Business insiders published a list of the twenty most innovative online tech startups recently. With the imminent launch our online auto repair marketplace business for online auto repair quotes and repair shop ratings, some of the ideas that was presented have direct application to our business.
Zocdoc is a online doctor appointment booking service where people can easily book doctor appointments online. Revenues come from the $250 listing fee for doctors. The online service is free for users of the site. A similar model can be applied to scheduling routine auto repair maintenance. This could be extremely attractive for independent repair shop and local dealer service department who may not have want to maintain their own online auto repair scheduling service. The site also provides another additional source of customers for their business, many of whom may not otherwise hear about them.
Quora is a Q&A online query website where questions are answered by experts instead of the average Joe. For an auto repair quote and information website, this business model could be used to provide valuable and reliable information to help drivers identify potential problems before using the online auto repair quote service to request repair estimates.
Skillshare is an online class website where experts in any field can teach their topic of expertise to anyone who is interested. This can be customized for the auto repair field where experts technicians could post auto repair tutorials or white papers to help drivers understand what goes into each repair and how it is actually done. The use of expert tutorials and white papers can help drive traffic to the site, build up trust in the site among users and increase the value of the site to advertisers. Using professionally generated content will also increase the percentage of website visitors who may eventually use the site to request actual auto repair quotes and schedule appointments.
An analysis of the funding sources for these 20 innovative startup shows that most of the initial funding still comes from venture capitalists that support startups, with additional funding coming from wealthy individuals.
Nice blog Herman. My takeaways are:
ReplyDeleteBe Innovative – Think different. Find out what the customer is looking for. Place ourselves in their shoes.
Be Passionate – It’s not always the business that the investors are looking for, it’s also the entrepreneur.
Look for the window of opportunity – The best idea is one presented at the right time.
You make a good point regarding looking at the business and looking at the entrepreneur. Investors are looking for someone that have the experience and innovative skills to adapt and change the business model as the market changes. Especially in this technology driven, instant communication and internet age, the ability to think outside the box and make changes based on intuition is more important than in the past.
ReplyDelete