Week 4: Business Models and the New Era of Competition

Materials:

• Read “Business Model Generation – Patterns”
• Read “Business Models on the Web”
• Read Warby Parker articles (contemplate getting new glasses from Warby Parker)
• Read Dollar Shave Club
• Read Bonobos article
• Read “A New Way to Shop” article
• Watch recorded Breeze session
• Learn to use Business Model Canvas tool
• Watch/Read “Twitter Turns 7”
• Read “Economics of Giving it All Away”

Lots of required content for this week, just catching up from the last week so this was a busy one! One thing I have been noticing now that we're a month into the class is how I am beginning to think differently about business models I encounter in my day to day life. I notice that I am analyzing them more, looking at how they do (or don't) use social media to their advantage, what they could do to build a better online brand, basically I am just thinking a lot more about what makes each company’s business model work. It’s interesting to have the tools to think about it on a new level, and I have also been thinking a lot about my own business model in a new light, with more thorough understanding. 

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/fashion/warby-parker-sees-bright-future-soho-article-1.1312950

I found the articles about Warby Parker really interesting and very counter-intuitive for me. I have been aware of Warby Parker, and have been wanting to try their service next time I need a new pair of glasses. I know they've been quite successful from a business perspective, so was surprised to learn that they were pursuing brick and mortar stores. Generally, it seems that stores begin as brick and mortar, then move to a model that also allows online retail. In Warby Parker’s situation, the opposite is true, making this a unique strategy. Although getting away from the overhead of a retail store is one of the important aspects to Warby Parker’s low prices, they seem to be correct in their thoughts that some customers still want a “showroom” experience for items like glasses.  They want to try on more pairs than they could with the home delivery service, and want the enriched experience of shopping in a store.  The Wall Street Journal article supposes what would happen if giants like Amazon and Google were to open similar showrooms, taking their business from the web to the streets. I’m not sure that would be a sustainable business model for companies who retail such an enormous variety of goods, but I do think Warby Parker may be on to something with their niche retail/web hybrid.