Case Study Description of MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue
Supplement to case HEC143. 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 (C) Epilogue" written by Brian King, Franck Bares includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Wipebook Hec143 facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue 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 (C) Epilogue casestudy better are - – cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices,
digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Wipebook Hec143, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Wipebook Hec143 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 (C) Epilogue can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Wipebook Hec143
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 Hec143
Strengths MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Wipebook Hec143 in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Wipebook Hec143 is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Wipebook Hec143 has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Wipebook Hec143 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.
Digital Transformation in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Wipebook Hec143 digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Wipebook Hec143 has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Wipebook Hec143 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 Hec143 in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Organizational Resilience of Wipebook Hec143
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Wipebook Hec143 does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Learning organization
- Wipebook Hec143 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 Hec143 is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Strong track record of project management
– Wipebook Hec143 is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Wipebook Hec143 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Wipebook Hec143 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.
High brand equity
– Wipebook Hec143 has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Wipebook Hec143 to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Wipebook Hec143 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 (C) Epilogue HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Wipebook Hec143 is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. Wipebook Hec143 needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Wipebook Hec143 to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Wipebook Hec143 has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Wipebook Hec143 even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Wipebook Hec143 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 (C) Epilogue should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue, in the dynamic environment Wipebook Hec143 has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Wipebook Hec143 has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Wipebook Hec143 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 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 Hec143 supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Wipebook Hec143 vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue HBR case study mentions - Wipebook Hec143 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Wipebook Hec143 needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Brian King, Franck Bares suggests that, Wipebook Hec143 is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Wipebook Hec143 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Wipebook Hec143 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue | 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 (C) Epilogue are -
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Wipebook Hec143 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.
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 Hec143 in the consumer business. Now Wipebook Hec143 can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Wipebook Hec143 can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
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 Hec143 can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Wipebook Hec143 operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Wipebook Hec143 to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Wipebook Hec143 can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
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 Hec143 can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Wipebook Hec143 to increase its market reach. Wipebook Hec143 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.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Wipebook Hec143 can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Wipebook Hec143 can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Wipebook Hec143 can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Buying journey improvements
– Wipebook Hec143 can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue 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.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Wipebook Hec143 has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Wipebook Hec143 to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue case study. Wipebook Hec143 can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Wipebook Hec143 has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Threats MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue 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 (C) Epilogue are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Wipebook Hec143 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.
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.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Regulatory challenges
– Wipebook Hec143 needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry regulations.
Increasing wage structure of Wipebook Hec143
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Wipebook Hec143.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Wipebook Hec143 with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Environmental challenges
– Wipebook Hec143 needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Wipebook Hec143 can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Wipebook Hec143 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
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 (C) Epilogue, Wipebook Hec143 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 .
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 Hec143 needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Wipebook Hec143 high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Wipebook Hec143 is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Wipebook Hec143 will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of MBA Entrepreneurs: Crowdfunding Wipebook (C) Epilogue 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 (C) Epilogue 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 (C) Epilogue 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 (C) Epilogue 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 (C) Epilogue 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 Hec143 needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.