Blog
Three years on, three startups tell their story
21st June 2008
Catching up on some background reading after a hectic programme of our teacher workshops for AQA Unit 1, I came across a really useful piece by Rachel Bridge in the Sunday Times a few weeks ago….
Three years ago, Rachel told the story of three novice entrepreneurs who were starting-out with a new business idea.
Three years on, the article looks back on the orginal business idea and how things have worked out for the three start-ups.
The businesses concerned make ideal case study material for both AQA and Edexcel Unit 1. Here is the link to the story.
Reading the stories of the businesses, I’m not too surprised by the relative success of each business idea. During our teacher workshops, we focused on the importance of a start-up coming up with a viable business idea. An important question to ask prior to trading is not so much whether there is a “gap in the market”, but more significantly is there “a market in the gap”. In other words, what is the sales potential for a business idea? Two of the featured businesses - Zoobug (childrens sunglasses) and Demarquette Chocolates (luxury handmade chocolates) were launched into substantial existing markets, increasing their chance of success. By contrast, Sportsbase (online directory of sports clubs) sounds like a good idea, but you have to question whether such a business can prosper by relying almost solely on advertising revenue.
Anyway, what do your students make of the three businesses? Here are the links to the three websites: