Asian and other small businesses have faced significant negative impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to recover from this economic recession, business transformation and reinvention is required. We propose to set up a tech-enhanced platform (with both app and website) for small businesses to deliver the experiences in unique tech enhanced manners, using virtual reality, augmented reality, video training, etc., and easily share local resources and distribution channels with each other.
The strategic rationale behind this opportunity lies in the reasons that make small businesses even more vulnerable than large institutions/businesses:
- Lack of resources
- Loss of customers correlates directly to change in daily routines & decrease in foot traffic for small businesses
- Virtual experiences with lower customer satisfactions
Market analysis indicated that small businesses suffer from pandemic largely due to loss of customers correlates directly to change in daily routines & decrease in foot traffic for small businesses, and a reduced customer experiences in current virtual service delivery model. As such, we want to target Small businesses, who like to deliver more satisfactory experiences virtually using AI/other technology tools, e.g., virtual reality and augmented reality, and become more resourceful and willing to share resources e.g., diversified material vendors, delivery channel sharing, etc.
We are a team of 5 PwC professionals with extensive experience in Forensics and Deals, and are very passionate about promoting Diversity and Inclusion at the workplace and in the community.
A phased approach will be applied to roll out the program:
- Phase 1 (Early Adopter Testing): First 90 days to kick off the App/Website along with the service for early adopters with 3 big cities - DC, LA, and Houston
- Phase 2 (Hub City Expansion): Within 6 months to expand in 3 hub locations to 200+ small business users
- Phase 3 (Official Roll-Out to US): Within the first year to expand to 10+ cities/metro areas
The above timeline/plan will be carried forward with an iterative app and service improvement plans. The initial investors expected are a small business support charity foundation and 2 private investors with naming rights on the website/app.
Following are key risks that we anticipate
- Maintain small business beyond the promotion period (first 20 orders with no commissions)
- Attract the first batch of relatively well-know local small business brands
- Maintain the loyalty of customers among other competitors such as Groupon, Thumbtack, etc.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.