Applied Project – Team Business Model Canvas (BMC)
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Applied Project – Team Business Model Canvas (BMC)
The Virtual Art Gallery Experience (VAGE) is a new-generation startup business proposal to redefine the art market using modern virtual and augmented reality technologies. Completing the BMC results, it is possible to see the entirety of the VAGE business model mapped, including customer segments, value propositions, channels, relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partners, and cost structures. Following this BMC, the VAGE team has used lean startup methodology, an innovative customer-centric and build-measure-learn-loop methodology that focuses on validating the business models through the trial and error process (Ries, 2011).
Another guideline of the lean startup method used by the VAGE team belongs to the preliminary stage of defining the customer segments. They realized the need to delve into customer segments and establish how well their propositions would likely appeal to the concerned groups. In order to accomplish this, the team interviewed potential customers and used questionnaires or focus groups to understand their requirements better ( Blank & Dorf, 2012). This enabled them to understand the loopholes and needs of its potential users, such as artists, collectors, galleries, and art enthusiasts. Another concept used during the formulation of the VAGE BMC is the Minimum Viable Product (MVP), a continuous principle. Instead of starting from the conceptualization of a complete product, the idea that was employed by the team was the lean approach that advocates the creation of an MVP, which in this case was intended to contain the essential features of a product that are required in order to implement the business model and get feedback from the target customers (Ries, 2011). This iterative method was helpful for the VAGE team to ensure their assumptions and turn them into hypotheses with sound evidence, thus making data-driven decisions and adapting the product development and the business model according to the consumers’ point of view.
During the development process, especially at the end of each key stage and before moving on to the next phase, the VAGE team focused on ensuring they acquired validated learning. The customer feedback they collected was not enough, which they knew were necessary to measure the customers’ behavior and interactions with regards to the MVP in order to identify where the customers felt the MVP had value to give their attention and where it lacked value to warrant changes or alterations (Blank & Dorf, 2012). In this way, it was considered to shift from the traditional attempts to follow the leadership’s ideas and implement them in the BMC to the usage of the data collected, which could help the team to understand what clients want and what kind of models should be offered by the BMC.
Instead, the lean startup approach also coins the priority of being fast and ready to change or adapt the business idea according to the customer feedback, or the so-called ‘validated learning’ (Ries, 2011). The VAGE team adopted this mindset as they understood that while working on the business idea, they might have to adjust their beliefs and strategies based on the interactions with customers and the existing market conditions. This particular approach made the BMC nimble because the team could easily align itself and explore how it could better serve the target customers in an ever-evolving market environment. As a result, with the help of these principles of lean startup, the VAGE team was able to launch a well-constructed and customer-oriented BMC that meets the needs and wants of these targeted customers. By analyzing the BMC, it is possible to identify several benefits the company will deliver to its customers and stakeholders, including Art experiences and entertainment, Global accessibility of its solutions, and New art selling experience. They are also used to define a sufficient channel for the distribution of the product, which is the internet platform, and to use VR and AR headsets, collaborating with companies and art schools to develop technologies to reach the customers.
In addition, the sustainable revenue sources outlined by the BMC include subscription fees, commissions on the sale of the arts, virtual events tickets, advertising and sponsorships, and licensing and partnership fees. These multiple sources of revenue not only benefit the VAGE business model but simultaneously create avenues for artists and galleries that include visibility, chances for merchandise sale, and earnings via virtual exhibitions and sales. With these value propositions in mind, the BMC also presents critical capacities to realize value propositions and generate revenue. These include technological resources, including development platforms for VR and AR, safe and reliable commerce platforms for sales of electronic products, and high-quality digitized artwork images. It also underlines critical human assets within those fields as the software developers in VR/AR, art curators, marketers, platform creators and maintainers, content creators and curators, publishers and sales, and customer support personnel.
Furthermore, the BMC agrees that such strategic partnerships play a crucial role in the various entities of the VAGE environment. Other partners are art galleries and museums that showcase the artwork, technology firms that offer VR and AR hardware and software solutions, e-commerce and, to some extent, payment solution providers, artists and curators, and educational establishments for educational and research purposes. Lastly, the description section of the BMC reveals the business expenses involved in the VAGE business model, like employee salaries, rental costs, and depreciation of its equipment and facility. This provides for the costs of sales for marketing and advertising, the cost incurred in procuring content and curating it to suit the VR/AR, the licensing cost of the tools used in developing the product, the cost of hosting, costs incurred on customer relations, and the cost of effecting transactions. Through a coherent and intentional distillation of each of these pillars, the VAGE BMC acts as a logically sound and coherent strategic plan for the company and helps the team optimize future decisions and tactics as they adapt to feedback and cues from the market (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010).
In conclusion, the lean startup model used by the VAGE team brought the intended BMC, which is customer-oriented, flexible, and suitable to the art industry and the potential of Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies. The BMC also identifies the relevant value proposition and feasible sources of sustainable revenues and the essential resources, activities, network of partners, and costs that would enable the organization to create, produce, promote, and sell an engaging and unique art experience to an international audience.
References:
Blank, S., & Dorf, B. (2012). The startup owner’s manual: The step-by-step guide for building a great company. K&S Ranch.
Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation: A handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. John Wiley & Sons.
Ries, E. (2011). The lean startup: How today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. Crown Business.