team 59 report

8/2/2019 Team 59 Report

1/8

Bamboozle- Bamboo Home Construction -

Global Entrepreneur Experience 2009Business Concept Proposal

Team 59:Diana Marcela Oleya Mesa (Columbia), Maria Alejandra (Columbia), Md.Wasequzzaman (Bangladesh), Ibtihaj Samad Nabil (Bangladesh), ElysseEgerman (USA), Jack Cullen (USA), Timothy Newton-Howes (NewZealand)


2/8

Table of ContentsExecutive Summary ..................................................................................3Business Overview ...................................................................................3

The Housing Problem in Latin America ......................................................................... 3About Bamboozle ......................................................................................................... 3Goal Summary .............................................................................................................. 4

Market Analysis . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. 4Location....................................................................................................................... 4Target Market...............................................................................................................5Competitive Advantage.................................................................................................5

Business Strategies ..................................................................................5Thee Resource - Bamboo............................................................................................. 5Market Strategy............................................................................................................6Distribution and Transport........................................................................................... 7

Financial Overview ...................................................................................7Profitability Spreadsheet..............................................................................................8


3/8

1. Executive SummaryBamboozleisasolutionfortheshelterneedsofthepoorindeveloping

countries.Ourcompanywillconstructhomesforthesepeopleatpricesthatareonlyafractionofthecurrentpricetobuildahome.Theyneednotbeelaboratehomes,

butsomethingthatisstrong,durable,andmostimportantlywillprovideshelterfor

thosewhohavenone.Bambooismuchcheaperthanothermaterialsonthemarket,

allowingustobuildourhomesforpeoplewhonormallywouldbeunabletoafford

them.Wearecommittedtogivingbacktothecommunityaswell,andwewilloffer

todonatethebuildingofonesmallhomeforeveryfivethatwebuildina

community.2. Business Overview2a.TheHousingProbleminLatinAmerica

HousinginmostofLatinAmericahasbeenasevereproblemfordecades

upondecades.Manyofthehomeslackproperinfrastructure,areextremely

overcrowded,andaretooexpensiveforthepeopleofthesecountriestoafford.

Becauseofthepoorconditionsofthesecountries,manyhomesarebuiltwith

impropermaterialsthatdecayatquickrateandarecompletelyunsustainable.1The

housingandfinancialcrisisthathittheUnitedStatesandrippledthroughtherestof

theworldin2008hasonlyexacerbatedthissituation.CountriesinLatinand

CentralAmericahavebeenhitharderthanmostbecausetheyhadhousingproblems

inurbanandespeciallyruralareaspriortothecrisis.Thecrisishasonly

deterioratedthesituationmorebecausefundinghasdissipatedandunemployment

hasskyrocketed.

2b.AboutBamboozle

ThesecountrieswithinLatinAmericahavemanypeoplewithhousingneeds

thatarenotsatisfiedefficientlybytheirgovernments.Theconstructionsectoris

focusedonhousesforpeoplethatcanaffordthem

andtheyforgetaboutthepeoplethatdonothave

themoneytopurchaseahome.Forexample,the

Colombiangovernmentgivesubsidesforpeople

withlowincomesintheurbanareasofthe

country,buttheruralareasarenot.Therural

areasarewherethereismoreofanecessityfor

homes.Ourcompanyisheretohelpthiscrisis

becausewecanprovidehomesatamuchlower

costwiththeuseofbambooasourmainmaterial.

1http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu23me/uu23me0c.htm

GuaduaBamboopoles


4/8

WealsoplantoprovideourservicestodevelopedcountriessuchasFrance,Italy

andSpaintoprovidelowercosthomes,butwewillfocusoureffortsinLatin

America.

OurcompanywillserveasaconstructioncompanyinLatinAmericathat

usesbambootobuildourhomes.AtBamboozle,webelievethatwecanmakea

differenceonehouseatatimethroughtheconstructionofenvironmentallyfriendlyhomesthatarequicktoproduce,easytoerect,andlonglasting.Wewillaccomplish

thisbybuildingpredesignedecohousesfromGuaduabamboo,whichgrowsvery

quickly,andoneofthestrongestvarietiesofbamboo2,whichretainallthemodern

comfortsyouwouldexpectfromusingotherbuildingmaterials.Ourhouseswillbe

stronginthefaceofadversewindconditionsandareenvironmentallysustainable,

asweonlyrequiretheuseofbamboo3to6yearsoldforbestresultsin

construction3.

Additionally,hereatBamboozle,webelieveingivingbackaswell.Duetothe

widespreadandcheapnatureofbambooand,unfortunately,thelargeamountof

homelessnessinLatinAmerica,wewilldonateonehometoahomelessfamilywithinLatinAmericaforeveryfivethatwebuild.

2c:GoalSummary

Wewillprovideafastandefficienthomeconstructionservice.Wewilldiffer

fromothersbecauseofourchoiceofworkmedian,GuaduaBamboo,whichallows

ustostakeourplaceinthemarketandseparateourselvesfromotherconstruction

contractors,thereforeprotectingourprofitsandplaceinthemarket,sinceweare

notdirectlycompetingagainstthem.Ourhomeswillbesoughtafterand

comfortabletolivein,whileprovidingthepeaceofmindtoourcustomersthatthey

havehelpedpreventunnecessarydeforestationandhavemadeasustainable

contributiontoreducingtheworldscarbonfootprint.3. Market Analysis

3a.Location

Ourcompanywillbeofferingafewdifferenttypesofproducts,onebeing

beautifulchaletsofbambooforcountriessuchasFrance,Italy

andSpain,andtheotherproductbeingcomfortablehousesbuilt

atlowcostsmadeofbamboo.ThissecondproductisforpoorpeopleindevelopingcountriesCentralAmerica,suchasCosta

Rica,Panama,theDominicanRepublicandPuertoRico,aswellas

inColumbia.

2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadua3http://www.bambooliving.com/faq.htmlConstruction


5/8

Themainfocusofourcompanywillbenotbeindevelopedcountries,butin

thepoorercountriesofLatinandCentralAmericabecauseourgoalistohelpthese

countrieswiththeirepidemichousingproblems.

3b.TargetMarket

OurtargetmarketisfamilieswithlowresourcesindevelopingcountriessuchasColombia,CostaRica,Panama,DominicanRepublicandPuertoRico,who

liveinruralareasnotinurbanareasandneeda

placetoliveonalowercost.Wechosetotarget

thesemarketsfirstbecauseofthehighpovertyrate

intheruralpopulationofthesecountries.

3c.CompetitiveAdvantage

Identifyingacompetitiveadvantageofacompanythatdoesnotexistisvery

difficultbecausewecannotanalyzeitsperformanceinthemarket.However,taking

intoaccountourstrategies,wecansaidthatourcompetitiveadvantageisthat

bambooisaverylowcostproductforconstruction,whichallowsustocompetein

themarketwithalowercostproduct.

Anotherkeycompetitiveadvantagecomesthroughthediversityinmarkets

thatwearesellingto;andtheabilitytospreadcostsoverthecombinedmarkets.WecanusetheprofitsfromsaleofluxuryecohomesandchaletsinItalyFranceand

Spain,toundercutthecostswefaceinColombiaandCentralAmerica.Inthisway

wecanremaincompetitiveinbothmarketsandwillincreasetheabilitytomake

profitsinbothmarkets.

4. Business Strategies4a.TheResourceBamboo

Therearemorethan70differentgeneraofBamboointheworldthataredividedinto1,000species.Theyarefoundinverydiverseclimates,rangingfrom

thecoldmountainsofAsiatothehottropicalregionsofLatinAmerica.Itisthe

fastestgrowingplantontheplanet,reachingamaximumgrowthrateofmorethana

meterperhourattimes.Bamboohasamyriadofuses,mostlydependantonitsage.

4EconomicCommissionforLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean.

PovertyRate(%ofRuralPopulation,2006)4CostaRica 20.4Panama 30.8

PuertoRico 45.4

Colombia 46.8

DominicanRepublic 49.5 AcurrentruralhomeinPanama


6/8

TheidealageforGuaduabambootobeharvestedforconstructionis36years,afar

cryfromallothertimberplantations,whichhaveacycleof1060years.5When

treated,bambooformsaveryhardwood,whichislightweight,stable,and

exceptionallydurable.6Itisusedinelementsofhouse

construction,scaffolding,asasubstituteforsteel

reinforcingrodsinconcreteconstruction,andsoon.4b.MarketingStrategy

Over1billionpeoplearoundtheworldareaffected

byinadequateliving conditions.WechosetofocusmostofoureffortsinLatinAmericabecausemanyofthecountries

populationsareindesperateneedofdecenthousing:Peru

53%oftheirpopulation,Brazil45%oftheirpopulation,

andColombia43%oftheirpopulation.Constructinghouses

outofbamboowillworkinthesecountriesbecauseitis

cheap,strong,andoneofthemostrenewableresourcesontheplanet.Withthat,the

aestheticsofbamboocreationwillpresentanidealsolutionthatwillreplacetraditionallumber.Ourmainmarketingstrategyistoeffectivelycommunicatethese

advantagestoourpotentialclients.Wewillhavetomarketdifferentlyinthe

differentregionsthatwearetargeting.

WeplantobuildluxuryhomesinEurope(France,Italy,Spain,etc.)and

thereforewewillbemarketingtheenvironmentalimpactandlowcostofbamboo

housing.Wewillreachourtargetmarketbycommunicating

throughtraditionalwesternmarketingmeanssuchas

newspaperadvertisements,magazineadvertisements,

flyers,andwordofmouththroughpartneringwithreal

estatecompaniesorenvironmentalgroupsinEurope.We

willconstructmodelhomesinorderforconductingtours

effectivelydemonstratethestrengthandpotentialbeautyof

bambooconstructionfromBamboozle.Homesbuiltinthis

regionwillgainahigherprofitthanhomesbuiltintheLatin

Americanregionandthereforewewillalsocommunicate

thatbypurchasingahomebuiltbyBamboozle,apercentage

oftheprofitsfromtheirhomegotohelpfinanceaportion

ofahomeinLatinAmericaforfamiliesandindividualsinneed.

IntheLatinAmericanregion,wehavemoreofadirectmarketingstrategy.In

ordertoaccuratelycommunicatethebenefitsthatourcompanyisoffering,wewill

besendingamarketingteamtotownsandvillagestospeakoneononewiththecommunitiesaboutourhousingstructures.Inanefforttoenterthemarket,insome

villageswewillbuildstructuresthatwillbedonatedtothecommunitysuchas

communitycenters,placesofworship,orbasicshelters.Wearealsoplanningon

partneringwithlocalgovernmentsinordertocreatealargermarketingimpactwith

5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantation6http://www.bambooflooring.co.nz/index.php?page=hardness

FloorPlanofaBambooHome

BambooFlooring


7/8

ourmessage.WefeelthatthefamiliesandindividualsinLatinAmericathatarein

needofhousingwillhaveagreaterunderstandingofthequalityandbeautyof

bamboohousingiftheyareabletoexperienceoneforthemselves.Thisnotion,

coupledwiththeideaofaffordabilitywillallowustogainalargepercentageofthe

marketintheregion.

4c.DistributionandTransport

IntheLatinAmericanregion,thelackofinfrastructure(roads,warehouses,

andcommunicationsystems)willnotaffectBamboozlenegativelybecausethese

manydifferentspeciesofbambooarenativetothisregion.Theresourceswillnot

needtobetransportedveryfar.Becauseenvironmentalsustainabilityisimportant

toBamboozlewearededicatedtoresearchinganddevelopingthemosteffective

waystotransportanddistributeresourcesforourbuildingprojectsviashipsand

trucks.Wearealsoplanningonacquiringlandinwhichtoplantbambooinareas

thatarenotasaccessible.

5. Financial OverviewThemaincoststhatwewillbeincurringinBamboozleatstartupare:

Purchasingorobtainingalongtermleaseoflandtostartdevelopmentinourownrenewableplantations

ThecostsinacquiringateamofbuildersinbothEuropeandLatinAmerica Contractingasmallteamofarchitectsandengineerstodevelopaportfolioof

kitsethousesforsaleinLatinAmericaandadjustablekitsethomesand

chaletsforsaleinEurope.

SecuringasupplyofacceptableGuaduaforuseinthefirst3yearsofoperation

PurchaseofmachinerytomillandtreatthebambooOngoingCostswillbe:

Wagestobuilders Bambooforthefirst36years Maintenanceonthebamboo LegalExpensesandMarketAdvice.Thisisimportantaswewillbedealing

withtwocompletelyseparatemarketsandlegalsystems,wewillrequire

adviceandcollaborationofspecificstrategieswithlocallegalandadvertising

agencies.

Treatmentofbamboo PremiserentalinbothLatinAmericaandEurope Transportationofbambooandemployeecosts CostofdonatedhousesinLatinAmerica


8/8

OurRevenueswillbethesaleofhousesinLatinAmericaandEuropetobegin

with,however,onceplantationsareestablishedintheselocations,wewillbeableto

diversifyintofurthercountriesandareasofthecountrieswearealready

establishedin.Whiletransportationcostswillrise,wewillbeabletogainextra

saleswithagreaterserviceareatocoverthis.

Asyoucansee,thisventurewillpresentchallenges,however,willquicklybecomeprofitable,andasourprofitabilityrises,wewillbeabletoincreaseour

philanthropicdonationsinColombia,andalsoothercountriesincentralAmerica.

Hereisanstudyofourprofitability:

team 59 report

Documents