GenZe is introducing an electric scooter for college students and plans to roll out a shared rental model across campuses. Based on research finding that students value freedom over connectivity, the recommendations include a pop-up retail location on campus, premium parking and charging stations, and offering tiered rental and ownership options to provide students the most convenient transportation. These business model pivots aim to help GenZe expand its customer base and distribution beyond online sales by meeting students' needs for freedom of movement on campus.
2. 3
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 04
WHY BUSINESS MODELS? 07
CURRENT SITUATION 09
CLIENT OBJECTIVES 14
DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS 16
Pop-Up Retail 22
Premium Parking Station 24
Flexible Ownership 26
SUMMARY & NEXT STEPS 28
DETAILED CANVASES 30
INTERACTION WITH GENZE 34
TIMELINE & RESOURCES 37
CONSULTING TEAM BIOS 38
3. Our qualitative consumer research found that
transportation decisions are primarily driven by students’
desire for freedom. In order for GenZe to grow its customer
base, the brand must find ways to prove that its e-scooters
offer opportunities for freedom not found in other modes
of transportation. Given these insights, Team Turbo
recommends three business model pivots:
ON-CAMPUS POP-UP:
Create a rental station/retail outlet that will help GenZe
expand beyond online distribution and solidify the brand
experience while meeting student in their element.
PREMIUM PARKING:
Offer on-campus preferred parking and charging stations
that provide unparalleled campus access and convenience.
TIERED OWNERSHIP:
Offer tiered levels of ownership: rent (semester, quarterly,
monthly), lease, or own, in order to capture a larger share
of students.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
M
ahindra GenZe, a subsidiary of the Indian
conglomerate Mahindra, is attempting to break
into the North American consumer market
with the introduction of an electric scooter for
urban college students. Team Turbo has been asked to
investigate possible business opportunities to offer GenZe
scooters through flexible or shared ownership models in
the Bay Area. Within the next five years, GenZe hopes to
roll out a shared model across the country to coincide with
their national sales strategy to shift American culture to a
two-wheeler lifestyle.
Our business model recommendations are framed by
the Business Model Canvas - an approach to strategic
planning designed to easily visualize and articulate a
business’s essential customers, offering, structure, and
financial details. By continuing to evolve its business
model, GenZe is better positioned to withstand market
shocks and grow into untapped and underserved markets.
5
SPARK A
MOVEMENT
4. 7
Question: Why are business models important?
Answer:
“Business models tell a story. As that story is told, competitors change, the environment changes and the
story told may have to adapt to sustain. Success is only as good as the authors’ ability to tell the story as
the business environment in which it lives evolves.”
- Melissa Breitenfeldt
“Business models allow for a company to evolve. Even start-ups need to evolve their businesses, since
their initial models may have flaws or can be made better. Improvements in science and technology
change behaviors. Subsequently, businesses need to change as well.”
- Curt Rollison
“A business that does not build in an evolutionary ability will not deal with changing market trends. Failing
to compete with a firm that does evolve leads to a kind of Darwinian destruction. A good, adaptive
business model will prevent this.”
- Dave Tipton
“Companies must adapt and change to fit their environments. There are questions you need to be
constantly asking to keep your brand relevant and successful and a good business model helps
stimulate these questions.”
- Chung Ying Yeh
“A business will fail when the company rejects new changes in defense of their original plan, or when
they’re no longer able to distinguish between routine convention and the fundamentals of their original
business. This is where the building blocks of a good business model can delineate what made the
company unique and stable in its infancy as well as respond to its new demands.”
- Meg Cain
Always be Evolving.
Business models
are the roadmap to a
successful tomorrow.
5. 9
CURRENT SITUATION
GenZe, a subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate
Mahindra, is secretly attempting to break into the North
American consumer market with the introduction of an
electric scooter for metropolitan college students. After
gaining popularity on urban campuses, GenZe hopes to
roll out an expanded product line to consumers beyond
campus.
The GenZe scooter will feature a large touchscreen
display and a broad array of wireless connectivity to
support the untested assumption that Millennials and
digital natives desire a transportation offering that
goes beyond function and enters the realm of “gadget”.
GenZe is attempting to make their product function
as a “physical representation of a social network” by
fostering freedom, connectedness, and harmony in its
Build an electric scooter for college
students, then expand to other markets.
product experience.
Currently in the alpha build phase, GenZe has yet to
manufacture a full order of e-scooters. The firm is
working towards a late Q4 2013 ship date, but timing
continues to slip. Much of the design, build, and business
planning process have been joint ventures with various
student groups across the country in an attempt to build
a product for students, by students.
Chief of Staff:
John Hohulin
Chief Executive:
Sanjay Bonde
Organization Chart:
Head of Corporate Marketing
Shruti Tewari
Chief of Consumer Engagement
Terry Duncan
Engineering Marketing
6. 11
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Current Market:
The current e-scooter rental market in the United States is non-existent. However, a few other well funded companies
have recently introduced e-scooter concepts and are poised to compete.
Key Competitors:
Gas Powered Scooters
The e-scooter’s largest direct competitor in the United States will be gas powered scooters. Given their
relatively low price point, high gas mileage, and horsepower, gas powered scooters are a formidable
competitor. Many students find security in the familiar gasoline powered paradigm and would prefer to own
a scooter that could more easily transport a heavy load.
Scoot Networks
Beta launched in October 2012, Scoot Networks is a San Francisco based start-up that offers an electric
motorscooter subscription service to Bay Area residents. Scoot has tiered membership pricing to provide
value for multiple use cases - helmet included. The scooter connects to a rider’s smartphone via application
for activation, navigation, and payment. Scoot currently has 35 scooters available at seven major SF transit
hubs and plans to expand to other markets in 2014.
Smart Car + Vectrix Partnership
Smart Car and its parent company Daimler plan to launch a new electric scooter in 2014. The scooter
is a collaboration between Smart and U.S. electric scooter manufacturer, Vectrix. These two companies’
combined knowledge and established dealer base could mean big competition for GenZe in the near future.
There is speculation that this co-developed product will be inserted into Smart’s “Car-to-Go” urban shared
vehicle service.
ZipCar
ZipCar has already entrenched itself on many college campuses with its shared vehicle business model.
Anecdotally, ZipCar tends to be used more by students for getting off campus. Students use ZipCars for
their cargo room and carrying capacity for “stock-up” trips to mass merchandisers and grocery stores or
group outings. ZipCar has the potential to be a strategic partner. GenZe and Zipcar could partner to provide
students with a “total transportation” package for both on- and off-campus vehicles.
Gasoline Culture in the U.S.
While not organized as a direct competitor, the U.S. culture of gas powered vehicle dependence may play a
large role in the acceptance of an electric powered vehicle. Our qualitative research among college students
uncovered the perception that gas powered vehicles are less of a hassle and more reliable than charging an
electric vehicle. GenZe will be one of the first to market, and these perceptions will need to be addressed in
order to generate purchase intent.
7. 13
CURRENT BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
VALUE PROPOSITIONKEY ACTIVITIESKEY PARTNERS CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIPS
CUSTOMER
SEGMENTS
College Students
Urban Professionals
Self-Service
Social Networks
Personal Assistance
Genze.com
Mobile App
No hassel, green
transportation with
magical connectivity
Online Marketing
On-Campus Promotions
Website Development
Street Team
USA Manufacturing
R&D
Quality Control
Scooter Service & Repairs
Parent Mahindra
25-30% Gross Margin
Brand Launch + Promotion
Servicing Warranty
Product Distribution Scooter Sales
Upgrades & Accessories
Student Collaborators
University Admin
Part Suppliers
Telecom Carriers
Large Employers
KEY RESOURCES
COST STRUCTURE REVENUE STREAMS
CHANNELS
GenZe’s business model -
on one page.
The Business Model Canvas is a strategic
management and entrepreneurial tool. It
allows firms to describe, design, challenge,
invent, and pivot their business model.
8. ONE PAGE BUSINESS PLAN + OBJECTIVES
Vision
Mahindra wishes to break into the North American
scooter market and convert urban car culture into a
scooter culture. With the rental/shared model they wish
to “scooter-fy” campuses across the country.
Objectives:
GenZe’s accelerated design and build process has
compromised their ability to receive feedback from
the customer, which increases the probability of a
mismatched product market fit.
Given the delays in the build process, we are doubtful
that such a goal can be achieved in the time specified.
OURCONCERNS
Attention and investment in marketing elements like
a website, customer service, and retail experience are
essential to a successful brand introduction.
We believe GenZe needs to start small and actively
learn from real world use cases to ensure their
scooters and business model are truly ready for a
national roll out.
Mission
To provide a cool, no hassle, green transport with
magical connectivity that is loved by college students
and urban professionals.
Strategies
• Build a desirable and reliable scooter
• Establish UC Berkeley as a test market
• Emphasize the unparalleled convenience of GenZe
• Offer flexible ownership
Action Plans
• Finalize scooter manufacturing
• Perform market research to optimize pricing strategy
and leasing time frames
• Establish marketing channels and touchpoints
• Prep pre-launch awareness campaign on campuses
• Deploy brand and product roll out at UC Berkeley
Manufacture and deploy 1000
scooters by the end of 20131 Provide ways for students
to purchase and rent GenZe
scooters at launch
2 Establish a brand presence on
at least five campuses within a
year of launch
3
15
9. 17
DETAILED
RECOMMENDATIONS
We had two main client deliverables for this project:
1) develop a succinct value proposition for GenZe,
and 2) generate a rental model for distributing the
product on college campuses. Developing the value
proposition included stakeholder interviews and on
campus intercepts to both understand the behaviors
of students and uncover a need to correspond with
the value that GenZe is offering. Constructing a rental
model included researching all of the following:
• Current competitive set
• College students’ behaviors and lifestyles
• University and campus activities and agendas
• Current transportation costs
10. 19
Campus pop-up:
We propose GenZe expands beyond online sales and
into physical retail. We recommend offering a dynamic,
on-campus, pop-up retail/rental center that can serve as
a physical brand experience and meet target consumers
in their element. Students spend the majority of their
weekdays on campus, so why not bring GenZe products
to them? Students will be able to try out the scooters
in person and leave the shop with a rental scooter with
a few taps of the iPad. This pop-up would be deployed
during high traffic events on campus like welcome week,
homecoming, and the start of each semester.
In order to maximize early
adoption and introduce consumers
to a nascent brand, we believe
GenZe needs to offer students the
most convenient transportation
option on campus. This can be
achieved holistically by meeting
students where they spend most
of their day, offering unparalleled
parking convenience, and
ownership flexibility.
Pop-Up Parking Renting
Premium Parking:
Many students have hectic schedules. GenZe should
be the most reliable and convenient way to get from
point A to B, fast. Most motorized transportation is only
useful in reaching the perimeter of campus; from there,
students must park or dismount and walk to the heart
of campus. GenZe’s silent drivetrain and small frame
give it the potential to be permitted access as far in to
campus as a bicycle. With this extended range, GenZe
should offer quick charge stations near popular lecture
halls, athletic facilities, and other high traffic campus
destinations. Despite the assumed convenience of a
removable battery pack, a charging station provides the
convenience of a safe parking space and provides the
peace of mind of not having to compete with laptops
for an outlet in class or forgetting the pack in the after
class rush.
Tiered Ownership:
Campus life has a clear time horizon. Students make
decisions based on the academic calendar. Many are
hesitant to buy a vehicle that lacks the flexibility to
“grow” with a student upon graduation. Others are
only concerned with transportation while they are in
session; summer breaks are spent elsewhere with
new and different transportation needs. By offering
tiered levels of ownership GenZe can cater to different
student needs. The three tiers are:
• Basic ownership. For those students who value the
ability to upgrade, customize, or plan to stay around
campus or the city long-term.
• Lease structure. This tier allows students to “own”
the scooter for a predetermined time that typically
coincides with the academic calendar (semester,
quarter, year, etc.). This encourages students
who leave campus for the summer or holidays to
use GenZe scooters while not having to bear the
ownership cost when the scooter is not in use for
weeks at a time.
• Short term. Daily rentals could serve as a
marketing tool. This limited time offering could be
used in conjunction with the aforementioned pop-up
to help familiarize students with GenZe scooters
and introduce them to the joys of the two-wheeler
lifestyle.
APPROACH OVERVIEW
11. 21
VALUE PROPOSITIONKEY ACTIVITIESKEY PARTNERS CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIPS
CUSTOMER
SEGMENTS
STUDENTS:
Urban Customizers
Campus Athletes
Impressionable
Opportunists
Self-Service
Automated Service
Social Networks
Personal Assistance
Genze.com
Mobile App
Pop-Up Retail
Green transport
that makes getting
around campus
easier than ever
before
Online Marketing
On-Campus Promotions
Website Development
Street Team Leader
USA Manufacturing
R&D
Quality Control
Scooter Service & Repairs
Parent Mahindra
25-30% Gross Margin
Brand Launch + Promotion
Servicing Warranty
Product Distribution
Pop-Up Construction
Charging Station
Parking Spaces
University Fees
Scooter Sales
Scooter Rentals
Premium Parking Passes
Student Collaborators
University Admin
Part Suppliers
Telecom Carriers
Street Team
Pop-Up Builder
KEY RESOURCES
COST STRUCTURE REVENUE STREAMS
CHANNELS
INTEGRATED BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS UPDATES
Upgrades & Accessories
R
ethinking the value proposition.
Our research found that students
value freedom over connectivity.
By tweaking GenZe’s value
proposition to focus on providing students
with the most convenient way to get around
campus, GenZe can provide a sense of
freedom unmatched by the competition.
College students desire convenience, not
gadgetry from their transportation. With this
new north star, our team developed three
synergistic solutions focused on providing
students with the most freedom possible.
REVISED VALUE PROPOSITION:
GenZe’s eco-friendly scooters
make getting around campus
easier than ever before.
12. 23
N
ick, an “Urban Customizer,” really loved using his scooter
to get to the next party; he was always the first to pull up
to any hot campus event. It’s his senior year in college and
he is trying to take advantage of his last year. However, he
sold his gas powered scooter at the end of last semester because
he was tired of trying to drive his scooter and use his iPhone to get
directions while on the go. He almost ran into a parked car one time!
At the start of his senior year, he was looking at new ways of getting
around. To his surprise, he was able to test ride a GenZe scooter
during homecoming weekend and loved it. Nick wanted some of
the upgraded features, so he immediately went online to the GenZe
website, added external speakers and touchscreen display to the
scooter, and signed up to rent one for his final year on campus. It was
delivered to his apartment the following week with a full charge.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY:
We propose modifying GenZe’s sales and revenue model by
extending beyond a website sales platform and offering a
temporary or “pop-up” mobile retail center. This will be a mobile
store that can hold a number of scooters to be test driven and
distributed on the spot. Students will be able to try out the
scooters in person and leave the pop-up shop with a rental
scooter using a mobile device such as an iPad or a payment
application. If the students do not purchase the scooter at
the mobile station, the website is still available to them for
purchasing or rental options. This pop-up would be deployed
during high traffic events at the beginning of the school year
such as Welcome Week or Homecoming weekend. These times
are ideal for brand introduction, as students are not yet settled
into the school year and are still organizing their living spaces
as well as their modes of transportation for the semester.
BENEFITS:
GenZe has the opportunity to couple the transaction and the
introduction of their brand. Not only will students be able to
physically connect with this product - feel it, ride it, test the
speeds or weight capacity - but these pop-up stations can also
serve as a physical representation of the GenZe brand and the
experiences the brand has to offer students. Furthermore, these
pop-up stations blunt the tremendous expense of permanent
retail stores. The pop-up stations can go around multiple
campuses for each event, during each semester, and have
the ability to adapt and change based on different campus
schedules or conflicting university events.
RECOMMENDED APPROACH: CAMPUS POP-UP
13. 25
RECOMMENDED APPROACH: PREMIUM PARKING
R
yan is a sophomore at Cal who recently won the starting
point guard spot on the basketball team. His classes are
spread out at really inconvenient classrooms across
campus. It’s the beginning of the semester, so he has two
practices a day with weight training in the afternoon. One of his
teammates has a gas powered scooter, and Ryan was seriously
considering shelling out the money to get one so that he could get
around campus faster, but he doesn’t want to deal with trying to
resell it when he graduates. While he was researching his options, he
found that the university recommends the GenZe scooter, a company
that rents scooters out per semester and offers premium parking
places across campus just for their scooters. He signed up to rent
the scooter as soon as he could, and he couldn’t be happier with the
amount of time and money he is saving. He is able to park and
conveniently charge his scooter at the best spots on campus,
and is now able to show up to practice early and get the best
seats in class.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY:
We propose initiating an on-campus preferred parking/charging
station program. College students have to navigate their
demanding schedules on a congested, hectic campus. Premium
parking represents more than convenience to students; it
represents saving time, increasing their productivity on campus,
and having the freedom to do other things. By offering the
package of premium parking with charging stations, GenZe can
offer students a way to save time as well as a convenient way to
charge the scooter.
BENEFITS:
By eliminating crucial pain points (relieving hassles and
decreasing campus travel and parking time), GenZe can develop
a better relationship with their target customer and differentiate
their offering from other modes of transportation on campus.
Moreover, they can keep their value proposition of no hassle,
sustainable transportation consistent.
14. 27
RECOMMENDED APPROACH: FLEXIBLE OWNERSHIP
P
olly, an “impressionable opportunist,” is a junior at Cal
and usually walks with friends to school from off campus.
However, Polly’s friends walk home earlier, so she finds
herself forced to take the bus. She isn’t used to taking public
transportation and is really uncomfortable doing things alone. One
weekend while tailgating at the Cal vs. Stanford game, Polly noticed
that GenZe scooters were being offered to students for test drives.
She was hesitant at first because she had never ridden anything like
a motorcycle or a scooter before. However, when she discovered it
was electric, she was less intimidated and enthusiastic about trying
it out. After riding it around, she discovered how easy it was to drive
and immediately knew that this would solve all of her transportation
issues. She rented it for the last half of the semester and never had
to wait around for a bus again.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY:
We are advising that GenZe offer students tiered levels of
ownership: renting out scooters by the semester, quarter, or
month, as well as selling them it to lease or own. Students
should be given the freedom to choose a rental timeline that
matches their schedule. College students have different budget
timelines according to their class schedules and university
payment plans. Moreover, many students change their housing
situation each year they are in school. Meaning students can
have radically different transportation needs every twelve
months. By offering
BENEFITS:
By offering these different ownership options for the scooter,
GenZe will be directly aligning themselves with how their users
makes purchases, and therefore have the potential to attract
more customers. The tiered level offering is an economical tactic
against other competitors that can only offer a singular form of
ownership.
OWN LEASE
THE SPARK
TO RIDE
15. Beyond our business model recommendations, we want
to conclude by highlighting some key opportunities and
final suggestions for GenZe.
1GenZe should strive to provide a product that enables students to get around
campus with less hassle and more fun than any other form of transportation.
2Convenience is more compelling than “connectivity” and “gadgetry.” In order to
gain customers, GenZe must embrace this attribute as a brand pillar.
Critical Next Steps
• GenZe must form relationships with Universities and their administrations to
secure premium parking areas, install charging stations, and to discuss offering
campuses sustainable solutions for their vehicle congestion or future population
projections.
• Going forward, GenZe must focus on the value they are providing their customers.
What they are offering is transportation—this is the need that they can fulfill. This is
their core value, and all the gadgetry and industrial capabilities would not only be
inoperable but would hold no value on their own. Additionally, a focus on this value
would allow them to be unconstrained from technological barriers and widen their
scope of possibilities.
• To initiate these recommendations, GenZe should institute a beta test on the UC
Berkeley campus. Cal’s existing scooter culture and administrative 2020 campus
vision make it the ideal GenZe testing grounds. Furthermore, we have validated our
recommendations through extensive stakeholder interviews and campus intercepts
at this particular site.
Additional highlights:
Because scooters are not a current
popular market in the U.S., GenZe
should provide a public platform to
educate potential users about the
difference between gas powered
scooters and electric scooters and
clearly communicate why GenZe is
the optimal scooter.
College students are not
familiar with current scooter
brands, models or styles, so the
introduction of a new brand will not
threaten the product and will not be
a deterrent to potential users.
The electric motor or the
“sustainable factor” of the product
is not a significant purchasing
driver. Students already believe
that driving a scooter, whether
electric or gas powered, is a more
sustainable option compared to
other forms of transportation.
Purchasing decisions are two
pronged; if students were to buy
a scooter, they would want to
physically interact with the product
as well as research it online.
College students depend on the
internet for their own personal
research; they want to look at what
other people have and why they
have it.
Students preferred the option
to rent over the option to own
because their need for the product
is temporary and dependent on
them being a student. Furthermore,
this preference uncovers why
some students do not consider
scooters as a form of campus
transportation. Therefore, GenZe
has the opportunity to offer
something that no other company
is currently offering.
GenZe must include Universities
and their administrations
as important stakeholders.
Transportation is a major
concern on college campuses
and many Universities have
laws or infrastructure in place
to discourage vehicle use on
campus to decrease overcrowding
and vehicle congestion.
Furthermore, many Universities
are seeking long-term sustainable
solutions to deal with increasing
student populations and their
transportation demands.
SUMMARY & NEXT STEPS
O
ur goal for this project was to
uncover a need and apply it
to GenZe’s value proposition
so that the company can offer
an effective rental model that can be
successfully and quickly implemented.
We had a unique challenge in that our
main objective was not to create a
product around a specific need but to
engage with GenZe’s current product
and uncover its corresponding need.
By revealing the need of convenience
and simplicity, we were able to better
communicate the value that GenZe
was offering to its customers. Because
we were able to integrate these needs
with GenZe’s value proposition, we
were able to create deep and authentic
work for GenZe through our rental
model and additional findings and
recommendations. Finding this value
for GenZe was at the core of our work
because of the emphasis on value
being able to transcend any features or
gadgets associated with the product.
29
16. 31
DETAILED
CANVASES
VALUE PROPOSITIONKEY ACTIVITIESKEY PARTNERS CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIPS
CUSTOMER
SEGMENTS
STUDENTS:
Urban Customizers
Campus Athletes
Impressionable
Opportunists
Social Networks
Personal Assistance
Pop-Up Retail
Green transport
that makes getting
around campus
easier than ever
before
Access to GenZe
scooters in-person
for trial
Easy sign up
Social Media Campaign
On-Campus Promotions
Website Announcement
Mobilize Street Team
Street Team Education
Marketing Materials
Branded Experience
25-30% Gross Margin
Pop-Up Build
University Fees
Pop-Up Transportation
Staff Hours
Giveaways
Scooter Sales
Upgrades & Accessories
Student Collaborators
University Admin
Street Team
Pop-Up Builder
KEY RESOURCES
COST STRUCTURE REVENUE STREAMS
CHANNELS
INDIVIDUAL CANVAS: CAMPUS POP-UP
The next three pages detail the individual business model
canvas elements each of our recommendations would generate
if deployed individually. Although we would advise against such
a plan. By executing these initiatives individually, GenZe will
miss out on the synergistic nature of our three concepts
17. 33
VALUE PROPOSITIONKEY ACTIVITIESKEY PARTNERS CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIPS
CUSTOMER
SEGMENTS
STUDENTS:
Urban Customizers
Campus Athletes
Impressionable
Opportunists
Self-Service
Social Networks
Genze.com
Mobile App
Green transport
that makes getting
around campus
easier than ever
before
Own a scooter only
while you’re in
school
No need to resell
Scooter only when
you need it
Online Marketing
On-Campus Promotions
Website Page
Street Team
Scooter Service & Repairs
Quick Delivery
Multiple Leasing Options
Servicing + Warranty
Product Distribution
Refurbishing
Scooter Leases
Refurbished Sales
University Admin
KEY RESOURCES
COST STRUCTURE REVENUE STREAMS
CHANNELS
INDIVIDUAL CANVAS: TIERED OWNERSHIP
VALUE PROPOSITIONKEY ACTIVITIESKEY PARTNERS CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIPS
CUSTOMER
SEGMENTS
STUDENTS:
Urban Customizers
Campus Athletes
Impressionable
Opportunists
Self-Service
Social Networks
Genze.com
Mobile App
Green transport
that makes getting
around campus
easier than ever
before
Online Marketing
On-Campus Promotions
Website Announcement
Street Team
R&D
Reliable Hardware
Station Location
Charging Station Build
Parking Spaces
University Fees
Facility Maintenance
Increased Scooter Sales
Premium Parking Passes
University Admin
Part Suppliers
KEY RESOURCES
COST STRUCTURE REVENUE STREAMS
CHANNELS
INDIVIDUAL CANVAS: PREMIUM PARKING
19. 37
We were collectively excited by the urgent challenge of
introducing Mahindra GenZe into the American market as well
as the possibilities surrounding an electric scooter. Our client
did not have any clear expectations or goals for our team.
However, our team did have expectations for them. Our goals
as a team were to better understand the value a company
brings to its customer and how a business model can best
capture and add to that value. Although our client was not
familiar with the Business Model Canvas as a tool, they did
understand their target consumer and agreed to help us with
this group goal.
The team had the opportunity to kickoff in person with John,
Mahindra GenZe Chief of Staff, Terry, Chief of Consumer
Engagement, and Shruti, Head of Corporate Marketing. After
the kickoff, we were connected with Melissa Brandao, the
General Manager of Mahindra GenZe, to be our day-to-day
contact. She set the objective of helping Mahindra GenZe
to develop a business model surrounding scooter sharing.
Because the company is still in “stealth mode”, they were
hesitant to offer any amount of data; they did not give us
production costs or even a working pricing model. They did
not offer us any action plan surrounding strategy or tactics
to introduce the product either. Eventually Melissa provided
us a small digital image of the future product, their working
marketing pitch, and some vague scooter pricing parameters.
With all of this information, we started a weekly conference
call with Melissa to update her on our research journey as
well as get any feedback or new information from her and
the company. It became very clear to us that in terms of data,
guidance, and access to resources, we were on our own. After
realizing that we were not going to get any more resources or
real guidance from our client, the team decided to approach
this challenge with two goals in mind. 1) to accept the push
model being used by the company and learn how to work
with them instead of against them, and 2) focus on the value
proposition of the company by committing to engaging with
consumers to uncover product-market-fit.
However, midway through the term, we unexpectedly
learned that Melissa Brandao, our main contact, had left
Mahindra GenZe. Although there were three weeks’ worth of
miscommunication, no communication, or misdirection, we
were able to connect with a new GenZe contact, Sanjay, the
CEO of the company. Sanjay wanted us to present our research
and recommendations to date during their internal conference
in Ann Arbor, MI. Meg Cain represented our team, presenting
our work in a consolidated deck, and gained a lot of insight
about the company by attending the conference.
In conclusion, our interactions with our client, from start
to finish, ended up mirroring the same experience that
we discovered people desire from a scooter—freedom.
Although we were initially offered little to no guidance and
were restricted from data and research, we found ourselves
operating with very few constraints and little interference. It
was because of this that we were able to dig into customer
insights and develop authentic and honest business model
recommendations for GenZe.
INTERACTIONS WITH GENZE
PROJECT TIMELINE
Team Turbo formed
Meeting with Bob
Email with GenZe
Team meeting
Team presentation
Meet GenZe in person
Conf. call with GenZe
Fieldwork
Secondary research
1WEEK 95 133 117 15 16 172 106 144 128
20. 39
Melissa Breitenfeldt
Melissa is a lead designer at Minneapolis based Polaris Industries and has also provided design
services to clients ranging from large corporations to professional cycling teams. She can easily
translate the essence of a company or product’s personality into a clear, concise, and bold design.
In her spare time, Melissa also creates striking, abstract, mixed media paintings which have been
commissioned by private collectors and shown in galleries.
David Tipton
Raised to be a master carpenter, Dave has spent the last three years honing his industrial design
talents in the fields of ergonomics, industrial prototyping, and sustainable environments. Over the
years, Dave has also envisioned, won, and overseen the completion of multiple large scale community
projects in the Sacramento, CA area. He has taught furniture design and construction for twelve years
and plans to continue teaching college courses throughout his career. He is currently one of nine dual
master’s degree candidates at California College of the Arts seeking an MFA in Design and an MBA in
Design Strategy.
Meg Cain
Meg’s occupational background is business management and sustainable city planning. She worked for
the City of Fort Collins for two years developing strategies to educate city employees on their personal
environmental impact to initiate sustainable behavior, integrate environmental education into the public
elementary school system, and compile and analyze city data for the annual City Sustainability Report.
After realizing the inconsistencies with environmental initiatives, Meg pursued the DMBA program to
find better ways of understanding people’s behavior and needs, in order to discover opportunities to
integrate business and sustainability.
Chung-Ying Yeh
Chung-Ying is a communications engineer from Taiwan. With advanced degrees in Electronics and
Communication Engineering, Chung-Ying has spent the last five years working at the intersection of
wireless communication and hardware design. Realizing there was a disconnect in his career between
techniques and product design, he came to the California College of the Arts to learn how to apply
design thinking to technology development.
Curt Rollison
Curt has spent the last five years helping Fortune 500 companies better understand their consumers as
a senior manager of design strategy at Bovitz, Inc., a design-driven research and strategy firm based in
Los Angeles, California. His projects tend to explore how to make meaningful impact at the intersection
of media, emerging technology, and the customer journey. With experience in both qualitative and
quantitative methods, Curt blends an education of business and design to develop meaningful data
visualizations, strategies, and insights for his clients.
CONSULTING TEAM