperienceswithinacertainregionofa
country.Thefeedbackwasthattheusercouldeasilycreatethesamevaluesimplybydoing
researchontheInternetbeforegoingonaholiday.ReflectingonthefeedbackfromSWN1ledto
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furtherdiscussionsandafterlookingatthecompetitorswedecidednottopursuetheideaany
further.
Thefeedbackwegotfortheidea“TheAnalogueCafé”wasalsovaluableasoneofthesupervisors
fromSWNworkedonaprojectbasedonthesameconceptofremovingdistractions.Duringthe
validation,hefoundthatpeoplethinktheycanmanagethedistractionfromtheirsmartphones
withoutanyhelpandtherebywouldnotfindtheconceptappealing.WealsolearnedfromSWN1
thatdifferentiationisthekeytosuccesswhenoperatinginaredoceansuchasthecafémarket.
Prohibitingtheuseoftechnologyisnotabigenoughfactortobringcustomersinastheymost
likelywouldbeintimidatedbygivingawaytheirpersonalbelongings.Maybecustomerswould
onlyvisittheplaceoncetogainanexperienceandsomewouldneverenterthecafébecauseof
theanalogueconcept.
“AlternativePlayground”wasthemostpromisingideabasedonthefeedbackfromSWN1.After
pitching,thekeyissuewewereconfrontedwithwastheadoptionrate–whethertheschools
wouldbuyourmodulesornot.Thesecondissuewasfundingandcapital–whowouldpayforthe
initialinvestment,andthirdthebusinessmodel–howwouldthecompanygenerateincome.
Helpingintrovertedchildrenseemedanoblecauseandoursolutionwouldbecomparabletothe
RudolphSteinermodel.Thedownsideofthisconceptwasthatmostschoolsalreadyhadplentyof
roomsthatcouldservethesamepurposeasthealternativeplayground.Moreover,thechildren
wouldneedsupervisionwhichmeansadditionalcostsfortheschool,moneytheycannotaffordto
spend.Laterreflectiononthefeedbackfor“TheAlternativePlayground”taughtustolookatthe
problemandthesolutionsfromdifferentanglesandattempttoprovidevaluetoallstakeholders
wheneverpossible.Wealsousedthequestionswereceivedtoimprovefuturepitches.
AfterwecentralizedthefeedbackfromSWN1anddiscussedit,wemadethedecisiontocontinue
with“TheAlternativePlayground”asSWN1helpedtoreducesomeoftheuncertaintiesandgave
usseveralalternatives.
2.5 GenesisPadOpportunity
Asareflectionforourfutureentrepreneurialcareersandseenfromacorporateentrepreneurship
perspective,theGenesisPadOpportunityisagreattoolforentrepreneurship.Itcanalsobeof
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greathelpforcompaniestryingtodevelopwithintheircorecompetencies,asitcansavetimeand
resourcesbyprovingquicklythatabusinessideaisnotnecessarilyanopportunitytobefollowed,
iftheconceptdoesnotfittothecompany’scorestrategy.
TheGenesisPadOpportunitydescriptionisatoolusedtotranslateanideaintoanopportunity.
Takenfrom“Pivot–Howtopentrepreneursadaptandchangecoursetofindultimatesuccess”,it
enablestheentrepreneurtotaketherawideaandshapesufficientdetailstodescribeitasan
opportunity,withoutspendingalargeamountoftimeandeffort.TheGenesispadopportunity
description(Figure6)consistsinfivehelpingprinciples:
1. ProblemStatement
Whatistheproblemthatneedstobesolved?
2. ConceptualSolution
Whataresomepossiblesolutionstotheproblem?
3. TargetMarket
Whogetsthevaluefromsolvingthisproblem?
4. ValueProposition
Whatisthevalueofsolvingtheproblem?
5. Whyus?
Whyisthisourproblemtosolve?
OurteamsuccessfullyusedthistoolintheDiscovery
processtoidentifywhetheranideashouldadvancetotheIncubationphase,namely“The
alternativeplayground”.Wewouldcreateaphysicalmoduleforeducationalpurposewhichwould
besenttoschoolsandkindergartens.Wehadaclearanswerforthefirstquestioninthetool:
“ProblemStatement”:introvertedchildrenbuildenergywhentheyarealoneandwewouldlike
themtotakeadvantageofthatbytakingtimeoffindividually,usingoursolution.Forthe
“ConceptionalSolution”,themoduleswereapotentialanswer.Tryingtofindananswertothelast
threequestions,ontheotherhand,wasmoreofachallenge.The“Targetmarket”wasestablished
asintrovertedchildren,butgiventhenewestchangesinDanishlaws,firstlytheteacherswould
nothaveenoughtimetospendwitheachchildandsecondly,becauseofbudgetcutswewould
Figure6GenesisPadOpportunity(redesignedfromPivot(Arteaga&Hyland,2014)).
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haveproblemsidentifyingthebuyerforourproduct.Atthesametime,maintenancecostswere
difficultandunsustainabletocover.Ofcourse,thebigquestionfollowed:“Whowillpayforthe
solution?”.Again,budgetcutsandthelawwereagainstourbusinessmodel.Thevalueproposition
fortheprojectwashonourableindevelopingintrovertchildren,butnotmeasurableandtherefore
difficultiesweretobeencounteredinobtainingfundingandcustomers.Thelastquestion,namely
the“Whyus?”wasthedecisivefactorwhichhaltedtheprojectanddirectedustoward
brainstormingfornewideas.Wedividedthe“WhyUs?”answerintotwosections,thefirstbeing
ourdesiretomakeachangeinthecurrentsystemandimproveit.Itprovedthatthecurrentway
ofhandlingintrovertedchildrenisacceptedanddifficulttoalter.Peoplewouldberesistantto
changemakingitmorechallengingtofindcustomers.Thesecondsectionwasfromthe“WhyUs?”
wasbasedonourpersonalnetworksandcompetencies.Noneofthefourteammembershad
priorexperiencewithchildrenandbehaviours,norhadmanyacquaintancesorfriendswith
childrenthatage.Moreover,forourbusinesstobesuccessfulinthisfield,theteamneededadvice
frompsychologists,teachersandbehaviouralexperts.Inotherwords,evenifthebusinessidea
wasanopportunity,itwouldhavenotbeenanopportunityforus,astheteamwouldnotbe
drivenbyourpassions,butbythecreationofabusinesswhichwouldprovideahighincome.A
newideawasneededduetothelackofpersonalcommitmentandsocialcapital.
2.6 Reflection
ThefeedbackfromSWN1taughtusthatlookingatalternativewaystosolveaproblemisagreat
waytogeneratebettersolutionsandfindmorecompetitors.Weusedthisinformationwhen
movingforwardinthesecondphaseofDiscoveryaswekeptlookingforalternativesandinthe
endendedupwithourfinalproductthatwasadirectresultoflookingatalternatives.Another
importantquestionthatwekeptinmindwhenworkinginDiscoveryIIwasthesellingaspectofthe
business.ThiscameupduringtheGenesisOpportunityPadandwasadecisivepartwhendeciding
toabandonourinitialideas.Whowouldbuyourproduct,whywouldtheybuyitandwedoto
makeouruniquesellingpointmoreappealingthanthatofthecompetition?
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3 DiscoveryII 3.1 Intro
OurprojectdidnotfollowalinearpatternaswewentthroughtwodifferentDiscoveryphases.At
first,weweredisappointedbythat,butaslearningoccurredwestartedtoappreciategoing
throughtheDiscoverytwice.Weunderstoodthatentrepreneurshipisnotalinearprocess,but
ratheraniterativeonewhereideasmustbeadaptedbasedoncircumstances,newdiscoveriesand
veryimportant,theteamworkingontheidea.FromDiscoveryItoDiscoveryIIwedidnotjust
pivot,butrestartedfromideageneration,asdescribedinthefollowingchapters.Wenoticedthat
goingthroughDiscoverythesecondtimewasfasterandmoreproductivethanthefirsttime,and
thattheideaweagreeduponhadmoresubstanceandwasmoreachievable.
3.1.1 Achangeofcourse
Aspreviouslyreferredtointhe“GenesisPadOpportunityDescriptionforDiscovery”section,a
changeofcoursewasneededtomaximizetheoutputoftheteamandmakeuseofour
competencies.Oneoftheimportantdriversforentrepreneurshipispassionfortheidea.
Unfortunately,ourexcitementfortheideaaboutanalternativeplaygrounddroppedaswesawno
potentialcustomersforit.Additionally,therecentschoollegislationmadetheconceptless
sustainable.Sinceforittoworkitwouldneedteachersavailableduringthebreaks.Iftheteam
haddecidedtocarryonwiththe“AlternativePlayground”,thentheabove-mentioneddriver
wouldbemissingfromourprojectandresultswouldhavebeenslowerandoflowerquality.
3.2 Ideageneration
Weagreedtoreturntotheideagenerationphase,gowideandcomeupwithideasthatwouldbe
interestingforustoworkwith.Atthispoint,wehadknowledgeabouttheprocessofidea
generationaswewentthroughitalready.Wealsousedseveralnewtoolstoimproveboththe
numberandqualityofthenewideas.Thepost-it,brainstorming,bodystorming,story-tellingor
anyothertechniquewehadexperiencewithprovedtobehelpful.
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3.2.1 Brainstorm
Withfreshknowledgefromthe“CreativityWorkshops”wherewelearnedaboutindividual
brainstormingandreversethinkingaboutproblemsinourdailylivestofindproblems,eachteam
memberwasencouragedtothinkaboutideasathomeandpresentthemtheseconddayforour
meeting.Weconsideredthisagoodwayofapplyingthespecifictheory,asweuseditmultiple
times,webecamefamiliarwithitintheDiscoveryphaseandthereforemadeitmoreprobableto
useinfutureproblemsolving.
Afterpresentingourideasgeneratedathome,itresultedinnumerousideas,whichwentthrough
ascreeningprocess.Again,thethreebestideaswereselected.Aftertheselection,wedecidedto
workontheonethatmademostsenseforusasagroup,fromtheperspectiveofteam
competencies,excitementaboutworkingwiththeideaanditscompatibilitywiththestudies.The
threeideaswere:
• Snackbarsmadeofbeans-ahealthysnack,
• Offeringmeetingpossibilitiesforpeoplewheretheycouldgather,socializeand
potentiallyhearinterestingtalksfromothers,
• Corporatesubscriptionbox–amonthlysnackboxcompanieswouldbuyfortheir
employeestoboosttheirmorale.
Thebeansnackbarseemedtobethemostappealingideabecauseoftheinitiativestanding
behindit:ahealthysnack.Itwasaproductourteamhadthemostconfidenceinand,ifdoneright,
wewouldhavethechancetobemarketleadersandcreateanewreputationforbeans.Weused
theknowledgegainedfromthepreviousthreeprojectideasbyansweringthequestionsinthe
“GenesisPadOpportunity”tool.Therewasabigdifferenceinourattitudetowardsthebeansnack
baridea:weallshowedsomeinterestinworkingwiththeideaandfurtherlycontrastingwiththe
“AlternativePlayground”concept,wehadateammemberwitharelevantbackgroundinfood
science.FromthefirstDiscoveryphase,weacknowledgedhowimportantlookingatalternatives
was.Thisisthereasonwhywemadeamind-mapofhowwecouldpursuetheideaofmakinga
healthysnackbasedonbeans.Theprocesswillbepresentedinthesectionbelow.
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3.2.2 Mind-mappingandmarketresearch
Afterthedecisiontodigdeeperintothetopicofabeansnackbarwestarteddrawingamind-map
ofwhichothersnackswecoulddevelopfrombeans.Anyofthesnackswouldkeeptothecoreof
ourconcept:ahealthysnackmadeofbeans.Welistedproductssuchaschips,pasta,friedbean
snacks,cakeusingbeanpasteinsteadofflour,butshortlyafterwehitastandstill.Adecisionwas
madetoheadouttothenearestlocalsupermarketandanalysewhatwasalreadyavailableonthe
currentmarket.Inthatway,wegotinspirationaboutwhichproductwecouldcreateandsellwith
lowornocompetition.Wenoticedtherewerenohealthyoratleastpartlyhealthyalternativesin
theicecreamsegmentofthesupermarketandthatwaswhenwegeneratedtheideaof“beanice
cream”.AquickGooglesearchonbeanicecreamshowedthatnocompetitorsproducingbeanice
creamweretobefoundinEurope,whereas“redbeanicecream”wasacommonproductinAsia.
Furthermore,severalhome-maderecipesforbeanicecreamappearedduringourGoogle
searcheswhichindicatedaneedfortheproductonthemarket.Afterreturningtothegroup
room,wecompletedthemind-mapwiththenewlyobtainedinformationfromthesupermarket
tripandagreedthatourteamwouldcontinuewiththeconceptofbeanicecream.
3.3 Conceptdevelopment-fromideatoURBEAN 3.3.1 Conceptualization
Inordertoshape,exploreandconceptualizeourideaaboutmakingplantbasedicecreamoutof
beans,wefacedseveralissuesandobstaclesthatledtomanythoughtsanddiscussionsinthe
teambeforeweendedupwithaclearconcept.Thesewillbediscussedbelow.
Firstofall,wespentalotoftimetryingtofigureoutwhatourproductwasinthesensethatwe
didnotknowwhichcategorytoputitunder.Inthebeginning,wejustknewthatwewantedto
makeaplantbasedandhealthyproductsimilartoicecreamwhenitcomestoserving
temperatureandtexture.Thewholeteamsawpotentialintheideaofmakingandsellinga
healthysnackasseveralfoodtrendreportsestimatethatthesnackmarketwillincrease
significantlyinthefuture(Baum+WhitemanLLC,2015.;Google,2016;MINTEL,2016).These
reportsshowthatmajorfoodtrendswillbesnackswithinthefollowingclassifications:plant-
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based,highprotein,freeofadditivesandnaturalorigin,organiccertifiedandcateringtopeople
withspecialdietssuchasvegans,diabetics,lactoseintolerants,etc.
Wethenbegantoexplorethepossibilitiesofwhatthisunknownbeanbasedsnack/dessertcould
be.Wediscussedseveralapplicationsandmarketoptions.Themoststraightforwardoptionwasto
callourproduct“beanicecream”andbrandingitashealthieralternativetoregularicecream
basedondairyproductsandsugar.Atleast,thiswaswheretheideaoriginatedfrom.From
discussionsinternallyinthegroupandexternallywithpeopleatSWN’sanddifferentstart-upand
businessevents,wefoundthatpeopleusuallyhavecertainexpectationswhentheyheartheword
icecream.Icecreamistypicallyassociatedwithsomethingsweet,creamy,smoothandsoft.
Especially,thetextureisemphasizedandassoonaswemadeourfirstprototype,wefaceda
textureproblem.Unfortunately,thebeanicecreambecamegrainyandnotnearlyassmoothas
wewantedittobe.Thisfactormadeusabitworriedaboutcallingiticecream.Fromhere,we
movedontocallingitafrozendessert.
Thenextissuewasthentoexploretheapplicationsandpossibilitieswehadwiththisfrozen
dessert(Figure7).Wethoughtoftheprospectofcreatinganewmarketbymakingaproductthat
didnotfitintothecurrentcategoriesinthefoodindustry.Butwehaddifficultiescomingupwith
anewproductcategory.Lastly,wetriedtotwisttheangleabitandlookatourproductasnotonly
Figure7Brainstormingandmind-mappingofpossibleapplicationsandpotentialcompanynames.
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adessertorsnackbutasapotentialmealreplacer.Wecametothinkofthatbasedonthe
childhooddream:“whowouldnoteaticecreamforbreakfastifitwashealthyandcouldprovide
youwiththenutrientsyouneed”.Theconceptwasabreakfast/dessertbarwhereyoucouldeata
breakfastsimilartoicecreambutmuchhealthierandfilling.Theenvironmentofourbarshouldbe
modernandtrendy,butwithanopenandinvitingatmosphere.Theinteriorshouldbeamix
betweenthecoolmetropolitanandindustrialvibeofNewYorkandasleekNordicdesignwith
materialssuchassteel,wood,ceramicsandleather.
3.3.2 ThenameURBEAN
Asouraimwastocreateacoolandurbanconcept.Ourbrandidentity,nameandlogohadto
reflectthat.Findingtherightnamewasalong-termprocessincludingbrainstorming,discussions
backandforth,leavingitforawhiletoreturntoitagain.Webrainstormedonseveralnames
whichcanbeseeninFigure7.Wewereveryconsiderateaboutthenameasweknewthatagood
nameiscrucialforthecompanytypeweweretryingtocreate-acompanywherethemajorpart
ofourofferingandkeysellingpointiscreatingandmaintainingtherightbrandidentityvia
marketingandstorytelling.
Westruggledtodecidewhetherweshouldembracethefactthatwearesellingsomethingmade
ofbeans,orifweshouldputlessemphasisonit.Beansareperceivedbymanyasfoodforpoor
peopleanditisrarelyassociatedwithsomethingsexyandattractive.Wediscussedwhetherit
wouldcreateamentalbarrierstrongenoughtodeterpotentialcustomers.Ontheotherhand,it
alsohadthepossibilityofattractingcustomersbasedonthenoveltyfactor–itisnewtomakeice
creamoutofbeans.
WewerealsomorethanonceadvisedtolookattheDanishcompanyGRØD.GRØDisacompany
makingandsellingporridgeoutoftheirownstores.GRØDhassince2011openedfivestoresin
Denmark,fouroftheminCopenhagen.Additionally,thecompanyaddedanothersaleschannela
fewyearsagowhenitmadeanagreementwithDanish7elevenconveniencestoresaboutselling
instantporridge.GRØDdidsomethingverysimilartowhatwewantedtodo.Upgradingand
addingvaluetosomethingthatisoftenperceivedasverybasicandmaybeevenboring.Lasse
SkjønningAndersen,themanbehindGRØD,obviouslydecidedtobeveryhonestandtransparent
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aboutwhatheisselling.Thisreflectsonthenameofthecompanyasitisexactlythenameofthe
productitisoffering.(Dahlager,2016)
Weplayedaroundwithmanypotentialbrandnameswithandwithoutthewordbeaninthem.At
onepointwehadaworkingtitleofBeanDelight,butthedayoftheSWN2,wecameupwiththe
nameURBEANwhichisamixofurbanandbean.Itwasshortenoughtobeminimalisticbutstill
expressiveenoughtotellastory.
3.3.3 BusinessModelOptions
Businessmodelinnovationisadriverforsuccess(Keeley,2013)andtherightbusinessmodelcan
bethedifferencebetweenaprofitablebusinessandafailedventure.Withthisinmind,we
dedicatedalotoftimetoexploreoptionsforourbusinessmodel(Figure9).Weusedthe55
businessmodelsproposedinthebookTheBusinessModelNavigatorinordertomakesurewedid
notoverlookanyopportunities(Gassmann,2015).
FirstweusedcardsthatrepresentedtheBusinessmodelstoselectallthosethatfitourvalue
proposition(Figure8).Weevenchosecardsthatonlymarginallyfitinordertokeepourselves
opentobusinessmodelinnovation.
Figure8CardswithBusinessModelsthatcouldfitourconcept.
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Eachteammemberdecidedonthebusinessmodelsthattheyfoundwouldmakesenseforour
productandthenwediscussedthemallasateam.Itwasimportantforustokeepinmindwhat
ourcorebusinesswasandhowthebusinessmodelwouldfitinwiththat.
Someofthebusinessmodelswelookedatwereinterestingtoexplore,butdidnotfitwiththe
contemporary,cool,urbanspacewewantedtocreate.Thosewere“Barter”,“Flatrate”and“Pay
whatyouwant”,“Shopinshop”,“Self-service”and“Customerloyalty”.Allofthemcouldbe
adaptedtoourspecificbusinessbutdidnotfittheideaofthehigh-endurbanandcoolbrandwe
wantedtocreate.Although,weplantokeepthe“ShopinShop”and“CustomerLoyalty”business
modelsinmindforthefuture,afterwehaveexpandedbeyondtheinitiallocation.
Themostinterestingbusinessmodelstousweredirectselling,crosssellingandfranchisingasthey
focusonansweringhowandwhatwewouldsell.Forthemajorityoftheteamitwasclearthat
directsellingwasthebestsolutionforourconcept.Becauseofthenoveltyofourproductand
concept,webelievedthatcreatingabuyingexperienceandthebestpossiblerelationshipwiththe
customerwouldbeessentialforsuccess.Although,wediddiscusswhetherweshouldgowith
retailordirectsalesalot.Wetriedtocomeupwithprosandconsforeachofthetwobusiness
models–theprosandconscanbeseeninFigure10.
Figure9BusinessModelcreation(Gassmann,2015).
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Aftergoingthroughtheprosandcons,wedecidedtogowithdirectsellingasastart.Asour
productisverynichewefounditwouldbetoobigofachallengetopenetratetheretailmarket
withoutalotofmoneyinvestedinmarketing.Thiswasamajorreasonthatwedecidedtogowith
directsalesasourinitialbusinessmodelwhilekeepingfranchisinginmindfromopeningthefirst
studio.However,weseegreatopportunitiesintheretailmarketinthefutureaftervalidatingour
conceptandbusinessandafterhavingcreatedastrongbrandidentitybyestablishingURBEANas
thelocalandnationalgotobrandforhealthysnacksanddessert.
TheRobinHoodmodel,AikidomodelandExperiencesellingwerealsodiscussed.Weknowthat
partofourcustomerbasewouldbeattractedtotheideaofhelpingotherswiththeirfoodchoices
throughtheRobinhoodmodel.Thedownsideofthiswouldbetheincreaseinpricefortheend
customer.Sinceourproductisalreadymoreexpensivethanconventionaldessertswethought
thatitwouldnotbeviablefromabusinessperspective.TheAikidomodelandExperiencesellingis
somethingthatweimplementedinourfinalconceptandthatwewillbeexploringmore
throughoutIncubationandAcceleration.
3.3.4 BlueOceanStrategyCanvas
ThemainpurposeoftheBlueOceanStrategyCanvaswastogiveanoverviewonhowourbrand
andproductstackedupagainstourcompetition.Itclearlydisplaysifwehaveanadvantageover
whatisalreadyonthemarket.Atthetime,wemadethiscanvas,weconsideredbeanicecreamto
beourmainofferingsothegraphfocusesonthat.
Figure10Comparisonwithprosandconsofretailanddirectselling.
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Initiallywelookedatallourcompetitorsincludingregularicecream(bothlowendandhighend)
aswellasfrozenyoghurt.Wethendecidedwewouldgetthebestoverviewifwelooked
specificallyatourdirectcompetitors,icecreamandcolddessertsthatingeneralareperceivedby
thepublicashealthy.Thegraph(Figure11)wasmadebasedontheassumptionthatbeanice
creamwouldhavelowmarketacceptancebecauseofthemainingredientbeingbeans.Whenit
comestomarketacceptancewehavesincediscoveredthatcustomersfromourdemographicare
moreopentowardstheideaofbeanicecreamthanweinitiallythought.Thismeanswedonot
holdasignificantdisadvantagecomparedtoourcompetitors.
Lookingatthestrategycanvas(Figure11),wefoundthatwehadanadvantagebecauseour
producthasalowcaloriecontentandnoadditives.Also,thefactthatitisanewconceptmeansit
willhaveanoveltyfactorthatwouldattractagoodnumberofcustomers.Anotheradvantagethat
stoodouttouswasthesatietyfeelingthatouricecreamoffered.Itwastheonlyproductwitha
significantfibrecontent.Thatmeantthatwecouldpromotethatideaandexpanditfurther.
Figure11BlueOceanStrategyCanvas-URBEANcomparedtopotentialcompetitors;veganicecream,lowfaticecreamandsmoothie/juicebars.URBEANistheredgraph.
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Especially,thesatietyfeelingaftereatingourbeanicecreampresenteditselfasaclearadvantage
comparedtoourcompetitors.Thissetusonapaththatwelaterdecidedtopivotfrom.We
discussedthepossibilitiesofabreakfastbarconcept,whereicecreamcouldrepresentahealthy
alternativetoaregularbreakfast.Fromthefeedback,wereceivedduringSWN2andconversations
withpotentialcustomers,wesoonunderstoodthatthisconcept,asappealingasitwasintheory
basedonthisstrategycanvas,didnotmeetaneedpresentinDenmark.
TheBlueOceanStrategyCanvasgaveusafewsellingpointsthatweneededtoexplorefurther.It
alsohelpedusseewhichimportantassumptionsneededtobesolved(themarketacceptanceand
thetextureofthefinalproduct).Italsomadetheadvantagesthatwehadoverourcompetition
veryvisible.Althoughwearenolongerfocusingonsatietyasawayofpromotingourproduct,the
lowcaloriecontentandnoadditivescombinedwiththehighsatietyofourproductgaveusthe
conceptthatwedecidedtofocusonwhendefiningourbrandidentity-healthybeanbased
desserts.
3.4 ReflectionsaboutDiscoveryII
InoursecondDiscoveryphase,weemphasizedfindinganewsustainableideaafterwerealized
thatwedidnotwanttocontinuewithourinitialones.Itwasimportantforustobringthe
feedbackandknowledgewehadgainedduringourfirstDiscoveryphasetothesecondphasein
ordernottomakethesamemistakes.Additionally,theteamkneweachotherbetteratthetime
ofthesecondbrainstorm.Thishelpedusmovefasterthroughtheideagenerationphaseaswe
weremorehonestandopentowardseachotherwhenscreeningandevaluatingideasafter
brainstorming.Afterscreeningourideasanddecidinguponanewidea,thenextstepwasto
explorethepossibleapplicationsoftheideaofmakingandsellingfrozenbeandessert.Aswehave
beenfollowingtheD-I-Amodel,thisstepmovedusfromDiscoverytoIncubation.
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4 Incubation4.1 Intro
IncubationisthesecondphaseofourprojectfollowingtheD-I-Amodel.InDiscoverywe
generatednumerousideasandconceptualized“whatcouldbe”.TheIncubationphaseincludesall
ourexperimentationintheformofprototyping,usertesting,furthermarketresearch,theproofof
concept(POC)andproofofbusiness(POB)aswellasactivelearningfrompotentialcustomers.
Basedonfeedbackwemadeslightchangesorpivots,whilekeepingtothecoreofouridea:
dessertmadeofbeans.
Incubationisthephaseforreducinguncertainties,whichwedonotyetcallrisks.Theoutcomeis
notknowninthecaseofuncertainties,asopposedtorisks.Additionally,wehadnofinancial
agreementsyetwhichwouldrequireimmediateresultsorincome.Thatisinouropinionthe
essenceofcalledIncubation.Wedocumentedtheprototypingto“maximizelearningpermoney
spent”andwereabletomakechangesbasedonuserfeedback.Theuserswereinvolvedactively
bytastingprototypesandfillingoutquestionnaires,actingonthebeforementionedmantra.A
placebotestwascarriedouttomaptheimpactofthe“beanfactor”andwhetheruserswouldbe
bothwillingandencouragedtobuyaproductmadeofbeans.Strategieswerealsodevelopedin
thisphase,formarketandgrowth.Financialexperimentationswiththe“ExcelBudgetTest”ledus
tofine-tunethebusinessmodelandstrategyandunderstandthecorevaluepropositionofour
business.AstheconceptforthissecondphaseintheD-I-Amodelproposes,wemadenumerous
adjustmentstoourbusinessconceptandclarifieditbetter.Weshapedtheconceptvia
experimentationfromdifferentpointsofview,suchasourmarketnicheandmarketingbasedon
values,keypartners,competitorsondifferentlevelsandourpositioninthemarket,product
range,financing,planningandstrategiesandothers.
4.2 ProofofConcept
DuringIncubation,ourmaingoalwastoreduceuncertaintywhenitcametoourproduct.We
wantedtounderstandwhetheritwasfeasibletocreatebeanicecream.Wealsowantedtofind
outwhethercustomerswereswayedawayiftheyknewthatthefrozendesserttheywereeating
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wasmadeofbeansandwhetherotherdessertsthatwerehealthywereappealingtocustomers.In
thissectionweexplorethoseuncertaintiesandfollowthecreationoftheproofofconcept.
4.2.1 Prototyping
Quicklyafterdecidinguponadirectionfortheproduct,wethoughtaboutprototypingandmaking
ourideatangible.Beforeprototyping,wedecidedsomecriteriaofsuccessinordertovalidateor
invalidatetheoutcome.Firstofall,theflavourofbeansshouldbehiddenintheproduct.Itshould
bedisguisedbytheaddedflavourssuchaslemonandchocolate,etc.Secondly,thetextureofthe
productafterbeingfrozenshouldbesomewhatsimilartoicecream;soft,smoothandsilky.
Prototype1–beanicecream
Fromthebeginning,wehadanoverallideaabouthowtomakeicecreambasedonbeans.Based
onourknowledgeaboutfoodandexperiencewithcookingwecameupwithapossiblerecipeand
aprotocol.Wetriedtobeginaseasyaspossiblebyusingsimpleingredientsandmethods.We
wantedtopurchaseandobtainasfewnewingredientsandtoolsaspossibleinordertofulfilour
criteria.Asanexample,weknewthatwewantedtosweetenthebeanicecreamwithanatural
sweetener,sothereasonwhywechosehoneywasthefactthatoneofusalreadyhadplentyofit
athome.
Regardingthemainingredient,thebeans,wetestedtwo
differentkinds:Azukibeansandbutterbeans.InAsia,theymake
icecreamfromAzukibeansandthisisthereasonwhywechose
totestthemaswell.Wealsochosetotestbutterbeansdueto
thefacttheyarewhiteandthereforewouldnotaddanycolour
thefinishedproduct.Ontopofthat,theyaresupposedtobe
oneofthemostflavourneutralandcreamiesttypeofbeans
whenblended.Wealsotriedtoseeifremovingtheskinfrom
thebeansafterboilingwouldmakeanydifference.Materials,
ingredientscanbeseeninFigure12,whiletheprotocolcanbe
seeninFigure13.
Materials A big pot VitaMix blender Whisk Spatula Bowl Plastic containers A marker Spoons Ingredients Beans (we tested both butter beans and Azuki beans) Coconut milk Honey Salt Flavours of choice (we tested lemon, coffee, cocoa and chocolate, vanilla, raspberry)
Figure12Materialsandingredientsneededwhenprototypingthefrozenbeandessert.
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Theteamtastedallthesamplesduringtheprocesstofindtherightamountofthedifferent
ingredientsintherecipe.Naturally,wealsotastedallthesamplesintheend.Wefoundthatour
protocolseemedtoworkoutaswewanteditto.Itwaspossibleforustodisguisethebeanflavour
byaddingotherflavoursandasweetener.ThebutterbeansgaveabetterresultthantheAzuki
beansastheiroriginalflavourwaseasiertohide.Additionally,thebutterbeanshadabenefitsince
theydidnotcauseanycolourchangeintheproduct.Wealsofoundthatitdidnotseemtomatter
whethertheskinwasremovedfromthebeansornot.Basedonthis,wedecidedtogowithbutter
beansasourchoiceofbean.
Regardingthetexture,wefoundittobenotassmoothandsilkyaswewantedittobe.Wecould
notblendthebeansfinelyenoughwiththeblenderweusedwhichmeantthatthetexture
becamegrainyandflaky.Sincewealreadyusedoneofthebestblendersavailableonthemarket
forpersonalhouseholdsandprofessionalkitchens,thisledustolooktotowardsnewwaysof
smoothingourbeans.
Afterevaluatinginternallyintheteam,wechosethebestsampleswegotfromprototypingand
hadpeopleconnectedtoourMaster’sdegreetastingthem.Mostpeoplecommentednegatively
onthegrainytexturebutafewdidnotthinkofitasaproblem.Ingeneral,thosewhotastedit
Figure13Protocolofourprocedureformakingaprototypeofthefrozenbeandessert.
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couldnottastethebeanflavour.
Prototype2–beanicecream
ThepurposeofthesecondprototypewasservingitasasampleforSWN2.Thistime,weonly
madeaprototypewithbutterbeansasthisseemedthemostpromisingtypeofbeantouse.
Furthermore,wedidnottheremovetheskinfromthebeansaswedidnotseeanydifferencein
texturefromthetwobatcheswithandwithoutremovingtheskin.Unfortunately,wedidnotfind
anewwayofblendingthebeansbetweenthetworoundsofprototyping.Thismeantthatwehad
tofollowthesameprotocolasweusedforthefirstround.However,wedidnotdisguisethebean
flavoursuccessfullythesecondtimearound.Wewereawareofthefactthatsomethinglikethis
canhappenwhenyouexperiment.Ingeneral,thosewhotasteditagreeditshouldbesweeterand
lessgrainyifitshouldbecomparabletoicecream.
Prototype3–beanbrownieandicecream
Asearliermentioned,inbetweenprototype2andprototype3wepivotedslightlyanddecidednot
justtosellaproductbuttosellthewholeexperienceofeatinghealthydessertandsnacksinour
URBEANstudios.Thismeantthatwhenwemadeprototype3,itdidnotonlyincludemaking
anotherroundofthefrozenbeandessertbutalsomakinganewproduct,beanbrownie,and
experimentingwithdifferentstylings,atmospheresandmoods.Themoodsettingandatmosphere
weredocumentedbyphotosandsmallvideosequences.
Thenewproductwemadewasabeanbrowniewithbutterbeansasthemainingredientandwith
noaddedflourorrefinedsugar.WeusedarecipefromtheDanishfoodbloggerDitteIngemann
(Ingemann,2015)asweonlyhadtimeforonetrial.TherecipecanbeseeninAppendix8.2Bean
BrownieRecipe.
Theideawastomakeahealthieralternativetoregularcakethatcouldfitintoourconceptof
servinghealthydessertsandsnackwithbeansasabase.Besidesthebeanbrownie,wemade
anotherroundofbeanicecreamwhichfailed.Thecoconutmilkclottedandformedlumps.This
wasmostlikelyduetothefactthatweskippedseparatingthefatphaseandthewaterphaseof
thecoconutmilkandjustpouredthewholecanintothebeansbeforeblendingthemass.Itwas
alsothefirsttimeweprototypedfreezingthebeanicecreamwithacommercialicecreammaker.
Theratherlowqualitymachinemayhavecontributedtothepoorfreezingandunpleasanttexture
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ofthisroundofbeanicecream.Basedonthis,wedecidedonlytotestandvalidatethebean
brownie–moreaboutthetestcanbereadintheparagraphProductTestingbelow.
4.2.2 SuperWiseNet2
PreparationandPitch
AfterchangingourcourseandhavingcreatedURBEANfrozenbeandessert,theteamhadtoapply
thelessonslearnedfromSWN1.WeappliedtheprinciplesofthefeedbackwereceivedfromSWN1
whenpreparingtopitchournewbusinessideaonSWN2.Asanaddition,threeofthefourteam
memberstookparttoaneventheldinthecitycentrerevolvingaroundpitchingtechniquescalled
“ThePitchingGame”,atAalborgStartupCafe.Thereweobtainedfurtherinformationtowards
howtostructureapitchandatthesametime,getouraudienceinvolved.Itwasagoodoccasion
topractice.
Figure14Ingredientsforbeanbrownie(NB!Orangezestismissinginthepicture).
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Asmentionedabove,weprototypedwithninedifferentvariationsandtastesforthefrozen
dessertandchosethebestthreetobeservedattheSWN2:vanilla,chocolateandcoffee.They
werethesmoothestandmosttastyofourprototypesand,asseeninFigure15below,weinvited
ourcolleaguestotasteourprototypebeforeSWN2forextravalidation.
ByadvancingtotheIncubationstage,theteamhadtoshowmoredataandlessuncertaintiesthan
thepreviouspitches,forthethreedifferentideas.Withthatinmindwepreparedapitch
presentingastoryandinvolvingtheaudiencebyofferingtastesamples.
Thepitchwaswrittendownbeforethepresentationandcanbeseenhere:
“Picturethis:it'searlymorning,youleftforworkbutyouneedaquickmealbecauseyoudidn'tget
toeatsinceyouwokeup.Youwalkandsuddenlyseeacoolurbanplacesellingthisfrozendessert
whichhasinfactthenutrientsofamealandittasteslikeyournewfavouritedessert.Youbuyone,
feelenergizedandatpeacewithyourselfforeatingright.Youfoundthemissinglinkbetweentasty
andhealthy.Byeatingbeans.WewouldliketointroduceURBEAN,thesolutionforanutritiousand
tastymealwhichyoucanenjoyinamodernandcosyenvironmentinthebusyurbanlife.Now,
insteadoftalking,doesanyonewanttotaste?”
Figure15FellowstudentsfromMScEntrepreneurialEngineeringtastingourfirstprototypeandgivingfeedback.
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Feedback
Welearnedfromtheaudiencethatthepitchfailedtoconveyaclearmessagewithourconcept.
Theynoteddifferentunclaritiesthatledthemtoaskusquestionslike:didwesellbreakfastonlyor
simplyadessert?Wastheproductretailedorwouldwesellitourselves?Werewegoingtosell
ourproductas“icecream”oracompletelydifferent“frozendessert”?Atthatpointwewerestill
testingthemarketandconsideringpotentialcustomers,sotheteamwasunsureaboutitaswell.
Ouruncertaintiesshinedthroughduringthepresentations.Thementionedquestionswere
answeredbythethirdSuperWiseNetwork.
TomaximizeresultsfromtheSWN2,weinvitedtheaudiencetoansweraGooglequestionnaire
abouttheirexperienceregardingthefrozendesserttheyhadjusttasted,whichwasatthetime
called“beanicecream”.Theywerenotsatisfiedwiththegraininessofourproductandthaturged
ustowardsfindingawaytomaketheicecreamsmoother.Wetouchedonthepossibilityoftaking
advantageofthegrainytexturebyaddingothercoarseingredientssuchaschoppednutsor
chocolatechips.However,thefocusandpreferredsolutionremainedthesmoothtexture.
Wealsogotfeedbackaboutthetasteandlearnedthatwhenfrozen,thecreamwilllosesomeof
itssweetness.Toaddressthat,thetastehadtobeexaggeratedbeforefreezingthedessert,for
exampleweshouldmakeitextrasweetandaddmoreofthespecificflavour.Thepossibilityofour
productbeingsavouryinsteadofsweetwasalsosomethingwediscussedduringthefeedback
session.However,wedecidedtogoforthesweetversion.
Oursupervisorswantedtodiscussmoreaboutthevalidationandofferedvaluablefeedback.They
suggestedcontactingchefsandpeoplewithculinarybackgroundsandwereinterestedtohear
aboutinitiativestodoplaceboandblindtesting.Welearnedthatbycarryingoutthesedifferent
tests,wecouldvalidateifpeopleareinfluencedbythefactthatthedessertisbasedonbeans.It
wouldalsohelpusdecidewhethertousebeansasamarketingtoolfortheproductornotbe
explicitaboutit.
ReflectingonSWN2,itwasausefulopportunitytofurthervalidatetheproduct,testdifferent
iterationsofthepitchandgaugetheprogresswemadesinceSWN1.Weincreasedourknowledge
ofthemarket,weconsideredpossibilitiesandprototypedthefirstversionsofthedessertand
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usedthefeedbacktolocateourweakpointsandimprove.Also,wenotedinourreflectionsthat
SWN2helpedusinvalidatethebreakfastnicheconceptandembracethedessertmarket.
SWOTOneofthefirsttoolstheteamdecidedtouseassoonaswereachedtheIncubationphasewasthe
SWOTAnalysis.Asthegenericdefinitionstates,SWOTisastructuredplanningmethodthat
evaluatesfourelementsofaprojectorbusinessventure:strengths,weaknesses,opportunities
andthreats.Itcanalsobeusedtoeasedecisionmakingbyclearingouttheadvantagesand
disadvantagesofthesituation.
TheSWOTanalysiswaschosenbecauseitisafastandvisualwaytomapassumptionsinthefour
areas,assumptionswhichwelatercouldvalidateordismiss.Weassembledtheteamandexplored
eachsegmentstartingatthetopleft(Figure16).ThefirststrengthisthatURBEANaddressesa
nichemarket:frozendessertmadeofbeans.Theonlyplacebeanicecreamiscommercializedisin
Asia,whileoursearchesshowednocompetitorsinEurope.Ontheotherhand,thereisademand
forit,astherearemanyhomemaderecipesavailablewhensearchingforbeanicecream.Thereis
adifferencebetweenthenamingof“icecream”and“frozendessert”,inwhichwehaveputa
significantamountoftimeresearching.Asearliermentioned,theconsumershaveacertainsetof
expectationstowardstasteandtexturewhenusingtheword“icecream”,whereas“frozen
Figure16SWOTanalysisofURBEAN.
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dessert”providesuswiththefreedomofexperimentingwithmultipletexturesandnewtastesfor
ourproduct.Thelatterisanadvantagegiventherathergrainytextureofthebeans.
Anemergingmarketintheuseofbeanisoursecondstrength.Beansarebecomingmorepopular
andaredescribedassuperfoods,providingnecessarynutrientsforthehumanbody.Asan
example,fettucine,spaghettiandlasagnesheetsmadeentirelyofbeansarepresentonthe
supermarketshelves.HighlyrelatedisthenextassumptionintheSWOTanalysis,statingthe
snacksareheretostay,andevenbetter,theyareheretogrowonthemarket.URBEANissellingin
amarketthatwillnotdisappearorbereplacedandthatisthefoodsegment.Weseethatasa
fundamentalstrengthforourproject.Furthermore,thefrozendessertsareonlyproducedfrom
plant-basedingredientsthusreducingtheimpactontheenvironment.Thisenablestheproductto
besoldandmarketedto,butnotsolely,vegetariansandveganswhoareagrowingsegmentand
arewillingtospendmoreonfoodthanregularconsumers.
Asfarasweaknessesgo,firstlythemarketforthebeanfrozendessertmustbebuilt.Thereisa
marketforhealthydesserts,butconsumersdonotknowaboutourproductorevenourproduct
type.Therefore,URBEANmustcombatthecurrentreputationofbeansandmakeitattractiveso
thatthedemandforthistypeofproductrisesovertime.Thewayweareaddressingtheissueis
makethefrozendesserttastegoodandofferconsumersanexperiencewhenhavingtheproduct,
thusinvolvingfeelingsandcreatingacorrelationbetweeneatingwellandhavingagoodtime.A
furtherweaknessisthefactthatweofferafrozendessert,whichmakesit1.aseasonalproduct
and2.freezedependent.Thisreducesoursellingpotentialtoonlywarmmonthswithahighsale
averageandalsoresultsinincreasedcostsinstorageandshortershelf-life.Giventheblueocean,
wehavethe“Opportunity”toestablishourselvesasamarketleaderbecauseweareafirst-mover
inthisdomaininEuropeandtheUS.Thehighgrowthpotentialbasedonthatcanleadtoa
franchisingbusinessmodelandafterthebrandhasbeenestablished,itispossibleforustoretail
theproduct.
The“Threats”segmentisoneallbusinessesshouldtakeseriouslyandinvestreasonableamounts
ofresourcesinto.Rightnow,inIncubationwearereducinguncertainties,butasweadvanceinthe
processuncertaintiesbecomerisks.Thefactthatourproductiseasytoreproduceposesa
substantialthreatforourbusiness.Ofcourse,URBEANwouldholdthecopyrightfortherecipes
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wecreatebutthereisnothingstoppingothercompaniesfromreproducingthefrozenbean
dessertsintheirownwaysandbecomingacompetitor.Therefore,linkedtotheopportunity,
URBEANneedstosetthestandardandbeestablishedasthe“go-to”nameforqualityfrozenbean
dessert.Competitionisalwaysahighthreat,evenapotentialshow-stopperandthereforecafés
andotherpremiumhealthysnackfoodbarsareathreat.
TheentirediscussionabovewascarriedoutinsidetheSWOTframepointingoutareasonable
amountofuncertaintiestoanalyseandthentestintherealworld.
4.2.3 PlaceboTesting
Thefirsttestwedidwasinordertosolveamajoruncertaintywhetherpeoplewouldbenegatively
influencediftheyknewtheicecreamwasmadeofbeans.Weneededtoknowthisinorderto
betterunderstandhowwecouldmarkettheicecreamandwhetherthebeanelementofthe
dessertissomethingthatneededtobepromotedorhidden.Ourassumptionbeforethetestwas
thatthemajorityofpeoplewouldfindbeanicecreamunappealingandtheywouldshow
preferencefortheregularicecream.
Themethodweusedwastogiveourvolunteersthesameconventionalicecreamtotestfromtwo
differentcontainers.Onelabelledasbeanicecreamandtheotherlabelledasconventionalice
cream.Wethenproceededtoexplainthatthebeanicecreamwasmadeoutofbutterbeansand
theotheronewassupermarketbought.Weaskedthemtotelluswhichonetheypreferred.We
had23testsubjectsandtheexperimentwasconductedintheAAUcanteenarea.
Theresultsweresurprisingforus:21.7%oftheoneswhoparticipatedinthetastetestpreferred
thebeanicecream,17.4%preferredtheconventionalicecreamwhilethemajorityof60.9%
thoughttheytestedthesame.Thisprovedtousthatpeopleingeneralwerenotinfluencedbythe
ideaofbeansasaningredienttoicecream.Fromthecommentsthattheymadewecouldseethat
theyperceivedthebeanicecreamasbeingmorehealthyandlesssweetalthoughwemadeno
commentsthatwouldimplythat.Theformwefilledoutonthedayofthetestisavailablein
Appendix8.3PlaceboTest.
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Thistestgaveusanunderstandingonhowtogoforwardwithourbeandessertconcept.Weknew
thatwedidnotneedtohideourmainingredientastheperceptionofourtargetcustomerswas
notnegativelyinfluencedbythenotionofbeans.
4.2.4 Producttesting
Afterprototyping3,wedecidedtogetpeopletotasteandvalidateourbeanbrownieintheAAU
canteenareaagain.Inadvance,wecreatedaquestionnairefortheupcomingtestgroup.Thetest
subjectshadtotasteasampleofthebeanbrownieandthenfillintheirnameandgenderinthe
questionnaireandanswersevenquestions.Sixoutofsevenquestionswereansweredbytickinga
boxona9-pointhedonicscale,whileoneofthesevenquestionswereansweredbytickingoffa
priceyouwerewillingtopayasapotentialcustomer.Thequestionsvariedfrombeing
prototype/productspecifictocaféhabitsandpreferencesofthetestsubject.Additionally,there
wasacommentsectionattheend.Thequestionnairewecreatedfortheproducttestingcanbe
seeninAppendix8.4QuestionnaireforProductTesting.
Ourtestsubjectsrangedintheagebetween19and53withanaverageageof27.7yearsold.The
testgroupconsistedof19maletestsubjectsand14femaletestsubjects;33participantsintotal.
Ourresultsshowedthatthemajorityalmostcouldnottastethatthebrowniewasmadeofbeans.
Inaverage,thetestsubjectswereneutraltowardstextureandflavour.Thisshowsthatthereis
roomforimprovementasthesetwocategoriesshouldgetahighscorebecauseoftheir
importance.Thecommentsectionalsorevealedthattextureandflavourwasveryimportantto
thetestsubjectsandshouldnotbecompromised.Commentssuchasthelackofsponginessand
mushinessreoccurred.
Whenitcomestowillingnesstopay,thosewhowouldbuythebeanbrowniewerewillingtopay
between10and35DKKforapieceinacafé.Although,itwasnotoutlinedclearlyenoughwhat
wasmeantby“apiece”.Thiscouldhavecausedsomeconfusionwhenansweringthisspecific
question.
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Whenaskingourtestsubjectsabouttheircaféhabits,theresultshowedthattheyinaveragegoto
acaféabitlessthanonceamonth,andthatthemajoritywouldtryacaféthatonlyservedhealthy
snacksanddesserts.Furthermore,ourresultsshowedtheimportanceofcreatingacertain
atmosphereandmoodinacafé.Thisquestionwastheonewiththehighestaveragescorewhich
illustratesthatitiscrucialtocreateaninvitingandinterestingspaceinordertoattractcustomers.
Forafirstprototypeofthebeanbrownie,thetestingandvalidationtaughtusalotaboutwhat
shouldbeimprovedforthenextprototype,butitalsoillustratedpotentialcustomers’needsand
preferences.TheresultscanbeseeninAppendix8.5ResultsfromProductTesting.
4.3 ProofofBusiness
Inthissection,wewillexplorethebusinessopportunitiesthatwehavefromourfrozendessert.
Themainpurposeofthiswastomakesurethereisabusinessopportunitybehindourconcept
andthataprofitcouldbemade.Allthebusinessdecisionswemadewhenlookingforproofof
businesswerebasedontheassumptionthatthetextureofourfrozendessertcanbemade
smooth.
Figure17Testsubjectsfillingoutourquestionnaireandtastingourbeanbrownieprototype.
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4.3.1 BusinessModelCanvas1
OurfirstiterationofusingtheBusinessModelCanvas(Figure18)toolincludedtheinitialofferof
sellingthebeanicecreamasbreakfast.ItwasdonebeforetheSWN2whereweinvalidatedthe
mealreplacerconcept.Theinitialversionalsoincludedthecustomersegmentseparationbyage,
whereourtargetcustomerswereurbanitesbetween18and45yearsold,whodidnothave
enoughtimetopreparebreakfastbeforeworkandthereforewouldbuyafrozendessertfrom
URBEANontheirwaytowork.Thevaluepropositioncomplementedthebreakfastconceptby
offeringaboostofconfidencetoourcustomersinthemorningbyeatingahealthymealfirstthing
intheday.Atthispoint,thefocuswassetmoreontakingthedessertalonginthetake-away
style,ratherthaneatingitinourlocation.Wewouldreachourcustomersmostlythroughsocial
media,bygainingonlineawarenessanddirectingpeopletowardsahealthybreakfast.Secondly,
customeracquisitionwouldbedonethroughwordofmouthofourrecurringcustomersand
anotherpotentialchannelwouldhavebeensettingupagreementswithemployers,byoffering
discountsforearlymealsfortheiremployees.Thecustomerrelationshipwouldconsistof
customergeneratedcontentonsocialmediaplatforms,wherewewouldgetinvolvedandcollect
feedbacktocontinuouslyimprove.Themainsourceofincomewouldbedirectsales,whilethekey
activitiesforcustomeracquisitiondirectedustofairs.However,pivotsleadtheteamtochanging
severalfieldsintheBusinessModelCanvaslaterintheIncubationphasewithaseconditerationof
thetool.
Figure18ThefirstversionofOsterwalder'sBusinessModelCanvasforURBEAN.
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4.3.2 TargetcustomeranalysisandBuyerPersonas
Definingclearbuyerpersonasisanimportantsteptounderstandingexactlywhatthecustomersin
ourtargetsegmentneedandhowtocreateamessagethatreachesthem.“Effectivemessaging
emergesattheintersectionofwhatyourbuyerswanttohearandwhatyouwanttosay.”(Revella,
2015).Thisiswhatinspiredustolookmorecloselyintowhoourcustomersreallyare.
Wecreatedquitesomebuyerpersonasforthepeopleweexpectwouldbeourcustomers.We
knowthatthemajorityofcustomersthatgotocafésare18-to45-year-oldurbanitesbutweknow
URBEANwouldbeattractiveforaudiencesbotholderandyoungersowewantedtounderstand
ourpotentialcustomersbetter.Weendedupwith:
• VeganVera-thevegancustomer,concernedwiththehealthaspectaswellastheethical
aspectofourproducts
• HipsterHenry-theyounghipcustomerthatwantstobeseenintherightplace,beingpart
ofthecoolnewthing
• GuiltyGrandmaGemma-thegrandmathatwantstotreathergrandchildrenbutdoesnot
wanttooverdosethemonsugarandadditives
• CoolGrandmaCadence-thegrandmathatsimplydoesnotwanttogotoanice-cream
store,shewantsagrown-upplacetoenjoy
• CuriousGeorge-notaregulartoeatingoutbutsimplycuriousaboutthenovelaspectof
beandesserts
• HaterHank-doesnotlikebeans,doesnotlikeveganfood,thinksallhealthydessertstaste
badbutwantstoconfirmhisassumptionandtrythisplaceouttoo
• DatingDave-youngstudentoutonadatewherehewantstoimpressbysendingtheright
message.Hewantstobeseenaship,mature,concernedabouttheenvironment,health
andtheanimals
• PennilessPaul-youngstudentwithlimitedspendingmoney,justwantstotrythingsout
andspendaslittleaspossible
• YuppieGreg-middleclass,whitecollarjobheheardaboutthiscoolnewplaceandwants
tobeabletotellotherswhathethinksaboutit
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• GranolamomCarol-sheusuallymakesherownhealthydessertsforthefamilybutsince
sheisinthecityURBEANisagoodenoughalternative
• MenopausalMary-sheiswatchingherweightbutstilllikestoindulgeinsweettreatsand
nowwiththekidsoutofthehouseshehasthebudgettoenjoyherself
• DessertloverDan-helovesdessertsandwantstobeabletotryitall.Hehopeshewill
findagooddessertthatisalsonotbadforyousohecaneatitmoreoften
• DiabetesDoreen-shewantsatastytreatthatshecanenjoywiththerestofthefamily
whilealsokeepinghersugarintakelow
• DietingDave-hehasbeenonadietforyears,triedeverydietandwantstoeatdessert
andhaveitnotbethe“treatoftheweek”
• ShoppingSue-aftershoppingalldayshewantstodrinkacupofcoffeeandeatsomecake
withherfriends
• CoffeeaddictCarl-heisinhereforthecoffee,togoandsometimesacookiefortheroad
• LifestyleLiv-sheisalifestylebloggerandshewantstoseewhatshecansharewithher
followersshemightnothavemanybutshewantstokeeptheminformed
Thosearejustthemaintypesofcustomersweidentified.Welookedbothforthetypeof
customerthatwillenjoyourofferingbutalsothosethatmighttakeadvantageonlyofpartofit
andthosewhowouldtryURBEANoutjustbecauseofthenovelty.
Thenextstepwetookwastoidentifysomedifferenttypesofcustomersthatwouldmakegreat
ambassadorsofourbrand.Theywouldnaturallysharetheirexperiencewitheverybodythey
know.Theyaretheonesthatourinitialmarketingeffortsneedtobetargetedat.Wechoseto
lookatVeganVera,YuppieGregandLifestyleLiv(Table2).
Table2Aninto-depthanalysisofthethreebuyerpersonas;VeganVera,YuppieGregandLifestyleLiv.
PERSONA NAME Vegan Vera Yuppie Greg Lifestyle Liv
BACKGROUND Job, career path
and family
Works as a vet
Has a boyfriend
Senior software developer
Married with one child
Lifestyle blogger
Studies Communications
Single
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DEMOGRAPHICS Gender, age, income
level and location
Female, 32
30 000 DKK
Aalborg city centre
Male, 35
42 000 DKK
Gug
Female, 23
10 000 DKK
Aalborg city centre
IDENTIFIERS Behaviour and
communication
preferences
Vocal about her
preferences
Facebook groups
and vegan forums
Decisive
Email newsletter once
every few months
Loud and visible
All social media,
Instagram, Facebook,
GOALS Primary and
secondary goal
Get a tasty dessert
Protect the animals
and the planet
Try out the new dessert
place
Form an opinion about
URBEAN
Be seen
Take some great
pictures and have a good
story to write about
CHALLENGE Primary and
secondary challenge
Identifying what she
can eat
Does not want to
pollute the
environment
Does not want to appear
not knowledgeable
Wants to be able to easily
share where he is and
what he thinks
The food needs to be
Instagram ready
The lighting and décor
should be just right to
create good images
WHAT CAN WE DO … to help them
achieve their goals …. to overcome the
challenges
Clearly identify the
vegan choices on
the menu
Offer discount for
customers that
bring their own to
go cup
Provide descriptions and
pictures of the products
Have all social media set
up to promote sharing,
signing in, appropriate
hashtags
Make sure the desserts
and coffee are presented
in an appealing way
Make the décor on trend
and provide a cool selfie
wall
COMMON
OBJECTIONS Why would they not
buy?
Something is not
ethical
Products not
ethically sourced
If the place was being too
mainstream and not
luxurious enough
Food was not tasty or
healthy because her
recommendations need
to be trusted
MARKETING
MESSAGING Dessert that cares
about great taste,
A grown up dessert in a
luxurious, hip and urban
The new dessert that
tastes as good as it looks
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How we should
describe the solution your well-being, the
animals and the
planet.
location that you can enjoy
with the whole family or
just your friends.
and keeps you looking fit
and cool.
WHO WILL THEY
SHARE WITH Fellow vegans that
are willing to pay
more for a tasty and
ethical product
Friends from a similar
income bracket with a
high spending power
Many followers and
subscribers that would
trust their
recommendation
ThetemplateforTable2isinspiredby(Vaughan,2015).
Fromlookingatthebuyerpersonaswecanseewhatweneedtofocusonwhencreatingour
marketingstrategyaswellaswhatweneedtothinkaboutwhendesigningthelocationand
menus.Allthebuyerpersonasthatwewouldliketoattractasbrandambassadorsareeither
lookingatanexclusiveluxuriousproductorarewillingtoacceptthepricethatcomeswithsucha
productbecauseoftheirethicalbeliefs.Theyarealllikelytoshareagoodexperiencewiththeir
networkbecauseitbenefitsthembyincreasingtheirstatusintheeyesoftheirpeers.
Itisveryimportanttohavetheideaofluxury,appearanceandethicsatthecoreofourdesignbut
justasimportanttomakethoseideaseasytoshareinanimageonsocialmedia.
WeexplorethebrandimagethatwewantforURBEANinthenextsection,MarketAnalysis.The
targetcustomerandmainbuyerpersonasweexploredinthischapterwerethebasisthatwekept
inmindfromthispointintheprocessgoingforward.
4.3.3 MarketStrategyandMarketanalysis
URBEANisasmuchaproductasitisabrand,thisiswhyweexpectthenamerecognitionof
URBEANiswhatwillbringmostvaluein5yearsratherthantheproductswesell.Ourgoalis
franchisingandthefirstlocationisjustatrialtoseehowprofitableourconceptcanbeandwhat
ourtargetmarketbestrespondsto.Weknowthatastrongbrandimageiswhatsetsusapartfrom
ourcompetitionandanimportantpartofourdevelopmentprocessaswellasoneoftheelements
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weneedtoexperimentwithandimprovewhilestillinourfirstlocation.Thischapterwillfocuson
ourmarketingstrategyfortheURBEANbrand.
TheFourC’sversusTheFourP’s
ThefourP’sofmarketingdatebacktothe1940’sandareProduct,Price,PlaceandPromotion.
Theyarethemarketingmixmostcommonlyusedwhendecidingonamarketingstrategyandhave
beenusedformanyyears.WhiletryingtodecidehowURBEANcanbedescribedfromthis
perspectivewediscoveredthe4C’sofmarketing(Lauterborn,1990).Those4conceptsreplace
theoldonesasfollows:TheProductwiththeconsumerwantsandneeds,thepricewiththecosts
tosatisfythatneed,placewithconvenienceofbuyingtheproductandpromotionwith
communication.Ouropinionisthatlookingatthoseconceptsinsteadoftheoldoneswould
enableustobettercatertoourcustomer.Theyfitbetterbothwiththemodernmarket,the
moderncustomerwhowecatertoandthetypeofproductwearedealingwith,theyaremore
consumeroriented.ThefourC’sfromanURBEANperspectivecanbeseeninTable3below.
Table3TheFourC'sfromanURBEANperspective.
ThefourC’s
Consumers Wantorganicproducts
Wantclearconscience
Lesscaloriesandishealthoriented
Healthydessert
Cost Reducethe“guiltcost”ofeatingdessert
Reducethe“consciencecost”
• Robinhoodmodel-eachmealboughtbuysamealinapoorcountry
• Organicproducts–donotexposethefarmersorplanettochemicals
• Veganproducts-noanimalsneedtosufferforthedessert
Haveanappropriatepriceforourproduct
Convenience Makeanonlinemenuavailableforeasydecisionmaking
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Havelocationswhereourtargetaudienceis
• InAalborgthatwouldbeinthecitycentreorintheCitySydarea
Maketogooptionsavailable
Beopentopeoplethatwanttominimizewasteandusetheirowncups,utensils
insteadofoneusefortogooptionstoo
Communication CreateacommunityaroundURBEAN
Engagewiththelocalcommunity.Includelocallysourcedproductsintheoffering
Createviraladvertisingthatpromotessharing
Engagewiththelocalvegan/vegetarian/fairtrade/organiccooperativesandlocal
fruitandvegetableproducers
Beactiveonsocialmedia
Brandidentity
URBEAN’ssuccessandfailureishighlydependenton
creatingastrongbrandidentityandinsuringthatallbrand
artefactswecreateareconsistentandengaging.Belowwe
willrunthroughthemostimportantartefactsandshowthe
commonthreadthatrunsthroughoutourbrandincluding
thetypefaceofthebrand(Figure19),amoodboard(Figure
20)asinspirationforthedessertstudiosandamock-up
menu(Figure21).
Name: URBEAN Name font: Blake Tagline: ”… Beans the cool way” Tagline font: LIBBY
Figure19TypefaceofURBEAN.
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Figure21Mock-upmenufortheURBEANdessertstudios.
Moodboard(Figure20):Themoodboardrepresentstheatmosphereandinteriordesignwewant
theURBEANdessertstudiostohave.Itcirclesaroundthecurrentdesigntrendswithalotof
natural,warmmaterialsmixedwithmorecoldandindustrialonessuchassteelandcobber.The
Figure20MoodboardasinspirationfortheURBEANdessertstudios.
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moodboardismixofpicturesweshotourselvesandpicturesweborrowedfromPinterest,
Colourbox,etc.
Mock-upmenu(Figure21):Themock-upmenuwecreatedcanbeseenabove.Itcontainsasmall
introductiontothecustomersofwhatURBEANisandstandsfor,andthenofcoursewhatweoffer
inthedessertstudios.
Socialmedia
Afterlookingatthe4C’smarketingmixwehadabetterunderstandingonhowweneedto
positionourselvestoattractthecustomerswewant.Thenextstepistodecidewhatoursocial
mediastrategywouldbe.Thebestwaytodothisisofcoursetolookatthecompetitionandfind
whatworksforthemandwhatdoesn’tandbuildasocialmediastrategylearningfromtheir
experience.
Socialmedianumbersareeasilyvisiblesowesystematicallylookedatthreeofourcompetitor’s
activities.ThecompetitorsthatwechosewereJoeandtheJuice,ParadisisandBaresso(Table4).
WelookedatbrandsthatstartedtheirjourneyinDenmark,hadapositiveandsuccessfulgrowth
andwerecateringtoasimilarmarketasweare.Anotherfactorinchoosingthoseisthatallthree
arepresentinmorethanoneregioninDenmarksoweknowthattheirstrategyisscalable.
Beforewelookedatthecompetitorswehadsomeassumptions:
• AllthreecompetitorswouldhaveofficialandveryactiveFacebookpages
• AllthreecompetitorswouldhaveofficialandactiveInstagrampages
• StrongengagementforBaressoandJoeandtheJuiceonYouTubeasalifestylechannel
• Twitterisnotthebestsocialmediaplatformtopromoteanyofthem
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Table4Comparisonofcompetitors'presenceandperformanceonsocialmediaplatforms.
Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube
Paradis Is Separate location specific
official pages
One official centralized
page with 21 000 likes
Opening times, photos,
contests
A lot of engagement
Most reviews on the local
pages
89 posts
2400 followers
8 posts per month
posts mainly of the ice-
cream, 6300 posts with
the hashtag #paradisis
No account Noaccount
Joe and
the Juice
A lot of region specific
unofficial pages with
reviews
The regional unofficial
pages are redirected to the
official page
No images or posts
Well curated Instagram
profile
824 posts
56 000 followers
22 posts /month
Consistent imagery
Pictures of fresh fruit and
attractive men
65505 posts with the
hashtag #joeandthejuice
No account 22videos
150
subscribers
Baresso Separate unofficial pages
for each location
No official Facebook page
13 300 followers
444 posts
Average 10 posts per
month
Stopped posting in August
38425 posts with the
hashtag #baresso
2400 tweets
1900 followers
1500 following
Limited
engagement
Some user
generated
contents
(pictures and
tweets
addressed to
them)
13videos
65subscribers
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Fromlookingatthisstudyofourcompetitorswecaneasilyseethatallourassumptionswereat
leastinpartwrong.Inaddition,ithelpsusseeclearlywhatworksandwhatdoesn’twork.
WhenitcomestoYouTubeneitherJoeandtheJuiceorBaressohavealotofsubscribers.Wecan
see,fromthetypeofvideostheyupload,thatthisisbecausethereislittlevaluefortheviewer
offeredinthevideos.ThemostviewedclipsonYouTubeare“How-To”videos,personalitydriven
videos,lifestylevideosorvideoswithhighentertainmentvalue(parodies,musicvideos,short
movies)(mediakix,2016).FromthiswecanconcludethatYouTubeisnotthebestsocialmediafor
ourpurpose.TheROIwouldbelowifwehadtoproducethevideosthatcouldattractsubscribers.
ItwouldbeeasiertojustengagewithlocalYouTubersandreachthatmarketthroughthem
instead.
Twitterisalsoamediathatisnotverysuccessfulforthesebusinesses.NeitherJoeandtheJuice
norParadisIsengagedthataudienceandBaressohadlimitedsuccess.Itwouldbewisefor
URBEANtoalsofocusonothersocialmediawithmoreengagement.
Instagramisthesocialmediawiththehighestengagement.Allthreebrandsarepresentthere
postingsomewhatregular.ThemostsuccessfulisJoeandtheJuicewiththesecondbeingBaresso.
Theybothpresentastrongbrandimage.WhatsetsJoeandtheJuiceapartistheconsistencyof
theirimages,thenumberapostsamonth,thefactthattheycuratetheirfeedsoithastheirlogo
appearatregularintervalsandthemanyfacestheyhaveintheirimages.Theyarepresentingthe
“coolandhip”imagewithoutfocusingtoomuchonwhattheysell.Baressoontheotherhandhas
afeedwhereimagesofcoffeedominateandmakesitlessrelatable.Theyallhavealotofuser
generatedcontentundertheirnamesakehashtagsbecausetheyhaveestablishedthemselvesas
“coolplacestobe”.ParadisIshasmuchlowerengagement.Theirfeedisfilledwithimagesofice-
cream.Alotoftheimageslooktoomuchlikestockimagesandthefeedissomewhatinconsistent
instyle.FromlookingatourcompetitorswenowknowhowimportantforURBEANistohavea
wellcuratedInstagramfeedthatincludesbothourproductandlocationaswellasfacesofpeople
workingthere.WeexpectInstagramtobethesocialmediawiththehighestfollowingsinceour
brandishighlyfocusedontheexperience.
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FacebookisthelastsocialmediawelookedatandsurprisinglyParadisIswasthebrandthathad
themostcoherentFacebookpresence.Wecouldseeacrossthebrandsthatcustomerswanted
localofficialpagesandParadisIsofferedthatwhilealsohavingacentralizedofficialpage.The
localpageswerefilledwithreviewsandcustomercommentswhilethecentralizedofficialpage
hadalargefollowingandwasfocusedonrunningcampaigns,contestsandgivingessential
informationlikeopeningtimes.BothBaressoandJoeandthejuicehadunofficiallocalpagesthat
hadinconsistentlooksandwerenotmoderated.JoeandtheJuiceredirectedtolocalofficialpages
whichmakesusbelievethattheyaretryingtochangetheirFacebookstrategytobeinlinetowhat
theircustomerswant.LookingatthiswenowknowthatURBEANwillstartbyhavingalocal
officialpageforourfirstlocationandanofficialpagethatwillbekepthiddenuntilweopenmore
locations.Thiswaywewillgivecustomersawaytoratelocallybuttolikethebrandnationallyjust
likeParadisIshasdone.
Localmediaoutlets
Forgettingrelevantmediaexposureweneedtokeepinmindourtargetmarketaswellasour
marketingbudget.Themarketingbudgetthatwecalculatedforthefirstyearissomewhatlimited
soweneedtomakeuseasmuchaspossibleofambassadorsforthebrand,engagedconsumers
thatwouldpromoteURBEANbecausetheyarepassionateaboutwhatwedoandwhatwestand
for.Inordertocreatetheinitial“buzz”aroundthebrandwecanlookatthemedialocaloutlets
forcoverage:TV2Nord,P4Nordjylland,ANR,Nordjyske,MigogAalborg,theyarealloutletsthat
oftenwritepiecesaboutunusuallocalbusinesses.Becauseourconcepthasanelementofnovelty
itisnewsworthyandwillgetsomeexposurethatway.
Anotherimportantpartofgainingexposureisgoingtolocalfoodmarkets,farmers’marketsas
wellasfestivals.Nordkraftfoodmarketattractsmanyofthebuyerpersonasweenumeratedin
thechapterabove.Ofcourse,relevantfoodblogswillalsobetargetedafterourinitiallaunchwith
invitationstoanexclusivepre-launchpartywheretheycansampleallthedessertsandbeverage
weofferaswellastheatmosphereURBEANcreates.Thiswillnotbeverycostlyandwouldreacha
largeaudiencegainingusrecommendationsfromtrustedsources.
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4.3.4 Budget
Weusedourbudgettovalidateourbusinessaswelltobetterunderstandbetterwhatneedstobe
donewithinthebusinessinordertomakeitprofitable.Duringtheprocessofmakingthebudget
werealizedthatbecausetheseasonalityoficecreamitwasnotpossibleforustohaveaprofit
unlessweexpandedourofferingtootherdesserts.Thebudgetalsomadeusunderstandhow
manyemployeesweneededdependingonthenumberofcustomersweexpectallowingusto
minimizecostswhilemaximizingprofits.
Thebudgethasbeencreatedbasedonalotofassumptionsthatwouldhavetobeverifiedlaterat
ourpilotlocation.Ithasbeencreatedwiththeassumptionthatthereisnoinitialinvestorwhich
meansthatforthefirstlocationthemarketingbudgetisestimatedlowandthatthegrowthofthe
customerbasewouldbeorganic.Ourbudgetincludesthecostofgoingtoeventsappropriatefor
ourbusinessandfaresinordertogetincontactwithcustomersandgainingmorevisibilityforour
brand.
Thisbudget(Figure22)showsthateventheorganicgrowthtakenintoaccountwewouldbreak-
evenduringthefirst17monthsshowingthatthebusinessmodelissustainable.Theinitialcapital
requiredtostartthedessertstudiobusinessis295000DKK,andisdetailedinAppendix8.6
Budget–Year1.Forthescopeofthefirstbudget,weconsideredthatweasateamcouldinvest
thisamountinourowncompany,bootstrappingit,andapplyforgrants.Thecapitalof295000
Figure22GraphicillustrationofBreakEvenAnalysiswithProfit(Income-Expenses)ontheY-axisandmonthsontheX-axis.Thegraphshowsbreak-evenwilloccurwithinthefirsttwoyearsofcreatingtheventure–morepreciselyafter17months.
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DKKisnecessarytopayrent,equipanddecoratethefirstdessertstudio.Basedontheprojections
inthebudget,weestimatethatthebreak-evenwillhappenin17months,asseeninFigure22.
Eventhoughtheteamwouldbeworkingforfreeinthestudioforthefirstyear,sotherewouldbe
noneedtohireemployeestostartwith,wedecidedtoincludethoseexpensesinthebudgetto
helpusseehowsoonwecouldhaveaprofitwhilepayingoutsalaries.Sinceourgoalisaveryfast
growth,itisessentialforthebusinessmodelthatURBEANcansupportitselffastandproduce
profit.Sincefrozendessertsareclearlyaseasonalproduct,andthatisourmainincome
generator,wehavetakenthisintoconsideration.Thestudioneedsmoreresourcesinthe
summer,comparedtothewinterandthatwasreflectedinthebudgetbothinthenumberof
customersandemployeesneeded.However,URBEAN’sfirstyearwillstillendinadeficitof
-138450DKKasseenintheYear1columnintheBudgetbelow,becausemostofthemajorcosts
areonetimepaymentsincurredinordertoopenthestudio.ToestimatetherevenueofURBEAN,
whenthecostsofopeningastudioarededucted,aprofitof150800DKKwilloccur,asshownin
Table5below.
Table5Budget–Year1and2
Year 1 Year 2
Total expenses 1 664 700 1 499 200
Income 1 526 250 1 650 000
Profit (Income-Expenses) - 138 450 + 150 800
Itishoweverimportanttomention,thatthisbudgetisonlybasedontherawmaterialsforfrozen
dessert,toppingsandcoffee.Thismeansitneedstobeadjusted,assoonasURBEANcomesup
withacompleteproductportfolioandaclearerviewonthepricepointforourproducts.
Whenbudget1wasmade,weassumedthattheaveragecustomerwouldspendonly55DKKper
purchase.Thismeantthattheturnaroundofeachcustomerwouldbeveryhigh.Thefeedbackwe
receivedfromSWN3wasthatthispricepointwasconfusingasitdidnotalignitselfwiththebrand
imageweweretryingtocreate.Thisdiscrepancywillbeaddressedinthefuturebudget.Sincewe
madethebudgetwerealizedthatweneededtomakeanalternativebudgettoowithafocuson
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exponentialgrowthandanassumptionthatwewouldmanagetoattractaninvestorsoinorderto
generatemorerapidgrowth.
4.3.5 BusinessModelCanvas2
OnourseconditerationfortheBusinessModelCanvas,thefocuschangedfromsellinga
breakfast,whichwastoonarrowofanichethatlimitedthesalespotentialofURBEANproducts.
ThechangesareillustratedinFigure23belowandhighlightedinred.
Firstly,thecustomersegmentwasaddressedafternotingthatagewasnotadecisivefactorin
choosingourproduct,butthevaluestheindividualshavedeterminedwhethertheywouldbuythe
dessert.Furthermore,becausewedidnotuseanyanimalproducts,vegansandvegetariansarean
addressablemarketwhomwedidnotspecificallymarkettobefore.Therearemoreandmore
peoplechoosingaplant-baseddiet(ForumfortheFuture,2016)andtheycanturnouttobea
largecustomerbaseforURBEAN.
Figure23ThesecondversionofOsterwalder'sBusinessModelCanvasforURBEAN.Thenotesmarkedwithredarethechangesfromthefirsttothesecondversion.
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Oneofthemostconsiderablechangesisthatwehavedecidedtosellanexperienceinourdessert
studios.Therefore,wewouldofferawidervarietyofbean-basedproductssuchasbean-based
browniesandcakes,ratherthanonlyfrozendesserts.Thecustomersareencouragedtospendthe
timeinsidethedessertstudioswheretheywouldfindthemselvesinahigh-qualityenvironment
withamodern,urbanandcosylook.TheatmosphereinFigure24suggeststhevibetransmitted
bytheURBEANdessertstudios.Thephotowastakenduringaphotoshootthatwasapartof
Prototype3.
InthenewversionofBusinessModelCanvas,wehaveincludedpartnershipswithhighquality
furnitureproducersandinteriordesignexpertswhowouldaddtotheexperiencefactorURBEAN
canofferthecustomers.Forthe“CustomerRelationship”field,theexperiencefactorcontributes
tocustomerretention.Ouruserinvolvementshowedthatmorepeoplearepronetovisitthea
café,orinourcaseadessertstudio,iftheatmosphereandmoodisonpoint-andtherebyour
customeracquisitionwillincrease.
Figure24Mood-settingandvibeoftheURBEANdessertstudio.
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4.3.6 SuperWiseNet3
Preparation
SWN3wasanopportunityforustoexploreouroptionsforAcceleration.Weneededtoseeifour
visionwasclearenoughandourstorytellingstrongenoughtoallowustomoveforward.Sincewe
havepivotedourconceptfromSWN2fromabreakfastbarconcepttoadessertstudioweneeded
toseeifthistimeitwaswellformulatedandengagingenough.
WelearnedfromthepreviousSWNthatourstorytellingwasnotclearenoughsothistimewe
askedPernilletopresenttheconceptsinceshehadtheclearestvisiononwhatthedessertstudio
is.AlsogrowingfromthepreviousSWNweexploredmarketingoptionsandourtargetcustomers
inmoredetailsincealotofthefeedbackwereceivedwasthatmarketingwasaveryimportant
partforthesuccessofourbusiness.Ourbudgethasimprovedalotsincethepreliminaryonewe
createdforSWN2andourbusinessmodeloptionsweremoreclearatthispointintimesowe
gavethesupervisorsanupdatedviewonthattoo.
Feedback
Thefeedbackwereceivedwassplitasthedifferentbackgroundsandfocusareasofthe
supervisorscametolight.Althoughourvisionwasmoreclearandcompletethanintheprevious
SWNthestorytellingwasnotcompletelythereyet.Ourbrandidentityneededtobedefinedina
betterwayandshownmoreclearly.
Themood-boardweused(Appendix8.7Mood-boardforSWN3Presentation)wasnotspecific
enoughtogiveaclearimageofwhatthestorywasanditwasnotclearenoughontheexperience
wewerecreatingforourcustomers.Alsothepricepointwehadsetwasnotinlinewiththe
luxuriousvisionwehadforthespace.
Anothermainfocusofthefeedbackwasourgrowthstrategyormostlyourlackoffocusonthis
growthstrategy.Althoughinourdiscussionsasagroupweexploredouroptionsforgrowthand
wewerecertainlynotconsideringorganicgrowthforthecompanyourSWN3presentationdidnot
expressthissoalotoffeedbackwasaboutusneedingtofocusmoreonthisgrowthandwaysin
whichwecouldlookatitandhowscalabilityneedstobebuiltintotheproject.
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Reflection
LookingbackatSWN3andthefeedbackwegotfromitwerealizedthatitisverydifficultto
presentallourprocessandfindingsinonly7minutes.Wefeltthatourstorytellingwasmuch
clearerthatthepreviousSWNbutthatthebrandidentitywascertainlynotdevelopedenough.
Sinceitwassomethingweputalotofeffortintocreatingwerealisedthatitissomethingthatwe
wouldeitherneedtogetoutsidesupportwithoraddanothermembertoourteamthatwouldbe
moreproficientwithmarketingandbranddesignasitisaskillwearemissingwithintheteam.
Whenitcomestoourgrowthstrategywegotthepushthatweneededtoexploreourgrowth
fromtheassumptionthatourfirstpilotlocationwouldbeasuccess.Althoughweknewwe
wantedtoscaleandjusthowmuchweneededtoscalewewereafraidofexpressingourgrowth
strategybecausewewerestillstuckonthefactthatthetextureofourfrozendessertstillremains
anuncertainty.Althoughweaddedmoreproductstoouroffering(browniesandotherbeanbased
healthycakes)wefeltthatwecouldnottrulytestourconcepttogetthevalidationweneededto
saythiswillgrowwithoutourfocalproductbeingthebestitcanbe.
4.4 ReflectionsaboutIncubation
LookingattheIncubationphaseretrospectively,wepivotedourconceptslightly.Ourfirstconcept
tobebroughttoIncubationwasabreakfastbar/cafésellingfrozenbeandessertasbreakfastand
dessert.Afterscopingandfine-tuningourideaandopportunity,weendedupwithadessert
studiosellingbeandessertsandsnacks.
Wehadseveralongoingtopicsthroughouttheincubationphasesuchasprototyping,validation,
businessmodelsandtargetcustomers.WecouldprobablyhavespentourtimeintheIncubation
phaseabitmorestructuredasthiswouldhavegivenusmoretimetovalidatetheconceptandthe
businessevenmore.Ourprototypingcouldhavebenefitedfrombeingmorecontinuousand
iterativeasthismostlikelywouldhaveprovidedfasterandbetterlearning.Potentially,amore
structuredapproachtoprototypingcouldhavetranslatedsomeofouruncertaintiesintofactson
anearlierstage.Thevalidationboard(LeanStartupMachine,2012).isagreattoolforstructuring
andprioritizinguncertaintiesandapproachthemonebyone.Thiswouldcouldhavebeena
helpfultoolforustouse.
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Duetoobstacleswithfindingacollaborationpartnerwiththeequipmentwecouldtestproduction
methodswith,wegotabitstuck.Weprobablyemphasizedabittoomuchontechnical
uncertaintiesinsteadofbalancingTMROasPivotprescribes(Arteaga&Hyland,2014).Wecould
havespentmoretimelookingtowardsthemarket.Incontinuationofthatperspective,“getting
outoftheoffice”wasaconceptweshouldhavepracticedmoreasitcouldhavebroughtuseven
morevaluablefeedback.Inmanyways,thefactthatwecouldnotimprovethetextureofourice
creambecameagreathurdleforuswhenitcametoengagingwiththemarket.OnlyafterSWN3
wehadthecouragetotestthemarketwithasecondaryproductratherthanourflagshipdessert.
5 Acceleration5.1 Intro
DuringthetimewehadforourprojectwefocusedalotonDiscoveryandIncubation,mostly
choosingtherightproblem/solutioncombinationandthenreducinguncertaintiesthroughout
Incubation.Whenitcametoaccelerationwefeltwewerenotreadytotransitiontothatstage.
Westillhadamajoruncertaintyleft,thetextureofourbeanicecreamandmorevalidationtodo
thatwouldbeinefficientduringthewintermonths.Thisiswhythischapterwillfocusonourplans
foraccelerationsincewehavenotreachedthatstageyetwithourproject.Astrongfocuswillbe
putonthegrowthstrategyandhowweplantogrowourbrand.
5.2 GrowthStrategy
ThegrowthstrategywedecidedforURBEANisthatofaggressivegrowth.Wewanttotakethe
firsttwoyearstovalidateandperfectourconceptbasedonfeedbackfromourcustomersand
thenexpandthroughoutDenmark.Weareaimingtohave14dessertstudioswithinthefirst10
years.MovingourexpansionfirstnationallybyopeninglocationsinCopenhagen,Aarhusand
OdenseandtheninternationallystartingwithSwedenandGermany.
Althoughthegoalisgrowthwewanttoperfecttheconceptbeforeexpandingandwitheach
expansionwewanttoimproveandensurethatthequalityofwhatweofferdoesnotdecrease
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whileexpanding.Wedonotwanttobeseenasjustanothercafé.WewanttheURBEANdessert
studiostoachievelifestylebrandstatus.
5.2.1 Strategyforyear1-2
Thefirsttwoyearsweplantofocusonourfirstlocationasitshouldserveasapilotventure.
Beforeevenbuildingthepilotventureweplantobuyan“icecreambike”andtrytorecreateas
muchoftheURBEANatmosphereandofferingaspossible.Thefirststepwouldbetogetinto
contactwithourtargetcustomers,gotofoodmarketsandfairsandreceivefeedbackonwhatwe
areoffering.Alltheknowledgefromthisinitialcontactwiththemarketfromthe“icecreambike”
willbeusedwhencreatingthefirstlocation.
ThefirstpilotlocationwillbestartedinAalborginorderfortheteamtobeabletoworkonit
whilecontinuingtheeducation.Thiswillgiveustwoyearswhenthemainfocusdoesnotneedto
bepayingemployeesandturningagreatprofitbutperfectingourproductsandimprovingour
marketingstrategy.AalborgisoneofthebiggestcitiesinDenmark,astudentcentreanditisready
toembracemoreadventurousfoods.
5.2.2 Strategyforyear3
Inyear3wewanttoopentwonewlocations,oneinAarhusinoneinCopenhagen.Atthispoint
ourbrandwillbematureenoughandwewillbringinadditionalinvestors.Byvalidatingand
creatingastablebrandinthefirsttwoyearsweexpecttohavetogiveawaylessequitytothe
investorsthatjoinourventureatthispointintime.
TheCopenhagenlocationwillalsobeourflagshipventurethatwillbecomethefaceofURBEAN.
BecauseitisacosmopolitancitymoreopentochangethananyothercityinDenmark,itwillbe
thelocationthatwillhaveexclusiveproductsfirstbeforetheyareintroducedthroughoutthe
chain.WhenopeningtheCopenhagenlocation,wewanttocollaboratewithaDanishdesign
company-thatwillbedecidedatthetime-inordertocreateatrulyluxuriousatmospherefully
customizedtofitourimage.
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5.2.3 Strategyforyear4
Bytheendofthefourthyearweexpecttoopentwomorelocations,onemoreinCopenhagen
andoneinOdensebringingthetotalofURBEANdessertstudiosinDenmarktofive.Duringthis
year,ourfocuswillstartexpandingtotheinternationalmarketaswell.Atthemoment,following
thecurrenttrendswelookatGermanyandSwedenaspotentialmarketsforURBEAN.
Swedenespeciallyhasproventobeagreatpotentialmarketasitcurrentlyranksfirstregarding
consumptionoforganicfood.Ingeneral,ontheEuropeanmarket,areportshowsthattheorganic
foodisgrowing6.7%in2014(IFOAMEUGroup,2016).Inthesameyear,38%ofthefoodbought
inSwedenwasorganic,andthetrendcontinuedin2015(Ryegård&Ryegård,2015).URBEANis
nottheonlyone,whoseeSwedenasanopportunity,sincemorestoreswithorganicproducts
haveopenedthere.Eventheecosystemmakesitaplacetostartourinternationalexpansion,
sincetheSwedishgovernmenthasinvestedSEK400million(Sweden,2015),inordertopromote
theexportofSwedishenvironmentaltechnology,researchinenvironmentaltechnologyandto
makeiteasiertocommercializeinnovations.
WeseeSwedenandGermanyasmarketsthatbothhaveagreatgrowthwhenitcomestotheir
interestinorganichealthyfoodbutalsoculturallyclosetoDenmarkwhichwouldminimizetherisk
wewouldtakewhenexpanding.Weexpecttobeabletomakeminimumadaptationstoour
offeringandbrandtoadapttothosetwocultures.Animportantstepduringthisyearwouldbeto
startfindingexternalpartnersthatcouldfacilitatethisexpansion.Weknowthatbusiness
relationshipstakealongtimetonurtureandwewouldnotwanttorushtheexpansionby
choosingwrongpartners.
5.2.4 Strategyforyear5
Inyear5wemainlyfocusoncreatingthestrategyfortheinternationalgrowth.Thismeansthata
lotofresourceswillbeusedfinalizingprojectsandpartnershipsforourpilotlocationsinGermany
andSweden-mostlikelybeinginBerlinandStockholm.Onlyonemorelocationwouldbeadded
inCopenhagenbringingthetotallocationsto6inDenmark.Morenationallocationswillbeadded
inthefollowingyearsincitieswherethemarketislargeenough.
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5.2.5 Strategyforyear6-10
Duringthesefouryears,thefocuswillbeonexpanding
internationallyinGermanyandSweden(Figure25)aswellas
addingthesmallboutiquemodelandbringingacondensed
versionofURBEANtoairportsandshoppingmallsacrossour
threemarkets.Weexpectthatbyyear10wewouldhaveover
15locationswithsomeboutiquelocationsaddedtoour
portfolio.Ourfocusinthoseyearswouldbebothon
expansionandmaintainingtheimageofthebrandand
maintainingthestatusofalifestylebrand.
5.3 Budget2
Thesecondbudgetthatwemadestartedfromthepremises
thatwewouldbootstrapthefirstlocationandusewordof
mouthandlimitedmarketingtospreadthewordaboutit.
Althoughwearecertainlynotplanningfororganicgrowthwithoutaninvestorfromthefirst
locationourmarketinganddecoratingbudgetistheonethatneedstosuffer.Wealsoconsidered
apossibleinvestorstartingfromthefirstlocation.
Ifwelookataninvestmentof500000DKKthiswouldmeanthatwecouldinvestmorein
marketingandpromotion.Withourcurrentbudgetweplannedonspending75000DKKon
marketingduringthefirst12monthsofopeningthefirstlocationand20000DKKondecorating
theinterior.Withaninvestmentof500000DKKthatwouldallowustospendmoremoneyon
decoratingtheinitiallocationandcreatingastrongbrandimageasaluxuryestablishmentfrom
thebeginning.Alsohiringaconsultantwhenitcomestotheinitialmarketingcampaignaswellas
investingalotofmoneytocreatethebuzzaroundthebrand.Weexpecttospend60000DKKon
themarketingconsultantforthefirstthreemonthsoflaunching,200000DKKaddedtothedesign
budgetandspend150000DKKinthefirstthreemonthstopromoteourbrandinlocalmediaand
theremaining90000wouldbespentasneededonotherpromotionsthroughouttheyear.
Figure25MapoflocationsinDenmark(6),Sweden(3)andGermany(4)byaroundyear7.
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Therearesomepositiveandnegativeaspectsthatwewouldneedtofurtherconsiderandexplore
whenconsideringaninitialinvestment:
+ Strongerbrandimagecreatedattheinitiallocation
+ Morecustomersintheinitialmonths
+ Morewordofmouthandcustomerawareness
+ Increasedchancesthatfutureinvestmentswouldbeeasiertoaccesswithlowerequity
percentageneedingtobegivenaway
+ Withthecorrectinvestor,newknowledgeandnetworkswouldbeaddedtoourteam
+ Startonthesecondlocationafteronlyoneyear
÷ Exchangerateforequitywouldbelow
÷ Anewpartnerwouldbeintroducedwiththeteam
Awaytoavoidthenegativesandexchangeitforaninterestratewouldbetotakealoaninstead
ofaddinganinvestor.Inthiseconomythoughitishighlyunlikelywecouldgetabankloan.
5.4 Reflections
Wefeelthatafterweclearthelastofourmainuncertainty:thetextureofouricecreamwewould
bereadytocreateafirstconceptspaceandstartinvestinginthebusinessandpropellingit
towardsgrowth.Aswediscussedinthechapterwewouldnotwanttowaitfororganicgrowthbut
assoonaswevalidatetheconceptthroughaphysicallocationwewouldlookforinvestorsthat
believeinourgrowthgoal.
6 Outro6.1 Conclusion
Thefourmonthsofprojectworktookustobeingateamwithdifferentrolesandworkingwiththe
sameidea,fromfourdifferentpersonalitiesandbackgrounds.Wealsounderstoodthekey
elementsandcontentforthebusinessplanofahighuncertaintyinnovationconcept.Inaddition
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tothat,webuildseveraliterationsofprototypesandcontinuouslylearnedandvalidatedthe
concept.
Inthebeginning,toolshavebeenusedtoenhanceourcreativityandstimulateteam
communication.Werealizedthatcreativityistrainedratherthanborn,thatserendipityseldom
happens,andthateventhen,theidearequirespolishingandadaptationtotheteam
competencies.Withregardstoideageneration,wehavelearnedandappliedmethodstoscreen
ideasandchoosethebestfittothesituationbasedonthepersonalitiesintheteam,aspirations
andwhatmotivatesthemembersaswellasthebusinesspotentialthatithasandthe
monetizationopportunities.
AlthoughwefollowedtheD-I-Aapproach,weendedupgoingthroughDiscoverytwice.We
realizedthatEntrepreneurshipisnotlinearandchangesofcourseareneededeventhoughthey
arenotalwayseasilynoticeable,oncetheteamstartsto“fallinlovewithanidea”.Weusedtools
tokeepaccountableforteamvaluesandthatwasagoodlessonforourteam,especiallyinkey
momentswhenwedidnotknowwhichdirectiontotakewithourproject.
Prototypingandcontinuousvalidationwithend-usersopenedoureyestowhatourpotential
customerswant,andevenmoreimportant,whoourtargetcustomersareandwhichcriteriawe
canusetoidentifythembyratherthanseparatingthemonlybyagegroup.WeappliedtheD-I-A
methoddescribedinthebookPivot(Arteaga&Hyland,2014),tomaximizeresultsandmakeusof
the“learningperdollarspent”mantra.Wedecidedtofollowthephysicallocationbusinessmodel
ratherthanretailingourproducts.Thedecisionwasmadebecausebuildingthebrandrequires
timeandconsiderablemarketingeffortandURBEANneedstobeestablishedasamarketleaderin
thefrozenbeandessertindustrytobesuccessful.
WeutilizedthethreeSWNsintheprocessreportanddescribedthemasguidingtools.Theywere
alsogoodwaysofpracticingandunderstandingpotentialinvestors.Pivotalknowledgewasbuilt
fromthethreeSWNs,astheymadeusthinkdeeperaboutourconcept,forexamplewhetherthe
ideaswererightforus,thebeanicecreamshouldonlybeadessertoramealreplacement,or
whichbusinessmodelfittedtheideabest.
WeconsiderthatthefirstsemesteroftheEntrepreneurialEngineeringeducationwasavaluable
toolwhichtaughttheteammemberstoworkingroupsforinnovativeprojectsandbring
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significantinputstotheproject.Itwasalsoanimportantlessonformakingdecisionsbasedon
facts,andnotonassumptions.Finally,wehavelearnedtoapproachaprojectintheD-I-Away,by
maximizingtheresultswithaminimumuseofresources.
6.2 Perspective
AlthoughwehaveaclearideaonwhatURBEANisandwhatitcanofferwestillhavealotof
questionstoexploreandanswerwhenitcomestoourbusinessmodel.Therearethreeissueswe
needtofurtherexplore:
1. 5-yearbudget
• Weneedtoestimatehowourbudgetwouldlooklikewithcreatingandbuildingnew
locations,payingsalariestoaCEO,marketingperson,etc.
• Weneedtoexplorehowbigofaninvestmentwouldbeneededfortheaggressive
expansionthatweareplanningstartinginyear3.
2. Istheprofitgeneratedwithinthefirsttwoyearsenoughtoattractinvestors?
• Theprofitperlocationisnotthathigh(especiallyasAalborgbeingthefirstlocation
wherethetargetmarketissmaller).
• Consideranotherfirstlocationwithalargermarket(likeCopenhagen)
3. Exitstrategy
• Dowewanttobuilditupandsell?
• Dowewanttobuilditupandenjoytheprofitsourselves?
• Dowewanttofocusourenergytobuildingtheproductawarenessandbringanew
product(beanicecream)tothesupermarketstoo?
Wecanseealotofpotentialinthisbusinessopportunity.Theproductthatweofferisinnovative
andthemarketwearetargetingisconstantlygrowing(IFOAMEUGroup,2016).Wethinkthat
therewouldbeatleastonemoreiterationneededintheIncubationphaseinordertobe
completelyconfidentinvestingmoneyinthisventurebutsofarallthesignspointtowardfurther
explorationandvalidation.
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6.3 Threequestionsforevaluation
1. Whydidwechoosetogoforaphysicallocationinsteadofretail?
2. Howwouldthebudgetchangeasthenumberoflocationsincreasesandhowwouldthis
affectthebottomline?
3. Whichstepsdoweneedtotakeinordertobereadyforacceleration?
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7 Bibliography Arteaga,R.&Hyland,J.,2014.Pivot-HowTopEntrepreneursAdaptandChangeCoursetoFindUltimateSucess.Hoboken(NewJersey):Wiley.Badke-Schaub,G.&.,2010.TheDesign-PsychologyIndispensibleResearchPartnership.roceedingsofthe8thDesignThinkingResearchSymposium(DTRS8),pp.199-209.Baum+WhitemanLLC,2015.11HOTTESTFOOD&BEVERAGEDININGTRENDSINRESTAURANT&HOTELS,2016,Brooklyn:Baum+WhitemanLLC.Chaffey,D.,2016.MobileMarketingStatisticscompilation.[Online]Availableat:http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-analytics/mobile-marketing-statistics/[Accessed03012017].Dahlager,L.,2016.Politiken.[Online]Availableat:http://politiken.dk/mad/madnyt/art5637169/Sådan-gjorde-en-21-årig-grød-hipt[Accessed8December2016].ForumfortheFuture,2016.Whatistheroleofplant-basedfoodsinfuturediets?,s.l.:ForumfortheFuture.Gassmann,O.,2015.TheBusinessModelNavigator:55ModelsThatWillRevolutioniseYourBusiness.s.l.:Pearson.Google,2016.FoodTrends2016,s.l.:ThinkwithGoogle.IFOAMEUGroup,2016.ORGANICINEUROPE-PROSPECTSANDDEVELOPMENTS2016,Brussels:IFOAMEUGroup.Ingemann,D.,2015.BØNNE-BROWNIES.[Online]Availableat:http://www.thefoodclub.dk/boenne-brownies/[Accessed03012017].Keeley,L.,2013.TenTypesofInnovation:TheDisciplineofBuildingBreakthroughs.Hoboken,NewJersey:Wiley.Lauterborn,B.,1990.AdvertisingAge.[Online]Availableat:http://rlauterborn.com/pubs/pdfs/4_Cs.pdf[Accessed03012017].LeanStartupMachine,2012.ValidationBoard-Testyourstartupideawithoutwastingtimeormoney.[Online]
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Availableat:https://www.leanstartupmachine.com/validationboard/[Accessed03012017].mediakix,2016.The13MostPopularTypesOfYouTubeVideos-Readmoreat:http://scl.io/3QUunOaE#gs.Y=1YmYQ.[Online]Availableat:http://mediakix.com/2016/02/most-popular-youtube-videos/#gs.Y=1YmYQ[Accessed03012017].MINTEL,2016.Food&DrinkTrends2017,s.l.:MintelReports.Revella,A.,2015.BuyerPersonas:HowtoGainInsightIntoYourCustomer'sExpectations,AlignYourMarketingStrategies,andWinMoreBusiness.s.l.:Wiley.Ryegård,C.&Ryegård,O.,2015.Ekologisklivsmedelsmarknad,Lidköping:Ekoweb.Sweden,2015.SUSTAINABLELIVINGINSWEDEN.[Online]Availableat:https://sweden.se/nature/sustainable-living/[Accessed03012017].ThedeBonoGroup,2013.SixThinkingHats.[Online]Availableat:http://www.debonogroup.com/six_thinking_hats.php[Accessed03012017].Vaughan,P.,2015.HowtoCreateDetailedBuyerPersonasforYourBusiness[FreePersonaTemplate].[Online]Availableat:https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33491/Everything-Marketers-Need-to-Research-Create-Detailed-Buyer-Personas-Template.aspx#sm.0000q0l68u1d37edcwy6nde567v2p[Accessed03012017].
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8 Appendices8.1 SixThinkingHats Gastro travels White hat:
• People spend more and more on food, travelling and luxury • People are more interested in cultures • There are successful travel agencies- tried and proven business model • Blue market in Denmark • Big market for travel in Denmark • Everybody loves food • People want to hear about food. Based on the number of food programmes on TV • People want to feel special see luxury
Yellow hat: • Foodies would really love it • Sometimes you wish you could experience the local cuisine • Tell you a lot about the culture • It will be easily available, a package you can buy, you don’t need to spend the time on research • Very sharable, it will market itself • You can keep the recipes for a long time • Blue ocean • Cookbook • Package, you can add it to another trip of yours • Easy marketing opportunities
Black hat: • We need to talk to a lot of people • We need a big network to find all the local people • It is something that others can copy • We need to target different target groups price wise
Green hat: • Make an app • Have an alternative Michelin guide • A restaurant with guest chefs from different countries • Cooking classes with a guest teacher from different countries (either in Denmark and locally)
Red hat: • Eating is a great way to find out about the culture • It would be easier have a holiday like this with the family
Indoor playground White hat:
• The money is there • We have introverted people that don’t like playground • There are more kids in regular schools that have special needs • Education is never going to die • The knowledge is getting bigger on how we learn • How different kids learn different, and rest differently • There’s different ways of playing than running around
Yellow hat: • The money is there • Everybody wants to play • A lot of possible business models • A of different themes • It would help that group of kids that feels bullied and unsafe, unwelcome in the schoolyard • You don’t force anyone out or in it • You can always start small with a pilot project • It’s easy to validate and execute
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• A lot of options on decorating the container Black hat:
• Maybe the people would get bullied for going in there • Maybe it won’t be well received by teacher • Needs money for the actual thing
Green hat: • It could be in a room instead • It can incorporate a teaching space • It could be an event instead (come with educators from the outside) • It could be an event for other places (zoos, museums, malls, private company, birthday parties) • Interactive theater thing, music room • Mobile cinema container • Moving cooking class
Red hat: • The money and willingness to work with it is there
Smell alarm clock White hat:
• Most people want a better way to wake up • Many people are willing to spend more on luxury products • Wellness and meditation is a hot trend • Avoiding snoozing is bad for your health • Everybody sleeps and everybody needs to wake up • There is a huge market that needs to wake up at a certain time in the day • The olfactory system shuts down
Yellow hat: • Give you a pleasant morning • The competitor isn’t that well known • Helps personal development • It’s very customizable • People can buy them for their teenagers to help them wake up • Feeling of luxury is in • Everybody wants to feel special
Black hat: • Maybe you end up hating the smell • Maybe you wouldn’t wake up if it’s too gentle • Red market (alarm clock has been done a lot) • Maybe you would feel tricked • Might be too expensive for an alarm clock • Needs a lot of marketing to sell luxury
Green hat: • App and connection to a smell diffuser
Red hat: • We might not buy it
Container housing concept White hat:
• Some people are doing this • There is a market, there is competition • They are easily available • There should be a lot of them • There is a need for housing • People need a cheap rent • Students can be ok with living in containers
Yellow hat: • They can be moved around • Flexible • They can be put together , modular if there is need for more space • Doesn’t take a long time to build
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• Positive for the environment • They have an urban industrial hipster vibe
Black hat: • If it’s not for students it has ghetto potential • Probably not that affordable • Most municipalities would go with a more permanent solution
Green hat: • Summer houses • Moving container cooking classs • Team building stuff in an container, more like an event you can book with people • Incubator, office space for startups
Red hat: • Customizable • Love the recycling idea • Not much innovation in this, it’s a business • Difficult, big challenge
Container incubator village “ you need a box to think outside of” White hat:
• Incubator model functions • We need more startups in Aalborg • There would probably be some public funding • Containers are already used as offices • Good for the environment
Yellow hat: • Fun to work it • Flexible • Alternative and movable • Interesting workspace • Promotes creativity • Gives the vibe of under construction - reflects your situation • Reminder that it’s temporary and a startup • Extra funding, sponsors • Be a workspace for other people. Prototype a food joint, coffee shop etc. • Cheap to rent
Black hat: • There are a lot of incubators already (red ocean) • Location • Initial startup cost (capital)
Green hat: • Virtual incubator
Red hat: • Depends on the price if it would be usable and location
Analogue Cafe
White hat: • Red ocean market- cafe thing, blue for the analogue • People spend too much time on their phone even when with friends • People are trying to get some distance to technology • People spend money on fancy coffee • People are willing to pay for experience • There is a trend going on with going back to basics • Aalborg is a growing market
Yellow hat: • Good place to network • Easy to market
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• Easy to test, validate, prototype • Easy to franchise • Vey self spreading • It would have the mystique
Black hat: • Red ocean market • It would exclude the people addicted to their phones • High implementation cost • Maybe people would only go once there
Green hat: • Restaurant instead of cafe
Red hat: • I dig it x 3
8.2 BeanBrownieRecipe
Canbefoundhere:http://www.thefoodclub.dk/boenne-brownies/
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8.3 PlaceboTest
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8.4 QuestionnaireforProductTesting
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8.5 ResultsfromProductTesting
8.6 Budget 8.6.1 Year1
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8.6.2 Year2
8.7 Mood-boardforSWN3Presentation
BUSINESS REPORT
GROUP 2 / SEMESTER PROJECT 1
MSC ENTREPRENEURIAL ENGINEERING 2016-18
AALBORG UNIVERSITY
4TH JANUARY 2017
…BEANS THE COOL WAYURBEAN
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
13
14
15
16
17
18
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ABOUT US
PAIN / PROBLEM
CURE / SOLUTION
PROBLEM / SOLUTION FIT
TARGET MARKET
BUSINESS MODEL
VALUE PROPOSITION
PROTOTYPE
COMPETITORS
UNCERTAINTIES & RISKS
FINANCES & BUDGET
ACTION PLAN
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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The pain that URBEAN addresses is based on the lack of places that cater to the discerning urban citizen in need of an organic and healthy dessert or snack. URBEAN solves that problem with the dessert studios – trendy and contemporary spaces where customers can enjoy healthy, handcrafted desserts.
URBEAN’s target market is based on personal values and lifestyle choices rather than age. This is illustrated by different buyers personas. The value they obtain from choosing URBEAN is a unique combination between eating a delicious and healthy dessert, and enjoying it in a location centred around the user experience.
Direct sales have been established as the current business model, with possibilities to expand based on the performance of the first years. The brand name, product quality and interior design are the main drivers for new customer acquisition.
ABOUT US
Andreas, Lucian, Miruna and Pernille
ABOUT US
/ The team behind URBEAN
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Behind URBEAN sits an international team of four people – all with different educational backgrounds. The team’s professional skills are widely spread and range from software development/design, business models/system development, bio technology, food science, product development and project management. In alphabetical order, the team members are:
Andreas Rafn – BSc in Global Business Engineering, Aalborg UniversityLucian Lungu – PBA in Product Development and Project Management, Lillebælt Business AcademyMiruna Olesen – PBA in Software Development, University College NordjyllandPernille Sindberg – BSc in Bioprocess Technology, Aarhus School of Engineering
The group has worked together as a team since late September 2016 and the roles have been divided based on personal competencies and desires. Therefore, Andreas handles finances and budgeting while Lucian oversees planning, communication and public speaking. Pernille holds the practical experience and theoretical knowledge about food and is also in charge of design and brand identity. Miruna is in charge of the strategic choices behind URBEAN within marketing and business and provides a constructive critical overview.
/URBEANDK @URBEANDK
PAIN / PROBLEM
PAIN / PROBLEM
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On the food service market, there is a growing interest from customers for organic and healthier food products. A report made by HORESTA shows that the younger generation shows increasing interest in the healthier options when it comes to fast food (HORESTA, 2006). At the same time, there is an increase in the amount of money people spend when going to cafés and out for entertainment which can be seen by an increase in the turnover of 7.5 % for the whole restaurant industry in Denmark from 2014 to 2015. That is the the biggest increase since 2011 where it was 8.1 %. Additionally, the level of money spent in restaurants in 2015 is even higher than before the financial crisis (2008) with a total turnover increase for the whole industry of 9 billion DKK equivalent to an increase of 29.7 % (HORESTA, 2015).
In general, people are more on the go (MINTEL, 2016), spend less time in their homes and on cooking. Research shows that home cooked meals usually contains less calories, sugar and fat compared to takeaway meals or meals eaten at restaurants (Bleich & Wolfson, 2014). Currently there is a gap in the Danish market when it comes to places where people can go out and eat healthy, organic food and especially within the dessert and snack segments. The problem is particularly visible in the lack of options of combining a high level of service and gastronomy with healthy foods. URBEAN wants to fill that gap.
CURE / SOLUTION
CURE / SOLUTION
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URBEAN is a trendy and contemporary space where customers canenjoy healthy, handcrafted desserts. The space is called a studioand not a café, as URBEAN offers more than just selling a healthyproduct. We want to display how eating healthy food (focusing on dessert and snacks) can serve as an experience by intriguingcustomers with our new ways of combining ingredients and experimenting with them.
We envision creating a brand that dares to explore the gastronomyof healthy food in the sense of flavours, textures and combinations - changing the reputation of healthy food from beingdull, boring and just an alternative. We imagine full, richflavours and an indulgent texture to go hand in hand with important nutrients and low calories. The main selling point is that URBEAN provides healthy desserts made of beans withoutcompromising the experience or taste. Additionally, everything is organic to give customers a clear conscience.
PROBLEM / SOLUTION FIT
PROBLEM / SOLUTION FIT
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URBEAN is an urban brand producing healthy desserts based on beans – our focus is an ice cream styled frozen bean dessert. To ensure a rich texture and flavour of the frozen dessert, we add coconut milk and a natural sweetener – all organic. The products will be fresh and made on a day to day basis and sold in our own dessert studios. The dessert studio is a space where URBEAN aims to take dessert to the next level by combining a unique dessert experience with funky flavours and fuels for the body. Customers can add toppings of some of nature's best sources of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids such as chia seeds, goji berries, walnuts, roasted sesame seeds or crushed flax seeds. URBEAN offers customers the experience and the taste of a luscious dessert packed with nutrients. However, to make sure that URBEAN is not a seasonal business, the menu will contain more options of healthy bean based desserts such as brownies and/or mousses. Together with our desserts, customers can always enjoy a cup of quality coffee, matcha latté or a juice straight out of the juicer.
Since URBEAN is not only about providing a healthy product but also about the overall experience while enjoying it, the vision for the dessert studio is a hip, urban space with a contemporary interior. The space holds the vibe of metropolitan and urban New York mixed with the Nordic sense of aesthetics and design with materials such as wood, leather, steel, glass, ceramics and green plants. All in all, the atmosphere must intrigue our target customers to step inside the studio and provide them a major part of the foundation of URBEAN.
TARGET MARKET
TARGET MARKET
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The target customer at the URBEAN studio is the urban dweller in search of a luxurious dessert experience. Our target customers are defined by their values and lifestyles rather than just an age category. Their food choices reflect their values in terms of what they eat, how the food they eat is produced, where it originates from, and in which situations and surroundings they eat it. To illustrate the different target customers we created some buyer personas whom we would expect to visit URBEAN:
Vegan Vera - the vegan customer, concerned with the health aspect as well as the ethical aspect of our productsHipster Henry - the young hip customer that wants to be seen in the right place, being part of the cool new thingGuilty Grandma Gemma - the grandma that wants to treat her grandchildren but does not want to overdose them on sugar and additivesCurious George - not a regular to eating out but simply curious about the novelty aspect of bean dessertsDating Daniel - young student out on a date, he wants to impress by sending the right message. He wants to be seen as hip, mature, concerned about the environment, health and the animalsYuppie Greg - middle class, white collar job he heard about this cool new place and wants to be able to tell others what he thinks about it Crunchy Mom Carol - she usually makes her own healthy desserts for the family but since she is in the city, URBEAN is a good enough alternativeDiabetes Doreen - she wants a tasty treat that she can enjoy with the rest of the family while also keeping her sugar intake lowShopping Sue - after shopping all day she wants to drink a cup of coffee and eat some cake with her friendsLifestyle Liv - she is a lifestyle blogger and wants to see what she can share with her followers she might not have many but she wants to keep them informed
BUSINESS MODEL
BUSINESS MODEL
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Our main source of revenue are direct sales in the dessert studios. High emphasis is put on the physical location because we are creating a culture around the URBEAN experience. After validation with our first physical location, we are planning to expand the business to locations across Denmark, then Europe and USA
Although the earnings for the individual location will not be very high initially after expansions, we expect that the economy of scale will allow for higher profit margins. On a later stage and once the brand has been well established, we are assessing the possibility of retailing our frozen desserts.
Because of the nature of our offering and the customer base that we would expect to have, we are considering introducing the Robin Hood model (Gassmann, 2015) and offering our customers the option to help others when choosing our establishment by as an example providing a meal to children in poverty stricken areas when spending a certain amount of money at URBEAN.
VALUE PROPOSITION
VALUE PROPOSITION
The unique combination between eating a delicious and healthy dessert, and enjoying it in a location centred around the user’s experience; that is the reason URBEAN customers are entering our dessert studios. URBEAN offers a multitude of desserts which are based on beans, a novelty for the Nordic cuisine. The central offering is bean frozen dessert, with a consistency reminding of ice cream, but packed with fibres and proteins compared to ordinary ice cream.
As a brand, URBEAN is defined by the physical locations: the dessert studios. At the dessert studios, customers experience a cool but cosy atmosphere in surroundings with high quality materials and a Nordic, elegant design. To complement the prestigious physical ambience that our novelty-exploring customers buy into, our desserts stand out from the regular café market by offering nutrition-packed, modern desserts, reborn from a common base ingredient. In addition to that, various healthy toppings can be added to the dessert for a complete experience.
10
PROTOTYPE
PROTOTYPE
11
Ice cream styled frozen bean dessertWe made three prototypes in order to validate whether it was possible to make an ice cream styled frozen dessert based on beans. The initial purpose of the first prototype was to see if it was possible to hide the bean flavour by adding other flavours such as lemon, chocolate, etc. The first prototype showed that it is possible to make a product that had a consistency comparable to ice cream without any significant bean flavour. However, there was an issue with small grainy particles that made the texture a bit flaky. Furthermore, we tested two different kinds of beans, different processing methods, etc. We found butter beans to be the best fit. The second prototype was a repetition of the first round but only made with butter beans. The third round followed the same recipe and method as round two and one – the only difference was that the freezing took place on an ice cream maker instead of in the freezer. Unfortunately, we did not manage to overcome the grainy and flaky texture within the limited time frame of this project.
Bean brownieWe also tested a bean brownie recipe from a Danish food blogger and followed the recipe and production method step by step. We validated the brownie with potential customers, and the overall impression was, that it should be sweeter, more rich in flavour and having a spongier texture like a regular brownie. Nonetheless, the majority could not taste that the main ingredient was beans.
Per 100 gram Frozen bean dessert Bean brownie
Kilo calories 134 326.3
Fat 5.1 24.1
Carbohydrates 14.3 21.1
Of which sugar 5.7 9.2
Of which fibre 4.4 6.4
Protein 5.3 7.9
Atmosphere and mood-setting of URBEAN dessert studiosWe styled different table settings and materials in photos to serve as a mood-board and example of how we envision an URBEAN dessert studio to look like. By asking potential customers, we found that mood-setting and atmosphere is quite important to customers when selecting a café. However, exactly what the mood-setting should capture remains unclear. This is something that needs validation. The mood board above shows what we are trying to achieve. We also created a mock-up menu that can be seen below.
COMPETITORS
COMPETITORS
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URBEAN is going to compete on an emerging market as the interestfor healthy food is increasing (HORESTA, 2006). Since there is noreal direct competition with the same offering as us we find ourselves in a small blue ocean in the middle of a big red one. This presents us with a special opportunity to look at our indirectcompetitors and their strategy as a source of learning.
At the moment we do not have any direct competitors that createdesserts made of beans. This is the reason why we looked at the following indirect competitors: Joe and the Juice, Paradis Is and Baresso as well as the numerous local cafes. They all offer parts of what we want to create:
Joe & The Juice with a strong health oriented and hip brand image
Paradis Is offering delicious ice cream that people will stand in line for
Baresso offering good quality coffee that is a great Danish growncompany to rival international competitors such as Starbucks.
As far as using our competitors as a source of learning wedeveloped our social media strategy based on their experience. Paradis Is has the strongest Facebook presence so we will emulateit having different pages for each location and a central page. Joe and the Juice has a very strong Instagram presence, presenting a consistent brand image that clearly states their value proposition and what their offering is. To us, this is a source of inspiration and a place to look to on how a strong brand image can be created.
UNCERTAINTIES & RISKS
UNCERTAINTIES & RISKS
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The highest uncertainty URBEAN is facing at the moment is still the ability to smoothen the frozen dessert. This could be done by using a colloid mill or a homogenizer used in the dairy industry. Of smoothing of the dessert is possible, the product will resemble ice cream as intended. The issue can be addressed by adding coarse ingredients to the grainy bean paste, such as crushed almonds, thus taking advantage of the grainy texture. Moreover, the addition of more bean based products to the offering, such as bean brownies, works towards reducing the impact of a potential unsuccessful homogenizing of the bean frozen dessert.
Opening of a physical location in the form of a dessert studio poses a risk in itself. URBEAN needs to have an average of 84 customers per day in order to break-even after 17 month (this will be stated in the “Finances & Budget” section below). Because of the risk of our products being too peculiar compared to what is offered on the current market, the wide public can find it unappealing and choose to bypass the URBEAN dessert studio until the brand has been successfully established. Therefore, the first two operating years of our physical location in Aalborg will be crucial for proving the business viability and re-evaluating the possibilities for expansion.
Additionally, the exact nutritional content of the bean desserts remains a minor uncertainty as URBEAN is still in the prototype stage. We are aware of the fact that the beans can lose some micronutrients such as vitamins after being processed which is why further research is needed to calculate both the micro- and macronutrient values of the final products.
FINANCES & BUDGET
FINANCES & BUDGET
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For the first dessert studio to start operating, an investment of 295 000 DKK is required. This investment covers the costs for rent, machinery and decoration for the pilot location in Aalborg. The number of employees has been calculated so that costs are minimized. Sales persons are considered in the budget to boost sales for URBEAN, however the team will not deduct a salary for the first two years of operating. The amount of 295 000 DKK will be bootstrapped and invested in the one-time expenses in year one, such as the machinery, interior for the first the location and other miscellaneous costs. As seen in the projections from the table below, after year one the venture will be in a deficit of 138 450 DKK. With a calculated break-even of 17 months, by the end of year two, a profit of 150 800 DKK will occur. Starting with year two, the team members will prepareURBEAN for expansion by duplicating the first dessert studio in Copenhagen.
The bootstrapped budget presented in the table above allows for creation of the pilot location. To accelerate growth to an exponential rate, URBEAN needs a higher investment which is the second alternative that has been taken into consideration. In thiscase, an investment of 500 000 DKK allows for more aggressive marketing, promotion and branding. URBEAN expects to spend 60 000 DKK on marketing consultancy for the first three months of launching, add 200 000 DKK to the interior design budget and 150 000 DKK in the first three months to promote the brand in local media. The remaining90 000 DKK would be spent as needed on other promotions throughoutthe year, based on further learning.With a more aggressive marketing that an initial investment enables, URBEAN has a higher potential to reach the ambitious goal of expanding internationally to three countries and 14 locations withinthe first ten years of the venture.
Year 1 Year 2
Total expenses 1 664 700 1 499 200
Income 1 526 250 1 650 000
Profit (Income-Expenses) - 138 450 + 150 800
ACTION PLAN
ACTION PLAN
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In order to be successful, we need to focus on expansions from the very beginning. The amount of profit we can generate, as well as the entire concept’s success, depends on creating a recognisable brand that can sell. We have structured the action plan in 3 steps.
Step 1: Pilot locationAt this stage we will focus all our energy on creating the pilot location, learning from the feedback we get from customers and building our infrastructure for future expansion (suppliers, contractors etc.) as well as establishing Standard Operating Procedures.
Step 2: National expansionThis step focuses on aggressive national expansion. More efforts will be focused on building the brand as well as attracting investors and partners for further expansion. The first 5 years will be used to create six locations in Denmark and pave the way to expanding on nearby markets, Germany and Sweden.
Step 3: International expansionWe are considering Sweden and Germany as first markets for expansion outside of Denmark. We expect that in the first few years of expanding internationally, URBEAN will create partners and focus on those two markets. They both hold a high potential because of the current trends on organic and healthy food markets and their similarity to the Danish model (IFOAM EU Group, 2016).
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
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Four months of development of the URBEAN idea led to the business concept of an urban brand producing desserts based on beans to be sold in a physical space, like a café, which we call dessert studios. The ambition is to take desserts to the next level by combining a unique experience with tasty flavours. In the team, roles have been split based on knowledge and preferences, which were sustained by interdisciplinary educational backgrounds.
The project’s most significant risks and uncertainties have been addressed but there are still a few remaining, which must be explored further and mitigated if URBEAN decides to proceed.
REFERENCES
18
Bleich, S. N. & Wolfson, J. A., 2014. Is cooking at home associated with better diet quality or weight-loss intention?. Public Health Nutrition, 17 November, p. 1397–1406.
Gassmann, O., 2015. The Business Model Navigator: 55 Models That Will Revolutionise Your Business. s.l.:Pearson.
HORESTA, 2006. Tendens - Danskerne spiser sundere fastfood, s.l.: HORESTA.
HORESTA, 2015. Bespisningserhvervet, s.l.: HORESTA.
IFOAM EU Group, 2016. ORGANIC IN EUROPE - PROSPECTS AND DEVELOPMENTS 2016, Brussels: IFOAM EU Group.
MINTEL, 2016. Food & Drink Trends 2017, s.l.: Mintel Reports.
THANKS
…BEANS THE COOL WAYURBEAN