PHASE 1. TESTING THE BUSINESS MODEL Insights from the case study
Suggested actions
Self-assessment
MAIN ACTORS
Engage collaborators and teammates with strong entrepreneurial and sector-specific expertise and competence and which can truly relate to your social/environmental goal and vision.
Are the “developers” strongly motivated and engaged with the socially/environmentally oriented vision/idea? Do they have the technical, sector-specific and entrepreneurial capability and expertise?
Search for already existing local market operators (i.e., laboratories, shops, industries) which can allow you to experiment and test your business idea.
Are there already existing entrepreneurial activities working in the local context with which the business idea can be experimented and tested?
Search for local retailers (if foreseen in your business model) welcoming your idea and mission and willing to operate as first market intermediaries.
Are there local retailers open to believe in the business idea and which can agree to operate as first market intermediaries?
Strong motivation, vision and engagement of the founder and of her first group of project developers.
Make sure your teammates share the same social/environmental vision.
Tailoring laboratory of the already existing local social cooperative.
Rely on an existing production plant/laboratory where to prototype your product/service.
Are the developers strongly engaged and motivated by the same social/environmental vision?
Personal means of production and materials: sewing machines owned by the group’s families/relatives.
Place your product/service in the marketplace even before beginning with the core production phase.
Quid’s founder managed to deliver her vision and idea to a first restricted group of strongly engaged and motivated friends and university colleagues with entrepreneurial and fashion industry expertise and competences. The latter initially grouped in the form of an Association for Social Purposes (hereinafter the “group of project developers” or “developers”). The first experimental prototypes of accessories were produced in a tailoring laboratory managed by a local social cooperative employing people with fragilities. Some local shops agreed to purchase in advance (or through other commercial agreements) the first prototypes of accessories.
MAIN RESOURCES
Relatively low start-up economic resources as the production orders to the social cooperative were either already or quickly covered by the previously engaged local shops’ orders/purchase.
Make sure there is a market demand for the product/service you intend to offer.
Can the business idea be prototyped in an already existing production plant/laboratory? Can the business idea guarantee itself a marketplace even before the production phase in order to rely on low starting economic resources? Is there a market demand for the offered product/service?
Wealthy and socially engaged local community (market demand).
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