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Spontaneity Business Opportunity Assignment - TIMS1301

David Chaseling - 4313873 Victor Burt - 43186303 Justin Coyne - 43230774 Samuel Cooper - 43906846 Nick Ward - 43182387

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Table of Content Introduction............................................................................................................................ 3 Iteration #1............................................................................................................................. 3 Value Proposition........................................................................................................................3 Business Model Canvas.............................................................................................................3 Evolution from Iteration #1 to Iteration #2...............................................................................5 Key assumptions.........................................................................................................................5 User testing..................................................................................................................................5 Surveys ........................................................................................................................................6 Interview.......................................................................................................................................7 Iteration #2............................................................................................................................. 8 Value Proposition........................................................................................................................8 Business Model Canvas.............................................................................................................8 Evolution from Iteration #2 to Iteration #3...............................................................................8 Key assumptions.........................................................................................................................8 User Testing.................................................................................................................................8 Target Market......................................................................................................................... 9 Iteration #3........................................................................................................................... 13 Business Canvas Model....................................................................................................... 13 Financial Report................................................................................................................... 14 Appendix.............................................................................................................................. 15

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Introduction Spontaneity is an online platform that offers users a new and convenient way to find things to do in Brisbane. Since As with any successful business the process of evolving from a simple idea to a viable business is a far more valuable than the idea itself. This is most true at the inception of a business idea when the customer and their needs are only just beginning to be understood. In this report we will use the set of business model canvases formed throughout Spontaneity to detail and discuss how our business has developed from an idea into a viable business plan. Each business model canvas will represent a significant evolutionary point in the business model and the research and testing used to base our models on.

Iteration #1 As with most businesses the initial idea started with a simple problem that many members of the group had experienced and felt needed a solution. The fact that so many of us in this small group alone had experienced the same frustrations was all the validation we needed to begin our research and start attempting to understand the problem and the people at a greater depth. The following is how Spontaneity had identified the problem before talking with potential users and paying customers.

Problem Recognition As relationships extend into the long-term it can be difficult to find the time and motivation to go on new and exciting dates. Planning a date can often lead to hours of google research on the “Top 10 date ideas in Brisbane” resulting in indecisiveness and no action. Keeping dates new and exciting can be difficult for couples who feel as though they have been on all the dates their city has to offer.

The Solution To create a platform in which couples can view and plan dates in their local area. Each date will be comprised of any combination of food, desert, activities, and events that are user selected resulting in a customized plan with a time/cost estimate. Furthermore, all of the stressful aspects of planning a date such as “will I be able to make it on time?” and “how

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much is this going to cost me?” will be taken care of by the platform. For example, when you decide on a movie only suitable (location/time) restaurants will be displayed for selection.

Value Proposition Spontaneity offers a convenient and time saving way for couples to plan dates. Instead of manually researching through google, users will be able to search through a simplified selection of suitable dates. By collecting and displaying the best local restaurants and activities in an intuitive, action-inducing manor couples can spend more time on dates and less time planning them.

Business Model Canvas Based on our initial ideas and assumptions we generated a business model canvas. This canvas would be used a starting point for our group to build and test off.

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Evolution from Iteration #1 to Iteration #2 As our initial business model was built on assumptions made from our own personal experiences, the first point of call was to identify these assumptions and test them.

Key assumptions 1. The problem identified was a significant problem was a large portion of people. 2. The problem was not already fulfilled by other competitors 3. That our target audience would be males between the ages of 18-30.

User testing Based on our assumptions it was clear that we needed to better understand what the problem was, how many people it affected and who the problem affected. In order to do this our group conducted 3 main forms of testing. Surveys, interviews, and strategyzer card tests.

Surveys A survey was designed and conduction to in order to further understand the problem space and demographic and psychographic traits of our target market. By identifying who our target audience are, we would later be able to focus our research and testing around a smaller portion size (our target audience). To key to achieving this goal was in the quantity of participants and the quality of the questions we were asking them. A full sample survey and the associated results of the survey can be seen in the appendix section of the report. The focus of this survey was to seek a greater understanding of the methods and thought process used by our target market to achieve their idea for an activity. It revealed that 72% of our test group did not experience any difficulty in finding a restaurant and a further 85% felt content with their current means of searching for food. This prompted further questions from our target market about which platforms they were currently using to find these restaurant ideas. From there we found that a large majority of participants used platforms like Zomato to find food in their local area.

The survey also revealed that our initial assumption of who our target market (males 18-30) was wrong. It was found that of the participants couples between the ages of 18 and 30 were a) the most adventurous and b) tended to base their date selection on online research and 5 TIMS1301

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reviews. These results would suggest that the target market for Spontaneity would be 18-30year-old couples.

Interviews The focus on conducting face to face interviews was to further understanding our target market in a more tangible and focused manner. We used the results from the survey in order to tailor specific questions for the interviewees to further understand their mannerisms towards sourcing activity ideas. Surveys are far less personal. Most of our interviews were conducted in a casual manner with individuals that we believe fit the criteria that was set for our ideal target market. Each interview was varied from person to person and did not follow a defined structure.

Through these interviews we learnt that the problem differed within the couples. The majority of females felt as though they experienced a lack of dates but did not feel the difficulty of planning a date. This was because they had gone through a large amount of exposure to new and trendy food places through social media channels such as Instagram. The males on the other hand felt as though their partner was not satisfied with the amount or the quality of their dating life. They were often being pressured by unrealistic standards and compared to other couples and their dating life.

Consistent among the male and female partners was a lack of new and regular activities. We found that each couple only had a small set of activities that would often be cycled through and repeated. Interviewees responded well when told about unknown activities such as the Room Escape Challenge.

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Strategyzer Card

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Summary of what we learnt

1. We learnt that our target audience are content by the methods and platforms they’re currently using (Zomato) to find restaurants and cafes. 2. The market (food/activities) we were trying to target was too big to gain a competitive advantage. 3. Our target audience may not return to our platform if they feel as though they have gained everything out of it that they can get. 4. We learnt that there was an unmet need for both free activities and paid unique things to do. Our user base often finds themselves searching for lists such as “Top 10 things to do in Brisbane”. 5. We learnt about how similar platforms such as Zomato make their money.

Below are decisions that we’ve decided to execute:

1. We needed to niche down what we were offering to just finding activities in Brisbane. 2. Due to the lean startup approach we decided to cost save by using a website as opposed to developing an app. 3. A website was the most suited platform to fulfill the customer value proposition. 4. We decided we would trial the platform in Brisbane initially. During this time we will set goals for how much expected use the platform gets and how much it needs to get in order to break even. 5. We would make money through a pay-per-click model similar to google adwords. 6. Having a community/reviews?

Possible ideas for pivots:

1. Focus more on the platform being community based (people can post activity ideas, reviews) 2. Offer time based deals on the site (Get a higher click conversion rate by using scarcity) 8 TIMS1301

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Iteration #2 The value proposition for Spontaneity has changed from Iteration #1 as well as the business model canvas.

Value Proposition Spontaneity is an online platform that offers couples a convenient way to find activities. Instead of manually researching through google, users can search through a simplified selection of new and targeted activities. Subscribing to the service will send couples a monthly collection of new and exciting activities with special deals and discounts.

Business Model Canvas This business model canvas has evolved from the Iteration #1 canvas

Evolution from Iteration #2 to Iteration #3 Even with the extensive research and testing undergone between Iteration #1 and #2 there were plenty of assumptions that needed testing before we could finalize our idea. Yes we had taken a step closer to understanding what our target audience wanted but we still needed to learn more about our users and how well our solution (Iteration #2) fit their problem.

Key assumptions 1. That our proposed solution (Iteration #2) solved our users problem. 2. That finding activities in particular was a problem. 3. That a website the right platform to for the user. 4. That users would return to the platform on a regular basis.

User Testing As identified in the Iteration #1 business model canvas there were two main user groups that were crucial to the success of the business model. Businesses and users. Without a large portion of people using our platform businesses we believed businesses would not be interested. In comparison with our target audience, the businesses who would become paying customers were not understood very well.

In reference to the key assumptions, there was two main areas in which we needed to focus our testing on: 1. Evaluating if our proposed Iteration #2 a good solution to the problem and deciding whether it provides enough value for customer. 2. Understanding the businesses, we are hoping to bring into the platform and gain revenue from.

For the purposes of testing these areas we chose interviews as our main form of testing as it was the most suited medium for getting the personal in-depth responses we needed.

Interviews The interviews were divided up into two sets. The first set of interviews would target the users of the platform and the second would target the businesses. Both of the interviews were on two very different user bases with very different learning goals.

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The goal of the user-centered interviews was to gain an understanding of how successful our Iteration #2 was. Was finding activities in Brisbane a problem? Was our platform a viable solution? Would users of the platform return regularly? Was a website the right medium to facilitate the users needs? Questions like these were focused on the participants of our first surveys who were also identified as our target audience. Some of the questions asked in the interview can be found in the appendix.

Research for Target Market Thornhill’s study in 2006 found that some of the most adventurous spirited humans are people in relationships, especially people who’ve been together for less than 2 years (Thornhill, 2006). Adventurous people are most likely to try new experiences which would attract these type of people to our website because we offer new experiences to the audience (Thornhill, 2006). Individuals who live healthy and active lifestyles are most likely to constantly seek new challenges and adventures (Penedo, 2005). The demographic with the most active lifestyle are young adults aged between 18 to 30 years of age (Dowda, 2003). Focusing on these psychographic traits will allow us to have a greater understanding of our target market. Therefore, a core focus on individuals aged between 18 to 30 who are currently in a relationship with another individual would be the ideal market to focus on.

By using a Customer Relationship Management software that allows the user to filter one's Facebook friends’ list, we gathered the information of all five of the group members’ friends lists. Based on each one of our Facebook friends’ list, we have a total of 4,288 friends.The statistics found from this software shows that 64% (2,744) of users publicly make their relationship status available to their friends list, with 27% (1,158) saying that they are in a relationship who currently live in Queensland. Out of those people who stated that they were in a relationship, the majority were aged between 17-23, with the second highest amount being aged between 24-30. Therefore, by narrowing it down to people who are aged between 18-30 and have stated that they are in a relationship, there are 912 people who fit these criteria. It could be assumed that there are 1,000 people on the combined Facebook friends list who would be considered as the ideal target audience for our services.

A starting point for increasing awareness of Spontaneity, branching out and focusing on reaching those 1,000 Facebook friends’ could be beneficial as we have some sort of connection to those people. Therefore, conducting surveys and interviews with those people will give us a greater depth of understanding of our target market.

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Iteration #3 Business Model Canvas

Value Proposition Spontaneity offers immense value for local activity business’ around Brisbane. Spontaneity offers a platform to engage with new customer groups, stimulate repeat customers and increase brand awareness. Spontaneity will be home to a critical mass of users who engage in activities regularly who may not know about certain activities around Brisbane.

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Business Partner Research In order to test the feasibility of our proposed business idea communication had to be made with relevant business partners. As each iteration of our business proposal aimed to gain some form of revenue through business partners this was paramount. This provided a key understanding into what existing businesses in the industry deliver through their value propositions and how we could add to this. After describing the details of our current business plan the following questions were used as a basis to conduct a survey with a number of varying businesses:

1. Have you undertaken advertising/promotional activities in the past? And if so what they might have been?

2. What is the demographic you wish to serve? 3. What is the main demographic which you currently serve? 4. Have you considered paying for promotion over the internet? 5. How many customers do you serve on average weekly? 6. If you were to use promotion, how many more customers would you like to see? The businesses that contact succeeded with were:

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Puzzled Room Escape

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Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

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Methyr Bowls Club

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Yatala Drive in

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Bounce Brisbane

There were other attempts made to get in contact with businesses, but were unsuccessful. Eat Street Markets and New Farm Bowls Club were one of the more notable businesses we attempted to reach.

There was varying responses after making successful contact with these businesses. From the first contact most of the businesses were unsure of the value we could propose to them and did not see our promotion as a viable option in their industry. To change their mind research from our surveys was shown along with the email list we are building to sign up to

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newsletters. From this point businesses could see the value we offered and provided feedback on how we could benefit each other. We came to a point of agreement after the decision was made for a percentage of a booking to be passed onto us if the booking was made through our service. This demonstrates to businesses that our service is providing value for them, whilst we can maintain a revenue stream. We are providing businesses with a customer which may not have even seen the business, therefore the percentage we take is not a loss for these businesses.

Financial Report The break even and financial analysis shows the relevant costs and revenues associated with our start up. Being a website based product there are very little fixed costs, other than the cost of using a server. Through the skills of our team members, all website design and maintenance will be performed ourselves....