Birchbox business approach

Case 6.1 Discussion Questions

Question 6.34

Katie Beauchamp and Hayley Barna took great advantage of their student status to advance their business idea. One of the ways they achieved this was by utilizing the lessons learned in the class on disruptive innovation. Making Birchbox their final project also gave them a chance to advance the idea under the guidance of college faculty. Finally, their classmates acted as a ready-made audience of their target market. This was an added advantage in luring in suppliers.

Question 6.35

Both the suppliers and customers benefit from the Birchbox business approach. For the suppliers, Birchbox provides a wide market reach by distributing beauty samples through a subscription service. The product recommendation to the customers is also helpful to suppliers since it acts as an advertisement. The customers, on the other hand, get to sample products before buying them. By filling beauty profiles, Birchbox can curate the sample boxes to customers’ unique beauty needs.

Question 6.36

Writing a business plan and preparing for a business plan competition was helpful in several ways. During the process, Katie Beauchamp and Hayley Barna managed to collect feedback that helped improve the original Birchbox idea. It also enabled them to attain important results and data about the business. The planning, testing, and prototyping stage also saw them attain a preliminary list of potential customers and suppliers. Furthermore, the business plan competition offered them exposure and connections with advisors and mentors.

Question 6.37

Serious challenges are facing Birchbox going forward. These include difficulty in growing new markets, growing competition, and plateauing of subscribers. Among these challenges, I think that the most threatening to the firm’s success is the difficulty in growing new markets. This may lead to business stagnation and eventual overtaking by competitors.