What is an Industry?

Macro Analysis
A group of companies producing similar One examines broad, overarching trends and
products or services, often characterized by external factors that influence entire industries
their primary business activities. or economies.
Micro-Analysis
What is a Domain? It delves into the finer details, focusing on
Domain refers to a specific area of knowledge, specific elements such as individual business
expertise, or focus. It can also refer to a operations or customer behaviors.
particular environment or context in which
businesses operate. Why bother?
• Avoiding a macro view can lead to a myopic
What is Problem 'Space'? perspective, resulting in the identification of
The set of challenges or issues in a particular trivial or short-term solutions.
area that offers opportunities for solutions or • This can result in constantly putting out fires
innovations. rather than being proactive for the future.
• Identifying and solving trivial problems may
What is Market? lead to solutions that have minimal impact and
A set-up where buyers and sellers interact to fail to address the needs of society or the
exchange goods, services, or information, often markets
facilitated by a physical or virtual platform.. Launch Your Venture
• Identify unmet needs and gaps in the market
What is Market Need? by understanding broader industry trends and
It is an unmet demand or consumer desire in a societal changes.
particular market. • Make informed strategic decisions about their
startup’s direction, considering factors such as
What is a Sector ? economic conditions.
A sector is a broad classification of the • Entrepreneurs who can articulate how their
economic activities based on similar business business fits into larger trends are more likely to
interests or activities. attract investor interest.
Corporate Job
What is a Market Research? • Identify industries and companies that are
The process of gathering, analyzing, and growing and have future potential.
interpreting information about a market, • Recognize, and prepare for, skills that are in
including information about potential high demand.
customers, competitors, and the industry • Network and engage with industry leaders and
influencers can provide insights and connections
What are Industry Insights ? for job search.
Deep understandings or revelations about a
specific sector or market based on research and Family Business
analysis. • Bring fresh, innovative ideas based on current
industry trends and global developments.
What are Historic Market Trends? • Help family business members identify
Historical Market Trends: Past patterns of potential risks and external threats.
change or movement in a market over a specific • Identify new opportunities for expansion and
period. diversification.

What are Macro Trends? Zoom Out To:

Large-scale, overarching trends that affect • Understand Industries and Domains
industries and populations over an extended • Understand various aspects of the industry
period. • Understand the what is happening in the
industry- new start ups and innovations
What is a Macro View?
Analysis of large-scale economic, industry, or Zoom In To:
market trends that impact society. • Identify the area that interests you
• Understand its growth potential
• Uncover problems and challenges
What Is Segmentation? “There is only one boss – the customer. And he
Segmentation refers to the process of dividing a can fire everybody in the company from the
heterogeneous market into smaller, more chairman on down, simply by spending his
homogeneous groups based on certain criteria. money somewhere else.” ~ Sam Walton,
The purpose of segmentation is to better Walmart
understand and target specific groups of
consumers with tailored offerings and “Customers don’t know what they want until
marketing strategies that are more likely to you show it to them” ~ Steve Jobs, Apple “Your
resonate with their needs, preferences, and most unhappy customers are your greatest
behaviors. source of learning” ~ Bill Gates, Microsoft

Who is a customer? It is said that Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos leaves

A customer is an individual or organization that one seat open at the conference table and
purchases a product or service from a business. states that the seat is occupied by the “the most
important person in the room – the customer”.
What are customer segments? “We see our customers as invited guests to the
Customer segments are distinct groups of party, and we are the hosts” ~ Jeff Bezos
people or entities sharing similar traits or needs,
allowing businesses to target and serve them 4 basic types of segmentation commonly used:
more effectively. 1. Demographic Segmentation:
This involves dividing the market based on
CUSTOMER CENTRICITY demographic factors such as age, gender,
“The Customer is Always Right” is an adage, income, education, occupation, marital status,
coined in the 1900s by Harry Gordon Selfridge, and family size. Demographic segmentation
founder of the Selfridges Group, one of the top provides insights into the basic characteristics of
three retailers of the early 1900s. consumers within different groups.

‘The 5 Powerful Reasons Why the Customer is 2. Psychographic Segmentation:

Always Right’ - SOCO the Sales Optimizing Psychographic segmentation categorizes
Company consumers based on their lifestyles, attitudes,
1. Customers Make or Break a Business values, beliefs, personality traits, and interests.
“Customers can significantly impact the success This approach helps marketers understand the
or failure of a business ... if you don’t – your motivations and aspirations driving consumer
competitor will…” behavior.
2. Backlash is Dangerous
“Backlash can be the death of a business, 3. Behavioral Segmentation:
especially if it takes place online. Just one bad Divides consumers based on their purchasing
review can be a very costly mistake to fix.” behavior, usage patterns, brand loyalty, benefits
3. Happy Customers Multiply sought, and other actions related to the product
“Happiness is contagious…Your customer base or service. This type of segmentation focuses on
will grow organically as loyal customers understanding why and how consumers make
recommend you to their family, friends, or buying decisions.
colleagues, leaving you with more time to focus
on your loyal customers.” 4. Geographic Segmentation: Involves dividing
4. It’s a Benchmark for Customer Service the market based on geographic boundaries
Excellence such as region, country, city size, climate,
“The customer service experience that you population density, or cultural differences. This
provide is responsible for either customer approach recognizes that consumer needs and
loyalty or customer loss…communication is key preferences can vary significantly based on
to understanding your customers’ challenges in location.
providing a solution.”
5. New Revenue Avenues Types of Customer Segments
“… gaining new customers’ demands a huge
investment of time, money, and patience, why Primary – Those customers that contribute to
not get ahead in understanding your customers’ the main earnings in the business
needs to explore more avenues of revenue.” Secondary – These are important and could
become a key earner category over a period.
B2B – Business selling to another Business. government's stringent security
B2C – Business Selling to an individual customer protocols and procurement rules to
B2G – Business selling to Government entities effectively bid and secure contracts
or departments. for providing software solutions that
help manage public data securely and
1. Primary and Secondary Customers efficiently.
For example, if you are launching a Tutoring
Service, your Primary Customers could be high End Users vs. Buyers
schoolers needing tutoring for college exams.
They're your big earners. Secondary Customers, End Users
like college students needing extra help, are One Who USES your product
extra but could grow later. Tutoring Services example: College and School
2. B2C, B2B, B2G Customers students will be the end users
a) B2C (Business to Customer)
businesses sell straight to customers. Buyers
They track what folks like/need and One who BUYS your product.
buy and find value in reaching them Tutoring Services example: Parents of College
directly. In the Case of the Tutoring and School Students will make the buying
Service directly reaching college decision and spend the money to buy the
students or their parents would be product for use by their children.
B2C. Tutoring Services could also
reach customers via partnerships Prototyping
with Schools and Colleges. Creating a preliminary version or sample of a
b) B2B (Business-to-Business): B2B product, system, or application to test and
companies sell products or services validate design ideas, functionalities, and
directly to other businesses rather features before final production
than to individual consumers. These
transactions often involve larger Prototyping Tools
quantities and more complex sales Assist in creating interactive, visual
processes due to the specific needs representations of design concepts and ideas
and operations of business clients. for testing and feedback purposes.
Example of B2B: A cybersecurity firm
that sells to other businesses is a Fundamental Skills To Prototyping
typical B2B company. These Include proficiency with prototyping tools for
companies often have lengthy sales creating effective visual representations.
discussions to fully understand their
clients' unique tech and legal Software Prototypes
requirements. For instance, a • Determine how users will interact with the
cybersecurity firm might spend software (do not focus on databases or other
significant time learning about a back-end designs yet)
financial company's data security • Create wireframes and mockups of the
needs to tailor their services interface using tools like Balsamiq, Sketch, or
specifically for them. Figma
c) B2G (Business-to-Government): B2G • May use tools such as Bubble, Adobe XD,
firms sell products or services to InVision, or Axure for making interactive
various government agencies. These prototypes
sales are typically governed by strict
regulations and require adherence to Product Prototypes
specific procurement processes, • Start with simple design sketches to visualize
making them more complex and the product (paper or digital drawing tools).
structured than typical business-to- • Create 3D models using SolidWorks,
consumer transactions. Example of Tinkercad, Autodesk Fusion, etc.
B2G: A software development • Use materials like cardboard, foam, or 3D
company specializes in creating data printing to create a physical representation of
management systems for the product.
government agencies. This firm must
understand and comply with the
Service Prototypes 2. Social factors
• Create a service blueprint that outlines the Demographic trends, urbanization, cultural
customer journey, frontstage and backstage norms, and changes in consumer behavior can
actions, and touchpoints. influence the demand for a startup's products
• Create the Customer Journey Map, a graphical or services
representation of the customer's experience 3. Political Environment
with the service, detailing each touchpoint and A supportive political environment may provide
emotional state. incentives for entrepreneurship, while a
• Role-play the service to understand and restrictive one could impose barriers to entry.
improve the customer experience. This can also 4. Technological Advances
be done through storytelling. The rate of technological innovation can create
new opportunities for startups or render
Fidelity refers to the degree of accuracy or existing products obsolete
similarity of a prototype to the final product or
service. Does Size Matter?
• A sizable market indicates demand, increasing
Benefits Of Identifying Competitors the viability of the startup's offering.
1. Gain Market Insights • Indicates not only the current demands but
Understand the competitive landscape and also future potential.
identify potential opportunities and threats • Aligns with investor interest
2. Refine Your Strategy
Benchmark your product/service’s quality, Total Addressable Market
marketing and pricing in the market The total possible market for your product or
3. Develop a Strong Brand service, without limitations of geography,
Understand competitor branding and messaging competition, distribution, or product features.
to position your brand effectively
Serviceable Available Market
Who Are Direct Competitors? The portion of your TAM that your product or
Businesses that: service can reach given geographical
• Offer similar products or services constraints, regulations, capabilities, etc.
• Target the same customer base
• Have similar marketing strategies Serviceable Obtainable Market
Examples: The portion of the market you can realistically
• Smartphones from different capture in 2-4 years based on the current
manufacturers product, plans, resources, GTM activities, etc.
• Fast-food chains selling similar types
of cuisines Calculate Market SIZE (TAM)

Who are Indirect Competitors?

Businesses that:
• Offer different products/services but serve
similar needs/problems
• Target different aspects or alternatives
• Have diverse marketing strategies
Examples:
• Smartphones competing indirectly
with laptops or tablets
• Streaming services competing
indirectly with movie theatres

Sample Macro Trends Market Size

Which could enable or oppose the launch of Market size refers to the total volume of sales
new startups or revenue an industry generates within a
1. Economic conditions specific period.
Economic indicators such as GDP growth, It can be measured in terms of the total sales
unemployment rates, and consumer confidence value (revenue) or the total quantity of goods or
are important to consider. services sold (units). Former is more common.
Growth Rate Data
This measures how fast the industry is Access to large and valuable datasets that
expanding or contracting over time. It can be provide a competitive edge.
assessed by looking at the increase or decrease
in sales, the number of companies, or overall WHAT IS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
market size year over year. A condition or circumstance that puts a
company in a favorable or superior business
Growth Drivers position compared to its rivals. It’s essential as it
Economic, consumer, etc, factors that drives market share, profitability, and long-term
accelerate the industry’s growth, and its success
constituent startups.
OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT
Challenges It is the process of identifying and evaluating
Issues that can hamper the long-term potential opportunities to determine their
development of the industry. These could viability and potential for success.
include access to capital, technological
difficulties, supply-chain issues, consumer COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
acceptance, regulations, etc The process of identifying and evaluating the
strengths and weaknesses of current and
potential competitors. It helps businesses
Competition Analysis strategically position themselves in the market
Assessment of strengths and weaknesses of and develop USP to gain a competitive
current and potential competitors. advantage

Competitive Advantage MARKET SIZING

A unique attribute that gives a startup an edge Market sizing is the process of estimating the
over its competitors. potential of a market in terms of total revenue
or units sold. It involves calculating the TAM,
Unique Selling Proposition SAM, and SOM to identify growth opportunities
Distinctive advantage clearly presented to set and set realistic business targets
you apart from competitors.
INT TECHNOLOGIES
In business positioning, A tech company, specializing in web services
MOAT refers to a Competitive Moat and digital transformation. known for its
A long-term advantage that protects a company strategic agility, customer-centric solutions, and
from competitors and helps it maintain market market analysis expertise, helping clients
dominance and profitability. The term was achieve sustainable competitive advantages.
popularized by Warren Buffett, who compared a
company's competitive advantage to a moat ABHISHEK RUNGTA
protecting a castle. He is s an entrepreneur from Kolkata with a
background in technology and business. He is
Brand known for his strategic vision, resilience, and
A strong and recognizable brand that customers expertise in market analysis, digital
trust and associate with quality. transformation, and competitor positioning.

Network Effect CASE CONTEXT

The value of a product or service increases as Case delves into key entrepreneurial lessons
more people use it. such as competitor analysis, market positioning,
and market sizing, set against the backdrop of
Intellectual Property the internet boom and bust, as well as the
Exclusive rights over inventions, designs, or evolving digital landscape.
processes.
TRIGGERS
Economies of Scale Leveraged their agility, personalized service,
Cost advantages are due to the production of and deep market insights. Meticulous market
goods or services at a larger scale. analysis to craft a powerful, clear and
compelling value proposition.
INT Technologies – Sequence of Events The Bottom-Up Approach
• Early 1990s: Abhishek Rungta, fascinated by - starts with a small, specific market and then
the internet, starts exploring its potential while expands it to a larger, general market
in Kolkata.
• 1997: Rungta, at 19, attends Computex Advantages of Using A Combined Approach
exhibition and lands his first client, marking the Combining top-down and bottom-up
beginning of INT Technologies. approaches enhances the accuracy of market
• Early 2000s: Internet boom turns to bust; size estimates
Rungta pivots to secure international clients • by allowing for cross-validation and a
through online forums. balanced perspective.
• Early 2000s: INT Technologies faces a new, • the broad overview provided by the top-down
well-funded competitor. They analyze the approach complements the detailed, granular
competitor's weaknesses and focus on insights from the bottom-up method,
personalized services. • leads to a more comprehensive understanding
• Mid-2000s: INT secures a significant of the market.
government contract (MyGov) by showcasing • helps reduce biases, reconcile discrepancies,
agility and delivering on tight deadlines. and mitigate the risks of relying on a single
• 2013: INT Technologies targets the US market, method.
securing a major insurance client by leveraging
their strengths and innovative solutions.
• 2020: INT rebrands with the tagline "We
Deliver," emphasizing their reliability and
commitment to client needs.

Is there a need?
Problem Identification

Who has the need?

Customer Segments/Personas

Is the need big/painful enough for them to pay?

Customer Validation

How big can our business be?

Market Size

IMPORTANCE OF MARKET SIZING IDENTIFY:

1. Sufficient Need
A sizable market indicates demand, increasing
the viability of the startup's offering.
2. Potential
Ensures efforts are concentrated where the
greatest opportunities lie.
3. Growth Pathways
Helps you identify not only current demands but
future potential
4. Challenges
Identify potential challenges or gaps in the idea,
allowing for early adjustments

The Top-Down Approach

- starts with a large, general market and then
narrows it down to a specific segment or niche.