edthrive2022

[edthrive2022]

All Smiles!

From Day 1 till Day 6, they’ve skyrocketed progress. All Smiles in here saying BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEF! Top-4, get yourselves ready for tomorrow! Thank you everyone for being a part of this amazing journey!!!

[edthrive2022]

ABCs of D2C

The conventional business models adopted by most businesses back in the day are no longer feasible in today’s economy. Industries have started shifting to newer and more sustainable business models. In the tradition retail business model, it is tough for brands to directly interact with end customers as there are numerous intermediaries. This disconnect with customers can really impact customer retention leading to uncertainty in gaining consistent revenue.

With a lengthier supply chain, the traditional retail business model not only incurs more costs but also deprives its customers of personalisation and fast moving trends in the market space. It also becomes difficult for businesses to identify and act on unmet customer needs. The model focuses on targeting a mass market which is losing its relevance for the modern want-it-all customer.

Today, we have seen a lot of industries and business make the shift from the traditional business model to the D2C - Direct to consumer model. D2C selling is a fast-track retail model wherein brands sell merchandise directly to consumers through an online storefront, without involving intermediaries such as wholesalers or distributors. Going D2C has several advantages, and retail brands are stepping up to meet the evolving needs, expectations, and behaviours of the tech-savvy, post-pandemic consumer. 

Even though the D2C model has various benefits but there are also some logistical challenges brands must consider. Businesses are faced with the challenge of identifying the right mix between owned and outsourced fleets to carry out delivery operations. Last mile fulfilment is another big challenge as it may add up to huge expenses if not planned effectively. 

Task in Hand :

You are a new startup that solely uses the D2C model for its sales. Come up with a new product and a way to operate the process, from procurement of raw materials to the delivery of the final goods. Your business must bank on the advantages that the model provides and also must remove the effects of the challenges in the model. 

You can think of anything from convenience goods to tech as the area your business operates in (be creative - the sky’s the limit). 

Deliverables :

A B-Plan (not less than 20 pages) containing :

Executive Summary

Operational Plan

Feasibility Analysis

Competitor Analysis

Detailed Supply Chain Model

Target Market

Marketing Plan (must include SWOT, PESTEL, Conventional & Unconventional Strategies)

HR Plan (Organisational Structure, Policies, Training & Development)

Financial Plan (Sources, Allocations, Revenue structure, Breakeven point, Cash flow statement) 

Data Policy & management

Press Release

Print Ad and any other Extra Deliverables

A PPT of not more than 10 slides.

Submission : 6 AM tomorrow (28th Feb)

Do not forget to run your ideas by us before 11PM. ALL THE BEST!

[edthrive2022]

TWTR

Using Twitter as a marketing tool makes sense for most brands. A company with a strong Twitter strategy keeps old and new customers engaged, attracts prospects, and funnels visitors to the company website where marketing efforts culminate in a sale or referral to a brick and mortar. 

In the end, Twitter builds sales and increases the profitability of a business; making its use an essential part of any marketing arsenal. Smartphones, mobile phones with more advanced computing capabilities and connectivity than regular mobile phones, came onto the consumer market in the late 90s. Smartphone shipments worldwide are projected to add up to around 1.48 billion units in 2023. By the end of 2020, 46.45 percent of the world’s population owned a smartphone. In the last 10 years, multiple smartphone brands have announced their exit from the Indian market after dwindling sales. But, with the beginning of 2022, many such companies are planning to restart their smartphone business.

Task in Hand: 

You are the Head of Marketing for the respective smartphone brand and you are to convince the audience that your product is set to make a grand comeback. This must be done on Twitter and your major objective is not just to market your company, but also to give witty replies to other competitors and ensure that it acts as a mode of marketing. 

Every tweet done must tag us @GangSchbang

Deliverables:

Minimum 5 tweets 

Minimum 5 replies 

Extra Deliverables

Deadline: 4 PM Today (Complete and Acknowledge once done) Allocations: (Due to time constraints, we have allotted companies randomly)

VAL 7 - HTC

VAL 8 - Blackberry

VAL 10 - Nokia

VAL 11 - Micromax

VAL 14 - Motorola

VAL 28 - LG

With this, we end our tasks for today, see y’all at 8 in the meet! 🙂

[edthrive2022]

Take it Easy, Surrogacy

The sale & consumption of pork is mostly illegal in Pakistan, a country where halal dietary guidelines are observed and it is widely believed that pork should not be consumed. The government has imposed an outright ban on selling pork within the country to preserve the nation's interest.

Surrogate marketing is a promotional strategy used for promoting banned or severely regulated products in the market. The products are advertised in an indirect manner or masked under another product. A popular instance of this can be a liquor product advertised as either a soda drink or an entirely unrelated product like music CDs within the same brand name.

Task in Hand:

You as an entrepreneur must come up with surrogate marketing strategies and business proposals in order to sell pork to the pork consuming population of Pakistan. Keeping in mind that being caught doing so would result in severe consequences by the Government and the law enforcers, you need to maintain a stealthy position while expanding your business and sales constantly.

Deliverables: 

Prepare a PPT covering the following -

Business proposal - what form of the product are you planning to sell and how

Surrogate marketing strategies.

Revenue model expectations

Time Allotted : 2+1 minutes

[edthrive2022]

Sail the Paper Boat!

There was once a time when the pulp and paper industry used to be the safest and one of the best industries to operate in. Now, however, pulp and paper have a new enemy, one that has brought this industry down to their knees; technology.

Paperless operations have seeped in almost all government departments, bank transfers, policy regulatory bodies and so on. These departments have switched to electronic data due to the convenience of improved accessibility, retrievability, speed, and safety. Such factors and trends are building grounds for a rapid decline in the global paper industry. Few of the other trends include a decline of paper price, the conversion, and the transformation of major graphic mills into packaging paper mills. Rapid urbanization leading to the internet-aided conversion of media and promotional materials for advertising and Public Relations is also a driving force towards the decline in the circulation of printed media such as magazines and newspapers across developing and developed economies.

Task in Hand:

Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. is a paper and office supply sales company and you are Mr. Michael Scott, the branch manager of Scranton, Pennsylvania. The company is facing a decline in sales of their paper products and want you to suggest ideas to the board of directors which could help them sustain their paper business through a product diversification plan which involves papers at the core.

Your task is to think of strategies to revive your branch sales and come up with new products involving paper and present them to the board. A PPT not more than 8 slides must cover your presentation.

[edthrive2022]

Blink it - Don't Jinx It

Indian grocery startups are luring tech-savvy customers with the promise of deliveries within 10 minutes, sparking a boom in "quick commerce". Quick commerce is disrupting the way how the on-demand delivery industry operates, and FMCG remains at the forefront of this trend. Life-changing Businesses are created during pandemics and the quick commerce boom came in during COVID-19. All of this started with a sudden craze in the market when two 19-year olds raised a funding of $60 million for their Startup ‘Zepto’ that promises 10 min delivery in cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. Various startups like Blinkit (formerly Grofers), Swiggy Instamart, Ola Dash and many more are trying to enter this space and with established business houses trying to do so, it becomes difficult for Zepto to be a market leader. Funds, marketing, experience and a lot more is there on the shoulders of Aadit Palecha, the CEO of Zepto and his co-founder.

Task in Hand:

You are Aadit Palecha, the CEO of Zepto and you are in dire need of raising funds for Zepto to expand your business and keep yourself alive in this market. Come up with plans to keep yourself ahead and reach out to the customer by targeting a bigger audience. Make a PPT of not more than 6 slides consisting of the following:

Current Market Conditions and Competitors Analysis

Marketing Plans

Financials (Requirements and Existing Financials)

HR Plans (Expansion)

USPs

Time allotted : 2+1 minutes

[edthrive2022]

Geopolitical Task - Sample Report

[edthrive2022]

Watch Your Step

Facebook is taking a novel approach to its first smartwatch, which the company hasn’t confirmed publicly but currently plans to debut next summer. The device will feature a display with two cameras that can be detached from the wrist for taking pictures and videos that can be shared across Facebook’s suite of apps, including Instagram, The Verge has learned.

A camera on the front of the watch display exists primarily for video calling, while a 1080p, auto-focus camera on the back can be used for capturing footage when detached from the stainless steel frame on the wrist. Facebook is tapping other companies to create accessories for attaching the camera hub to things like backpacks, according to two people familiar with the project, both of whom requested anonymity to speak without Facebook’s permission.

The idea is to encourage owners of the watch to use it in ways that smartphones are used now. It’s part of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to build more consumer devices that circumvent Apple and Google, the two dominant mobile phone platform creators that largely control Facebook’s ability to reach people.

The planned device is Facebook’s first stab at releasing hardware specifically for the wrist, opening up another area of competition with Apple at a time when the two tech giants are already at odds on other fronts. Apple has aggressively positioned itself as a protector of privacy by limiting the kinds of data that apps like Facebook can collect, while Facebook has for years been besieged by scandals regarding its handling of user data. That dynamic could create an uphill battle for Facebook to convince people to buy its forthcoming Apple Watch competitor, especially since it plans to also position the watch as a fitness device with a heart rate monitor.

Task in Hand and Deliverables:

Consider yourselves as the Core Team of the Watch wherein you have to focus on the development of the Watch Business with unconventional marketing strategies to disrupt the saturated market. Make a PPT not more than 10 slides consisting of the following:

1. Executive Summary

2. Features of the Watch

3. Marketing Strategies

4. USPs

5. Market Penetration Strategies

6. Financials and Pricing

7. Video AD

Submission:

9 AM Tomorrow (27th February) to ed.thrive2022@gmail.com and mkt.thrive2022@gmail.com



Note:

No late submissions will be entertained. Top-7, come up with your TOP NOTCH work to disrupt and create a space for FACEBOOK! We’ll be waiting to see your unconventional responses!

[edthrive2022]

Let’s Market Entrepreneurs

Yes, entrepreneurs, you’ll be collaborating with Marketing tonight. It’s a Collab that puts a dent on the universe, so hope y’all live up to it. The following are the allocations (MARKETING PARITICIPANTS - ED PARTICIPANTS), in the order:

VAL 32 (MKT) - VAL 14 (ED)

VAL 20 (MKT) - VAL 28 (ED)

VAL 10 (MKT) - VAL 10 (ED)

VAL 13 (MKT) - VAL 11 (ED)

VAL 15 (MKT) - VAL 7 (ED)

VAL 15 (K) (MKT) - VAL 17 (ED)

VAL 12 (K) (MKT) - VAL 8 (ED)

ED participants, contact your MKT Collab Participants ASAP, the task will be up in 5, get it rolling!

All the Best!!!

[edthrive2022]

Tug of War

Russian Federation and Ukraine, two countries are in a state of war: the Russo-Ukrainian War began in 2014 following the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

After the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, the successor states' bilateral relations have undergone periods of ties, tensions, and outright hostility. In the early 1990s, Ukraine's policy was dominated by aspirations to ensure its sovereignty and independence, followed by a foreign policy that balanced cooperation with the EU, Russia, and other powerful polities.

Relations between the two countries have been hostile since the Revolution of Dignity, which toppled Ukraine's elected President Viktor Yanukovych and his supporters because he refused to sign a political association and free trade agreement with the European Union that enjoyed majority support in Ukraine's parliament. Ukraine's post-revolutionary government wished to commit the country to a future within the EU and NATO, rather than continue to play the delicate diplomatic game of balancing its own economic and security interests with those of Russia, the EU, and NATO members. In 2004 the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia had joined the EU, followed by Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 (see Member state of the European Union). The Russian government feared that Ukraine's membership of the EU and NATO would complete a western wall of allied countries by restricting Russia's access to the Black Sea. With South Korea and Japan being allied to the US, the Russian government was concerned that Russia was being ring-fenced by potentially hostile powers. In the wake of the Revolution of Dignity, Russia backed separatist militias in the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic in a war in Ukraine's economically important Donbas region, on its eastern border with Russia. This region has a Russian ethnic majority. By early 2022 the Russo-Ukrainian War had killed more than 13,000 people and brought some Western sanctions on Russia.

In 2019, amendments were made to the Constitution of Ukraine, which enshrined the irreversibility of the country's strategic course towards EU and NATO membership. Throughout 2021 and 2022, the Russian military buildup on the border of Ukraine has escalated tensions between the two countries and strained bilateral relations, with the United States sending a strong message that invasion would be met with dire consequences for Russia's economy. Despite this, Russia has repeatedly denied having plans to invade Ukraine.

Task in Hand:

You are the representatives of Ukraine bringing in a proposal to neutralise the situation to maintain peace in your country as it cannot afford a war. The proposal will be a conversation with the Russian Officials on their end to come to a solution in lieu of the request of the United Nations. You have to draft a proposal that keeps your needs on priority and also gives Russia a way out from the same.

Deliverables:

A report not less than 20 pages consisting of the following:

Executive Summary

Overview of the Situation

Problems faced by Ukraine

SWOT Analysis of the Situation

Strategies to tackle the problem

Usage of External Forces

Appeal to UN (Strategic and Vote Based)

Proposal to Russia to end this crisis

Phase Wise Implementation Plan of the Strategies

Ideas to restore the losses and rebuilding harmony

Detailed Financial Analysis of the Situation

Public Relation Strategies and Press Release (TBD Date)

A PPT of not more than 10 slides must be submitted along with the report

Deadline: 8 AM tomorrow (27th Feb), No extensions please

As instructed today, try to work on an amazing report and present your unconventional ideas to save this. See you on the other side, entrepreneurs! All the best!

Contact: Mohit Agarwal for any doubts after 11 PM. You can work on your ideas until then.

[edthrive2022]

Tring Tring

The Ambassador was considered as a definitive Indian car and was fondly called the "king of Indian roads in the past years. Big Boy Toyz (popularly known as BBT), is a Gurugram-based pre-owned luxury car retailer. Over the years the company has grown in the pre-owned Luxury car segment in India.

Task in Hand:

You are the owner of an Ambassador car. Your task is to sell this car to BBT over a phone call.

Submission:

You have to call and make the sales to the following event heads:

Mohit Agarwal - 9894176911 during 10-11 PM tonight

Time Allotted: 3+2 minutes of call time.

[edthrive2022]

Good Evening

Sleep, Relaxation and Food are the fundamental elements that you crave for during your fest.

Task:

Sleep and Relax till 7:30 PM after making your submissions

Deliverables:

Sound Sleep

Relaxed Mind

Fresh Ideas

Lucid Sweet Dreams

PS. Do it only after submitting your OLA CSR Task! See you at 7:30!

[edthrive2022]

With Power comes RESPONSIBILITY

Corporate social responsibility is a broad concept that can take many forms depending on the company and industry. Through CSR programs, philanthropy, and volunteer efforts, businesses can benefit society while boosting their brands. As important as CSR is for the community, it is equally valuable for a company. Considered at the organizational level, CSR is generally understood as a strategic initiative that contributes to a brand's reputation.

An example of a CSR activity launched by Zomato India : 

Zomato, which is a food-tech start-up acquired an NGO which is fighting hunger and malnutrition in India named Feeding India. After acquiring it, the NGO changed its name to Zomato Feeding India. Zomato then added a feature of adding 1 rupee that goes directly to the Feeding India as a donation to fight hunger in India, while booking every food order. By doing this the company gained a boost in its reputation and also contributed to society..

Task in Hand :

The participants are required to make a video campaign for OLA CABS describing the situation and what campaign the company is planning to incorporate. They should also talk about what new measures or new steps the company is planning to adopt to launch the campaign. 

Deliverable :

Video (mp4) - min. 45 secs. 

Submission : 5PM today (26th Feb)

Email your timely submissions to : ed.thrive2022@gmail.com

[edthrive2022]

Bomb Drop 💣

Teams! Create an Instagram handle for your new business for the Collab Task. Atleast 1 post must be done every hour until presentation.

Note: No usage of existing content strictly

Ps. This is the only bomb drop, start working and submitting your tasks.

Your tasks have to be mailed to ed.thrive2022@gmail.com on time

[edthrive2022]

Time is Money, Money isn’t Time!

Teams, you have to submit your task on time. Any extension taken would carry hefty mark deductions in here. Teams make a note, you have to carry hard copies of all report and extra deliverables tomorrow. REMEMBER: TIME IS MONEY, ALWAYS TRY TO BE PUNCTUAL!

[edthrive2022]

Think or Tank? Pt. 2

Business Plan

Now that you have purchased an idea, let’s make it happen. You are required to make a business plan of your product showcasing what you will do with the investments which you may receive. You must cover up the following areas:

Executive Summary

Problem Statement

Reasons for your product/service

New industry analysis

SWOT & PESTEL Analysis

Business model and Supply Chain Management

HR Plan, Strategies and Budget

Marketing Strategies (Conventional & Unconventional)

Phase Wise Implementation Plan

PR campaign and  Press Release

Strategies to have an edge over competitors

Strategies to have investors on board

Detailed Financial Plan:

Cost Breakup

Sources of Funds

Sales Projections

Expense Projections

Break-even analysis

Revenue Avenues and Model for the next 3 years

Valuation over the years

Anything else deemed necessary

To get your idea invested, you need to prepare a PowerPoint presentation and a report  and pitch to the investors why your idea is the best and superior to all the other ideas. You are also required to invest at least 80% of your leftover amount from the auction in other plans to get the maximum return. You will be using a google form which will be sent to you personally to make your investments tonight. The judges will rank the start-up plans based on the presentation given and the return rates will be based on these ranks in the following manner:

Judging Criteria

You will be judged based on:

1. The business and financial plan you have sent. (Report)

2. How you pitch to the judges and investors about why your start-up plan is better than the others through a presentation. (Presentation)

3. The maximum return you will get according to the best ranked start-up, you choose to invest in. (Investment Made)

4. The maximum amount of money you’ve received as investments. (Investments Received)

[edthrive2022]

Think or Tank?

Core businesses are the central, underlying philosophies that guide a business and its employees. All companies try to maintain a strong position in these areas of business so that they remain market leaders. Businesses need to examine the various products/services to determine the ones that complement each other in capital needs, structure, customer base, revenue streams, and manufacturing.

However, with advanced technology and increased competition, businesses must learn to diversify in order to keep up with changing trends as well as expand their clientele. Economies and markets change with time, and a mature organization needs to expand their core functions so that they are able to achieve a new level of growth. It is important to understand that a business core is not static but keeps changing with time.

To diversify is the most challenging decision a company can confront: the rewards and risks can be extraordinary. Success stories abound—think of General Electric, Disney, and 3M—but so do stories of such infamous and costly failures as Quaker Oats’ entry into (and exit from) the fruit juice business with Snapple, and RCA’s forays into computers, carpets, and rental cars.

What makes diversification a particularly capricious, high-stakes game? First, companies usually face the decision in an atmosphere not conducive to thoughtful deliberation. For instance, an attractive organization comes into play, and a competitor is interested in buying it. Or the board of directors strongly urges expanding into new markets. Suddenly, senior managers must synthesize mountains of data—including internal-rate-of-return calculations, market forecasts, and competitive assessments—under intense time pressure. To complicate matters, diversification as a corporate strategy goes in and out of vogue on a regular basis. In other words, there is little conventional wisdom to guide managers as they consider a move that could greatly increase shareholder value or seriously damage it.

When facing the decision to diversify, however, managers need to think not about what their company does but about what it does better than its competitors. In one sense, pinpointing strategic assets is a market-driven approach as it forces an organization to identify how it might add value to an acquired company or in a new market—be it with excellent distribution, creative employees, or superior knowledge about information transfer.

Task in Hand:

Each team must bid for a company from the given options. The company is now wanting to diversify into a completely new venture which is unrelated to any business that it currently has its foot in, however, follows its core values. For example, Apple Inc. has proposed to diversify into the automobile sector. You as an external consultancy firm are appointed to prepare the project report and help the company diversify and will be pitching to the board members of your respective company.

In this round, you have to prepare a business plan for your idea. So, gear up because in the next 30 mins, we will have the auction round. Play smart, play safe and play wise.

The following companies will go up for bidding:

Dilip Buildcon

VRL logistic

Embassy Group

Rajesh Exports

Ajanta Pharma

Polyplex Corp

Thomas Cook Limited

Below are details of the auction -

An auction will be conducted for buying the companies by offering them up for bid, and then selling the company to the highest bidder. All the participants will be given an initial amount to go ahead with. All the companies will have a starting price, which will be the minimum bid. The last person without a company will have to buy the remaining idea at Rs. 50,000 more than the highest bid. The starting corpus provided to you will be Rs. 10,00,000 and the starting bid will be Rs. 50,000. The bids will be in increments of Rs. 25,000 and after Rs. 3,00,000 the increments will be by Rs. 30,000. You are also required to invest at least 80% of your leftover amount from the auction in another start-up to get the maximum return. The return rate of each startup will be decided by the judges based on some criterias. So, spend your money in the auction wisely.

Also tonight, a google form will be circulated to all the participants where they will have to invest the remaining corpus out of 10,00,000 in other startups. (Please note: teams with more than one submission will not be taken into consideration. Teams with over investment more than their balance will get negative marking).

Bid for the idea you can present well and gain the board’s attraction.

See you in 30 mins for the auction round at but before that we have a twist:

The highest bidder will have to face a disadvantage of submitting the entire task earlier than the one’s bidding lower than them.

Following is the deadline for the teams:

Highest Bidder at 4:00 am, second highest bidder at 4:20 am and likewise with the lowest bidder has the deadline as 6:00 am.