A case study

Consider you want to create an e-learning app for high school students through which students can learn coding. You think this is a great idea to engage the kids during this trying time. But is there a need for such an app? For this, you need to create a proof of concept to test the viability of the idea. 

You would tie-up with a few reputed schools in a selected few city and let the students try your idea for free. Let the students and their parents log in to the system to experience it. At the end of the free session, you can gather feedback from the students and the parents to see if they found the idea useful. Is it really going to engage the kids? Are parents willing to invest in such an app and let their kids try their hands-on coding? Once you have positive feedback, start working on the UX and design the prototype. 

Here is a quick checklist for an effective proof of concept

Define the problem
Define the scope
Identify resources
Develop a detailed plan

Proof of concept best practices 

While proof of concept is good for one or two concepts, they are not the alternative of implementations. In fact, they can delay your implementations. Hence, limit the scope of the proof of concept to fasten the process. 

Use cases are always impactful. So as a best practice, create use cases with your desired end state solution. 

Allocate enough time for the proof of concept so that you can collect target audience feedback and make adjustments to your idea if needed. 

Key takeaways 

A proof of concept helps founders and entrepreneurs see if their product idea is viable or not for its target audience. Through a proof of concept, entrepreneurs, founders, and project managers can explore the product’s technical and financial feasibilities and if the company has enough skills and resources to make the product happen. Thus, a company can assess its readiness to implement the idea and make a successful product.

Several entrepreneurs across the business landscape have launched and grown startups time and again. You may have started a company of your own, but are you sure it falls under the startup paradigm? How do you figure this out? There is a difference between startups and small businesses. 

Firstly, startups are not smaller versions of large corporations. They’re organizations that search for repeatable and scalable business models that can be executed quickly while impacting the market.

Small businesses look for business models that work from day one and not that work down the line as they are self-sustaining organizations that generate revenue from day one. They don’t require major investments and bring relatively small amounts of sales with lesser employees.

How to figure out your company is a startup?

Startups aim to disrupt and take over the market with an impactful business model. They require initial investments which do not generate immediate results. Therefore, startups usually are not profitable in their initial years and some never even reach profitability.

Startups look for the right business model which scales to enormous heights in a massive market as quickly as possible.

Startups look for major investments headlong. They look for investors who are looking to take risky major investments but choose who they pitch their confidence in.

Startup India Scheme

It is an initiative of the Government of India, first announced by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. It focuses on three areas:

Simplification and handholding; funding support and incentives; Industry-Academia Partnership and Incubation. It also plans to discard restrictive policies like License Raj, Land Permissions, Environmental Clearances, etc.

Under this scheme, the government launched the I-MADE program, to help Indian entrepreneurs build 1 million mobile app start-ups, and the MUDRA Bank’s scheme to provide microfinance, low-interest rate loans and over 75 startup support hubs across Indian Institutions. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) coordinates implementation of Startup India initiative with Government Departments. DPIIT recognition gives access to a host of tax benefits, easier compliance and IPR fast-tracking.

For DPIIT startup recognition your company must follow the following criteria:

Period of operations should not be exceeding 10 years from Date of Incorporation

Must be incorporated as a Private Limited Company/Registered Partnership Firm/Limited Liability Partnership

Annual turnover should not exceed Rs. 100 crores for any financial year since incorporation

Entity cannot be formed by splitting or reconstructing an already existing business

Should work towards development or improvement of a product, process or service with a scalable business model, high potential for creation of wealth and employment

The Government of India has made substantial progress in making the Startup India initiative a reality boosting the entrepreneurial spirit across India.

Importance of Brand Purpose

There is no denying that profit is the bloodline of the business. But apart from making money, what you do and why you do it matters a lot. Your identity as a brand has a bigger role to play. Brand purpose shows your customers that you are more than your products or services. You are not just selling solutions but contributing to the world. 

The new generation of customers is drawn to the idea that their spending should not only buy products but also help create a difference in the world. Consumers see their purchase as a participation in the greater good by investing their money, time, and goodwill into a purpose. They want to buy from brands whose purposes they personally identify with and whose values and beliefs they reflect on. 

Brand purpose is the underlying essence that makes your brand necessary and relevant to the consumers and makes it irresistible for them. It is the centre of attraction for your company that helps you build wholesome brand-consumer relationships, leading to the long-term success of your brand. 

How to Find Brand Purpose

Brand purpose is unique for every company. Finding the right purpose of your brand is crucial to your business success. It should be steeped in authenticity and have genuine roots. If you try to fake it or create one just for the sake of it, it would not work. 

Brand purpose is a double-edged sword. A lot of brands that do not get it right have to deal with its consequences. A misleading brand purpose is called out by consumers for its inauthenticity and opportunism. A recent example of this is the customer outrage against Pepsi when it featured an ad framing Kendall Jenner with a can of soda as a peacemaker between civil rights activists and police during the US racial discrimination protests. The ad was seen as a capitalizing move on a social cause and was highly criticized, which resulted in Pepsi pulling out the ad and apologizing publicly. 

The right brand purpose is about having a moral value relevant to your brand and industry. It should give a reason for your customers to believe in you and choose you over your competitors. Dove is a successful example of a powerful brand purpose. Its ‘beauty for all shapes and sizes’ campaign has been so successful that the brand became synonymous with self-esteem. Dove took on a noble cause and executed it with authenticity at its core. As their purpose impacts women’s lives and improves society, their brand grew manifold. 

Steps to Find Brand Purpose

Finding the right brand purpose is a result of different meaningful actions. The first and foremost one among them is listening to your consumers at different stages. Since your purpose is something greater than only commercial gains, you should look beyond the purchasing habits of the customers and find out what their values are.

Understand consumers’ perspective:

The sentiments of your consumers vary widely. They change across borders, countries, or even neighbourhoods. You need to identify the personal values of your consumers that triggers a buying action. For this, you should focus on the key psychological indicators such as: 

1. Attitudes and interests
2. Lifestyle motivations
3. Self-perceptions
4. Perceptions on wider life

Find out the reasons for starting your business: 

The fundamental origins of your business play a major role in your brand purpose. Ask yourself why you started the business in the first place. It can be for financial freedom, to solve a problem, or to share your talent or craft with the world. Whatever it is, be completely honest with yourself to find out the true values that your business stands on.

Identify the change your customers want: 

Think about your ideal customers. What values do they have and what change they want to see in the world? What are their beliefs and worries and what issues are important to them? The answers to these questions will provide you with a basic understanding of the parameters on which your brand purpose should be based on. 

Discover your strengths and uniqueness:

In today’s world, where the marketplace is populated with similar products and services, it is important for you to understand what makes you unique and sets you apart from your competitors. What is it that you are really good at? What are the strong characteristics that define you as a brand? 

Create an exclusive brand experience: 

To establish a meaningful brand purpose, you need to have a distinctive brand identity. And for this, your brand must provide special and memorable experiences to its customers that become the defining adjectives for your brand. Notice what emotions does your brand trigger when your customers talk about you with their peers. 

Analyse brand and competitor data: 

Brand data provide you realistic figures about the reception of your brand among its consumers. It enables you to see your brand reputation along with that of your competitors. It uncovers customers’ opinions and attitudes. Thus, helping you develop an action plan on how to challenge their perceptions, improve opinions, and develop positive sentiments.

Test your ideas and concepts: 

A misguided purpose can backfire on your brand. Therefore, it is important that once you create a message and develop an action plan for your brand purpose, you must test it. You need to ensure that your brand purpose must relate to people and is transparent in its intent.