Case Study Description of Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up
In the fall of 2010, the founders of Campus FundSource, an organization developed to help campus groups raise money for their respective causes, were asked to present to a potential investor. The three founders were struggling with how to scale their start-up that connected campus groups that needed funding (such as language groups, intramural sports teams, and singing groups) with major brands that were trying to reach a younger demographic with their marketing messages. The company was still at the start-up stage, and the founders had just graduated from a business accelerator program, where they finished developing their website and tested both the site and the business concept--connecting brands with students. In order to show potential investors that they were readily scalable, they needed to show that they could quickly attain a critical mass of both student groups and national brands. This presented a "chicken-and-egg" dilemma, as it was proving difficult to penetrate two markets at once. How could Campus FundSource attract both the student groups who needed funding and the national brands that wanted to attract and keep post-secondary students as their customers? Michele K. Masterfano is affiliated with Drexel University.
Swot Analysis of "Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up" written by Michele K. Masterfano includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Campus Fundsource facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Education, Entrepreneurship, IT, Marketing and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing household debt because of falling income levels, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
technology disruption, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Campus Fundsource, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Campus Fundsource 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 Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Campus Fundsource
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Campus Fundsource
Strengths Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Campus Fundsource in Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Campus Fundsource to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Campus Fundsource to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Campus Fundsource 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.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Campus Fundsource in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Campus Fundsource is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Campus Fundsource digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Campus Fundsource 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Campus Fundsource in the sector have low bargaining power. Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Campus Fundsource to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Learning organization
- Campus Fundsource 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 Campus Fundsource is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Innovation driven organization
– Campus Fundsource is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up 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.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Campus Fundsource 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
– Campus Fundsource has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up 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.
Diverse revenue streams
– Campus Fundsource is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Weaknesses Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up 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 Campus Fundsource has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up HBR case study mentions - Campus Fundsource 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.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Campus Fundsource 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.
Lack of clear differentiation of Campus Fundsource products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Campus Fundsource needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up, is just above the industry average. Campus Fundsource needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Campus Fundsource has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up, it seems that the employees of Campus Fundsource don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Campus Fundsource 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.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Campus Fundsource has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Campus Fundsource 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. Campus Fundsource 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.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up 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 Campus Fundsource 's lucrative customers.
Opportunities Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up | 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 Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up are -
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Campus Fundsource 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 Campus Fundsource to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Campus Fundsource 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 Leadership & Managing People segment.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Campus Fundsource 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.
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 Campus Fundsource in the consumer business. Now Campus Fundsource can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Campus Fundsource has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Campus Fundsource to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up case study. Campus Fundsource can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, 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, Campus Fundsource can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Campus Fundsource operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Buying journey improvements
– Campus Fundsource can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up 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.
Developing new processes and practices
– Campus Fundsource can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Campus Fundsource has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Campus Fundsource to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Campus Fundsource is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
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. Campus Fundsource can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
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 Campus Fundsource 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.
Loyalty marketing
– Campus Fundsource 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 Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up are -
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.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up, Campus Fundsource may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Campus Fundsource has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Campus Fundsource needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Environmental challenges
– Campus Fundsource 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. Campus Fundsource can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Campus Fundsource 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.
Regulatory challenges
– Campus Fundsource 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Campus Fundsource 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.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Campus Fundsource is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Campus Fundsource.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Campus Fundsource in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
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.
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 Campus Fundsource business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
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 Campus Fundsource in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up 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 Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up 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 Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up 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 Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up 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 Campus FundSource: An Accelerator-Assisted Start-Up 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 Campus Fundsource needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
