Abstract
The proposed startup is a Taxi Startup Company that will incorporate all the elements of the Business Model Canvas (BMC). The features include key partners, key activities, essential resources, value proposition, customer relationships, customer segments, channels, revenue streams, and cost structure. The paper explains how the startup owner plans to implement the startup according to each requirement in the BMC. The key partners will entail selecting the potential partners that will be key for the up-scaling of the startup. The second requirement will deal with analyzing the critical resources that the startup will need to start operating. The third element is the value proposition. This element entails creating value for the customers through the diversification of the services of the startup. Value propositioning is critical to the startup as it entails creating a tagline that will be an essential component during marketing. The next phase that is addressed in the paper is customer relationships. The startup owner talks about the various ways to enhance customer relations. Another phase discussed in the paper is the customer segment. This phase includes the creation of the ideal client portrait (ICP). The next phase will handle channels. These channels will entail the ways through which value will be delivered to the various customer segments. Next, the startup owner will talk about the cost structures. This phase includes establishing the various costs that the startup will require to be up and running. These costs include legal fees, staff costs, overhead costs, and capital costs. Generally, the paper explains the entire implementation of a Business Model Canvas using a hypothetical startup.
Analysis of the Infographic
Key Partners
This section identifies the potential strategic partners that will enable the successful launch and maintenance of the project. The key partners are a very crucial component of a Business Model Canvas. In the case of my startup, the partnerships shall be both long-term and short-term. For example, the firm must involve the payment process partners, the map tech companies, and the various investors and stakeholders. The payment process partners will help me integrate my business application to a payment processing engine that will process all clients’ payments for the services they receive. Another critical partner will be a map tech company. A map tech company will link the taxi booking application to Google Maps so that potential clients can navigate easily when using the application. Lastly, my startup will need investors. To give the startup a reasonable projection, I will need a couple of financiers to help fund the startup. I will have to carry out thorough professional networking to ensure that I get all the partners I need to run the business. Other key categories of partners that I will involve at this phase include joint ventures and coopetition. Coopetition is a strategic alliance between various competitors that will play a significant role in expanding my market niche to access more users who may be willing to try my innovative solution (Povolná, 2019). This move will be critical because new companies always seek to share their risks when launching a new product or service in the market. Coopetition also defines a form of situational marketing. By forming strategic alliances with my competitors, I will learn new ways of marketing.
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Key Activities
In this phase, I have listed the primary activities of the startup company. These activities are critical as they significantly influence the startups’ value proposition towards their clients. For all the envisaged activities to be successfully implemented, I will have internal process management, including hiring employees and promoting employee creativity (Liu et al., 2017). At this stage, I will have a proper estimation of the target market and value proposition. Some of the key activities that I will embark on this phase include designing the business model, envisaging the business from a team’s perspective. I will need to envisage the various departments that the startup will have and start thinking about their duties and roles. Some of the activities included in this phase include platform development and maintenance. Here, I will ask myself what the business platform – the application, will contain. For example, will it need to host the clients’ data? Who will maintain it? I will pick inspiration from big corporations, such as Facebook and Airbnb, to understand how they develop and manage their platforms. Other primary activities include marketing and advertising, hiring drivers, and carrying out other essential operations in the company.
Key Resources
According to Carter and Carter (2020), resource planning is one of the critical areas of a business model, directly affecting any startup. The essential resources that I identified include the technology platform drivers, the driver network, and the talented employee brands. These brands are vital features that will affect the life of the startup. In general, the resources required to set up the firm can be categorized into three groups. First, there are physical resources such as office furniture, office buildings, and corporate vehicles. Secondly, there are intellectual resources such as copyrights, software, and cloud services. The third category will be the human resources, the drivers, and the administrative workers (Nußholz, 2018). The administrative staff will include the managers, engineers, customer support staff, QA experts, and marketing experts.
Value Proposition
This phase will be critical in the startup because it will create value for the customer through the mix of the various elements depicted in the business segmentation (Matarazzo et al., 2020). For this startup, the two primary business segments will be the customer segment and the driver segment. The value can either be quantitative or qualitative. The value proposition will be critical for the startup because it will give the clients a reason to buy the company’s services and spread the word to others. A well-thought-out value proposition will allow the firm to have a big picture of the startup and help clients solve their problems (Blank, 2017). The value proposition should appear as a tagline. After everything is done, the business will need to develop a unique tagline that differentiates its services from others. For example, the tagline for my proposed startup can be something like this, “Convenient, fast and personalized taxi services with a guide map with turn-t-turn navigation as you travel.” The value proposition should effectively and conveniently work for both segments, the customer segment, and the driver segment.
Customer Relationships
This phase includes how customer relations are considered and the messages and values that it communicates. To enhance the customer relations experience, a rating system and a mobile application will be developed. Other key features of the customer relations proposition will include assisting the clients personally by creating a platform for them to carry out self-service services. This phase provides for the maintenance of a relationship that supports customer relations (Balnk, 2017). For this startup, there will be an alternative online portal where the clients will contact a customer representative for the services they need anywhere.
Customer Segments
Customer segmentation also referred to as an ideal client portrait (ICP) creation, comes first when building a business plan canvas. According to Sakyi-Gyinae and Holmlund (2018), “The clients are the judge, the jury, or the executioner of the value proposed. If the business does not fit the expectations and standards of the clients, they will ruthlessly deal with the business.” This aspect of the business canvas should come first. Customers will be segmented through rating systems and mobile applications to help people book their rides remotely. Additionally, the firm will employ the use of Google ads to reach the younger and tech-savvy generation. In this case, premium apps such as YouTube and Facebook can help. Another critical aspect of customer segmentation will be the categorization of the company products into separate segments. Most products may not have a homogenous audience. Therefore, it is vital to have the products in different segments based on gender, age, and geography. Other than these factors, several other factors can be considered in this section. I will also think from the clients’ perspective to find the best strategies for marketing the service. Additionally, I will think of the current problems, fears, daily habits, and options that the client makes to resolve their issues. Thus, the use of the rating system and mobile application to take care of the client needs will be convenient for segmenting the customers.
Channels
This phase will entail general cooperation with the clients. It will entail developing various channels that I will use to deliver value to the various customer segments. The four phases of channel development that I will implement will include awareness, evaluation, delivery, and support.
Revenue Streams
This phase entails the consideration of the various revenue channels. Some of the channels to generate revenue for the two service segments will include ads and surge pricing from the application. Other than that, the drivers will be required to pay a commission to the company for every trip they make.
Cost Structure
This phase entails representing the major types of costs that the startup will incur for it to stabilize and during its day-to-day operations. The startup’s primary cost structure will be defined by the following: employee payroll, driver payout, legal fee, marketing and ads costs, and the costs associated with the technology platforms that will be implemented in the organization. Other costs to be incurred during the startup phase include the capital costs (cost of putting up the startup), overhead costs, and staff costs (costs for remunerating the staff). In this case, prioritization will be of significant significance. I will prioritize to see what is most important based on value importance to reduce the overall costs. I will eliminate what I will consider to be less important and remain with what is more valuable for the organization’s success.
References
Carter, M., & Carter, C. (2020). The creative business model canvas. Social Enterprise Journal .
Liu, D., Gong, Y., Zhou, J., & Huang, J. C. (2017). Human resource systems, employee creativity, and firm innovation: The moderating role of firm ownership. Academy of Management Journal , 60 (3), 1164-1188.
Matarazzo, M., Penco, L., Profumo, G., & Quaglia, R. (2020). Digital transformation and customer value creation in Made in Italy SMEs: A dynamic capabilities perspective. Journal of Business Research , 123 , 642-656.
Nußholz, J. L. (2018). A circular business model mapping tool for creating value from prolonged product lifetime and closed material loops. Journal of Cleaner Production , 197 , 185-194.
Povolná, L. (2019). Innovation strategy in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the context of growth and recession indicators. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity , 5 (2), 32.
Sakyi-Gyinae, K., & Holmlund, M. (2018). What do business customers value? An empirical study of value propositions in a servitization context. Technology Innovation Management Review , 8 (5).
Blank, S. (2017, December 6). The Mission Model Canvas: An Adapted Business Model Canvas for Mission-Driven Organizations. The HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-mission-model-canvas_b_9298440
