MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success
The Wipebook case follows a start-up company over a two-year period. The company originated from a product idea proposed by a student as part of an MBA entrepreneurship course: an erasable, reusable notebook. Two other students joined him in what was to become the "Wipebook" project. Twelve months into the project, the team had realized one of the most successful crowd-funding campaigns in Canadian history: $424,314 for over 10,000 pre-orders. The partners then went on to appear on a television show, Dragons' Den, where they accepted an offer of $300,000 for a 25% stake in the company. As the reality of the entrepreneurial process set in, following the initial euphoria, a number of challenges arose.
Swot Analysis of "MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success" written by Brian King, Franck Bares includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wipebook 424,314 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurial management, Leading teams, Venture capital and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success casestudy better are - – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, technology disruption, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wipebook 424,314, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wipebook 424,314 operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wipebook 424,314
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Wipebook 424,314
Strengths MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wipebook 424,314 in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Wipebook 424,314 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wipebook 424,314 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Wipebook 424,314 has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Organizational Resilience of Wipebook 424,314
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Wipebook 424,314 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Wipebook 424,314 is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Wipebook 424,314 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry
– MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Wipebook 424,314 to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Wipebook 424,314 to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Wipebook 424,314 are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Training and development
– Wipebook 424,314 has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Strong track record of project management
– Wipebook 424,314 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Wipebook 424,314 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Wipebook 424,314 has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Learning organization
- Wipebook 424,314 is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Wipebook 424,314 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Wipebook 424,314 has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Wipebook 424,314 has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success are -
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Wipebook 424,314 has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Wipebook 424,314 is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Wipebook 424,314 has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Wipebook 424,314 has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success, in the dynamic environment Wipebook 424,314 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Wipebook 424,314 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success HBR case study mentions - Wipebook 424,314 takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Wipebook 424,314, firm in the HBR case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Lack of clear differentiation of Wipebook 424,314 products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Wipebook 424,314 needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Wipebook 424,314 has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Wipebook 424,314 has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Wipebook 424,314 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Wipebook 424,314 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Opportunities MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Wipebook 424,314 can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Wipebook 424,314 to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Wipebook 424,314 to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Wipebook 424,314 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wipebook 424,314 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Wipebook 424,314 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Wipebook 424,314 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success case study. Wipebook 424,314 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Wipebook 424,314 can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Wipebook 424,314 in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Wipebook 424,314 in the consumer business. Now Wipebook 424,314 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Wipebook 424,314 can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Wipebook 424,314 to increase its market reach. Wipebook 424,314 will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Wipebook 424,314 can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Developing new processes and practices
– Wipebook 424,314 can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wipebook 424,314 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wipebook 424,314 to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Threats MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success are -
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Wipebook 424,314 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Wipebook 424,314 can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Wipebook 424,314 is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Wipebook 424,314 business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Wipebook 424,314 demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Wipebook 424,314 has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Wipebook 424,314 needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Wipebook 424,314 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success, Wipebook 424,314 may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Wipebook 424,314 can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Wipebook 424,314 can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success .
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Wipebook 424,314.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Wipebook 424,314 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (A) Year One: Persistence and Success is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Wipebook 424,314 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
