The Strategy Behind Robin Chase's Zipcar a Car Sharing Start-up Essay

Zipcar was founded in 2000 in Boston by Robin Chase and Antje Danielson, although the majority of the start-up process was in the hands of Chase. Zipcar is a "short-term, on-demand private car service" (pg. 3) replicated from similar businesses in Western Europe, where users can rent cars in order to satisfy their everyday transportation needs. The current Harvard Business School case details the brief, but storied history of financing the start-up and proving the business model. Chase makes a number of assumptions (1) customers will be college-educated, web-connected individuals (2) Boston will be the ideal location due to insufficient parking and good public transportation and (3) the market will be entirely unsaturated due to few competitors. However, Chase was quickly forced to adjust and refine a number of her initial hypotheses as Zipcar began to take off, namely the pricing model. Glenn Urban gave Chase perhaps the best advice regarding Zipcar "you have to do this at twice the speed, and think twice as big" (pg. 2). Although the idea of organized car sharing was relatively new to the United States when Chase launched Zipcar, it was already a profitable business in countries like Switzerland, Germany and Netherlands. And, companies such as Cr-Sharing Inc. in Portland and Flexcar in Seattle or CommunAuto in Canada were also already operating and renting short-term cars to the public. Chase's timing was ideal and the eastern coast was still virtually untouched. Furthermore, competition was scarce. Traditional car rentals contained too much hassle in gaining access to a car and were too expensive. Zipcar fixed the problem by emphasizing convenience and cost effectiveness. All Chase had to do was offer the same service as traditional car rentals, but quicker and cheaper. I think the barriers for entry into the car-sharing industry are low. The biggest barrier for the start-up was building the technological base, by which users can book and access a car, and in turn the company...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Character Analysis of Basil Hallward in The Picture of Dorian Gray, a Novel by Oscar Wilde Essay

The main character in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian, is a man too easily influenced by his surroundings. He is quoted as saying, Basil Hallward is what I think I am Lord Henry is what the world thinks me Dorian is what I would like to bein other ages, perhaps (Wilde). This comparison falls in line with the moral of the story because Dorian is stuck with eternal youth and beauty even though he has a wicked soul. This causes different views of him by people who observe his daily life. Dorian is a sponge throughout the novel that absorbs everything and allows it to shape his personality, morals, and actions. Dorian Gray takes influence from Lord Henry, Basil Hallward, and the culture of society during which the novel was written. Lord Henry is the epitome of a wealthy, hedonistic gentleman seeking only pleasure, with little regard to cost or consequence. Lord Henry Wotton outwardly propounds hedonism, but it is his extreme egotism that drives him to manipulate both Basil Hallward a
Read more

An Analysis of the Character of Chichikov in the Poem, Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol Essay

Dead Souls takes place in the Russia of the late 1800s, where, unlike in America, one must be born into a prosperous family in order to have opportunities. The main character, Chichikov, is clever enough to develop a scheme in which he can rise from being a petty clerk to a respected landowner. In order to do this, Chichikov moves into a new town, pretending to already be a landowner, and begins a quest to buy the names of dead serfs who have not yet been officially reported dead. Each person that Chichkov presents this offer to has a different reaction, starting with the shy and introverted Manilov. Though he does not understand Chichikov's need for the names of these dead serfs, Manilov is a character that is so desperate for company that it does not take any effort to trick him into selling his dead souls cheaply. However, as Chichikov continues his journey, he starts to deal with more clever landowners who become suspicious of his scheme. Chichikov finds that the townsmen know
Read more

A Literary Analysis of the Third Twin by Ken Follett Essay

The Third TwinThe Third Twin by Ken Follett is a type of mystery book. It makes you look at different aspects of the story. When you think you know whats happening it is not always what you think.Dr. Jeannie Ferrami, a scientist funded by a university who is doing a study on twins is one of the main characters in the story. Jeannie Ferrami is tall with long brown hair and is also very athletic. Steve Logan a student at another college is also a very important character in the story. Berrington Jones the head of the college funds Dr. Jeannie Ferrami until Jeannie discovers something Berrington didnt want her to know. Ricky Phillips Berringtons son is a twin just and he plays a small part but with a big impact on the story. Lisa Miller who is Jeannies best friend comes early into the story playing a very dramatic role, another small character is Dennis Pinker one of the twins in the story who is a murderer and is also being studied He is one of Steve Logans twin brothers.Lisa Miller and
Read more