Building a Business Canvas for Matygo was an interesting experience from which I had much to learn. As I mentioned in my first blog post, I am a very visual learner, so I liked the idea of laying out the elements of a business model on a canvas. Aside from not having to flip through 40 pages of written work and appendices, it is easy to make the relationships between sectors – something that is especially useful to a start-up business. Paul and the team at Matygo had done a few business canvasses before, so the approach was not new to him. What I found the most interesting from the experience was discovering Paul’s priority of each “section,” and getting an idea of his approach/attitude towards each element.
To note, I am using this blog post to describe specific points of interest from the experience, which are not meant to summarize my thoughts on the activity. Overall, I had a positive experience, and had a lot of fun creating the “cube design” with Christina and presenting to Paul.
While I was doing the readings, two main ideas from Roberto Verganti’s “Design-Driven Innovation” jumped out at me. Firstly is the idea that “people do not buy products, but meanings.” As a marketing student, I cannot begin to express what a central idea this is. To use the classic example of the shampoo aisle at the store, it is often no more than the meaning of the brand that sways a consumers’ purchase decision one way or another. This is one of the areas that, I believe, Matygo has a long way to progress in. Currently, they “offer what they offer”, meaning that no specific initiatives are taken to address their customer segments. However, from our meeting with Paul, I found that this was low on his priority list. Because our educational background differ so greatly, and perhaps because he is occupied leading the operations of his business, he did not place the same importance on this aspect.
The second point, also from Design-Driven Innovation, is for companies to pursue “emotional design.” As business students, we are constantly reminded of the changing marketplace that no longer value product alone, but truly cares for a triple-bottom line. Companies must find new and inventive ways to appeal to the emotions of their consumers, and even, redefine what business means. In the case of many of the start-ups we dealt with in D-Studio, it was people doing exactly this: app developers, online learning, sustainable marketing material disposal…I was floored by the ambition in each of these entrepreneurs to find new ways to do business. It was moving to visit the Growlab offices and see the roots of where “great ideas” are developed. In the case of Paul, it was no more than a section of computers to host his modest team. It really made me appreciate and begin to understand the level of work that had gone into this business, and the dedication that each one of them had to be there.
The business canvas is something that I hope to carry forward in the future. Although I do not have an intention of starting a business myself, I can see how the structure can be adapted to include only certain elements, or perhaps, involve new components. I am enjoying the continued opportunity to work with real clients in the industry and look forward to seeing where these start-ups will end up in their business ventures.