Task 1 Individual Report (60%)

Task 1 Individual Report (60%)

This assessment should be done individually.

You must look through the projects on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter.com and choose one of the active financing campaigns in order to evaluate its business case. You will serve as a consultant to a prospective investor looking to invest in the companys equity (i.e. become a shareholder). As a result, you must evaluate the idea in terms of its potential for business, economic viability, and expected return. Your ultimate objective will be to create a formal business report for your client (i.e. the investor).

Project choice: Before you start, you should take into consideration two characteristics of Kickstarter:

You should choose a campaign that has the potential to grow into a successful and sustainable business; many initiatives on Kickstarter are for one-off projects and do not fit into this category (e.g. funding the publication of a book, or a concert). In other words, the campaign should feature a good or service that can be bought by consumers and generate a steady stream of revenue.

The information in the platform is oriented towards potential customers. You must adopt a different perspective, and analyses the projects from an investors standpoint: is this a potentially profitable business? Is the business model sophisticated enough? Shall we expect a high return on investment? Do the campaigners have (or can access to) the resources needed to make the business happen? Therefore, you should conduct an online research in order to gather relevant information, well beyond what is available in the Kickstarter project websites.

Assignment Contents:

You should make use of some of the various analytical frameworks and techniques that were discussed during module sessions while you conduct your analysis. Ultimately, based on the information at hand and what you believe will be helpful for your consumer, you have the ultimate word over the report's actual contents (the investor). As a general guideline, the areas listed below are those that you might want to address (not necessarily in this order):

Length and structure: 4,000 words (+/- 10%), excluding references and appendices. The document should include:

Executive summary stating the objectives of the report, its subject matter, a brief description of your research, the main findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Please note that executive summaries should work well as standalone documents, so they need to be self- contained (approx. 150-200 words).

Introduction (approx. 250-300 words).

In the introduction, you are attempting to inform your client about the rationale behind the choosing this project, and to justify why do you think your project has potential.

Main body of the report. The actual structure of the report will obviously depend on its contents. Therefore, you can consider the elements given below (approx. 2,000-2500 words).

Value proposition: is there a compelling value proposition behind the project? Are the potential customers clearly identified? Does it address any of the major customer value drivers (i.e. does it generate gains or alleviate pains)? What is distinctive/unique about the value proposition?

Business opportunity: Does the project address an attractive opportunity? Does it aim at a large and/or growing market? Is the timing right?

Business model: How will the project be monetized (i.e. generate revenue)? Does it make sense; can it be improved upon? Are the relationships with customers and the distribution channels well defined? Can the project gather the partners/resources required to succeed? What about the cost structure? What will the main costs be?

Hint: You may use the business model canvas (BMC) as a guideline for your analysis. The BMC is a well-known analytical framework that describes a business model in terms of nine categories, and presents it in a visual way. You do not need to complete a full canvas in your analysis, but you may use it in order to identify the main areas of interest.

Competitor analysis: Are there any competitors (direct or indirect) already in the market? If so, how many? How are they (big or small, powerful or weak, highly differentiated or cost-efficient, what market segments they are targeting, etc.). Do they pose a significant threat to the project you are analyzing? How does the project compare to the major competitors in terms of the main product/service attributes?

Financial feasibility: a qualitative overlook of the main financial elements of the project (i.e. drivers of revenue, cost and, consequently, profit). Does it have the potential to create economic value on a sustainable basis? What about solvency? Will the business generate enough cash flows to ensure financial viability?

Conclusions, recommendations, and limitations (approx. 500-1000 words).

List of references (not to be included in the word count).

Appendices, whenever appropriate (not to be included in the word count).

Format: The submitted document should be presented as a professional business report. Whereas reports can use different templates, and differ greatly in terms of contents and format, there are some important guidelines that you should consider when writing yours. The following is a list:

Consistency: Aspects such as paragraph spacing, alignment, font type and size, headings, etc. should be used consistently throughout the document.

Tables and figures can be of great help in presenting and summarizing information, and can contribute significantly to the visual appeal of a document.

Writing: Keep a professional tone throughout the document. Avoid using first person. Double-check your submission for typos, grammar, and spelling mistakes.

References: Cite relevant materials in the body of the report and include them in a reference list at the end of the document. Please use APA when referencing.

Originality: You must submit your own original work, and cite external sources whenever relevant. Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic integrity, and will be dealt with accordingly.

Task 2: Individual Presentation (40%)

After report now its time to communicate your report to your client with a presentation. Knowing how to present a project plan to a client is an essential skill for a consultant in any industry. You have to remember product positioning, messaging, client goals, and most importantly, selling your service. Most of all, a client presentation must add value.

The aim is for clients to envision what itll look like if they work with you and how youll help them reach their goals.

This presentation should contain similar information to what is in the report, However, rather to write everything add one slide for each section, preferably only brief paragraphs or bullet points can be used. Figures, Diagrams can be added to make presentation visually attractive.

Presentation Structure

Title ( 1 slide Containing project name/ Scholar Name/Tutor Name)

Introduction (1 slide the same information as in report (Brief))

Body: (5 slides for each section or utilize as per your choice)

Conclusion, limitation and recommendation (1 slide the same information as in report (Brieff)

Reference list (1 slide sources used with the presentation)