1. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of Jonathan Miller and Element Bars.
Strengths
Strengths
Jonathan Miller is the founder and owner of the company called Element Bars. He has a professional background in venture capital, which means that he has experience with entrepreneurial endeavors and they risk they entail. Miller has successfully started other businesses in the past, beginning his entrepreneurial career in 1999. The skills he gained during these endeavors has won him a widely-recognized business plan award, as well as the money to start Element Bars. Miller has impressive entrepreneurial acumen, presentation skills, and negotiation skills. He is incredibly passionate about Element Bars, and believes strongly in the potential
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The company’s business model is comprised of 80% sales from online orders from individual customers, and 20% from wholesale orders from corporate customers such as gyms, hotels, spas, and wellness centers. Individual customers generally buy one to three dozen bars at a time, while the corporate customers tend to buy in bulk then resell the co-branded bar. (Element Bars, n.d.) Currently, there are very few competitors in the energy bar market that offer the same unique value proposition as Element Bars. As Miller points out in the case, there are few companies that are able to produce at the small (individual) scale that his company can.
One of the first options that an entrepreneur will explore for financing is debt, usually through a bank loan. Before appearing on Shark Tank, Miller applied for a $40,000 business loan, but was rejected. Another financing option is a line of credit, but this can be costly as a result of fees and interest payments. For either of these options, Element Bars would almost always be rejected because the company has very little assets or collateral.
Venture capital is another option for a start-up business, however, these types of companies tend to invest more in high-growth potential companies like those in the technology industry. Miller could also approach his corporate customers with a proposal for their investment. He could offer interest in his company in exchange for capital. (Shein, 2011)
Miller could also look to his family
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The first step to starting a business is to create a business plan. A business plan is a document that outlines the overall strategies of a new venture and how those strategies will be implemented (Ebert &
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The energy bar market grew from a grass roots effort focused on the consumer base of performance athletes. These athletes usually obtained products at competitive events that were geared towards the everyday consumer. The build up of this market is attributed to PowerBar, but there was significant contribution from others.
To emphasize the need to have a well-developed business plan if one expects to move beyond the “embryonic stage” of a new business
An opportunity exists for the firm to venture into new product lines like energy drinks and other culinary applications.
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