QuestionsCan you describe how David and Rachel proceeded to find their blue ocean in 2009? (150 words)Their blue ocean seems to have shrunk with the with the coming of the Great Recession, what advice would you give them to find another? (150 words ) David & Rachel were pioneers of local online produce sellingDavid Thomas was born in the fishing village of Las Cuevas in north Trinidad. Hisgrandfather and father were fishermen, and he wanted to break the cycle. Rachel Renie was bornin Port-of-Spain to parents of humble means and wanted to work with the United Nations. Whilethey had different dreams, they ended up creating Trinidad's first online business sellingperishables. How did they do?When Rachel finished school, she was hired by Republic Bank and met David in 2001. "Hewould travel up to Paramin late at nights after work and pick up seasonings," remembers Rachel.David found a small market at the bank and would buy fish from Las Cuevas and process it. Racheljoined David for the fun of it.Rachel left for studies in 2004 and told her parents she was going to study medicine. Shecould not tell them her actual plan was to study international relations, do odd jobs and workpart-time since her parents' money ran out. She had become like David, a hustler.While at college, Rachel got a call from David, who now had left the bank, and he wantedsome advice from her. David wanted to buy a boat. "David, just do it", recalls Rachel when he washesitant. His intention was for his father to work the vessel, and he would market the catch. Thingslooked good, but the boat started leaking badly, and David had to abandon his plans.One night in the mosque, David was encouraged by a friend to get into farming inAranguez. His friend put up the land, and he would contribute the capital for planting cucumbers.Their first crop was destroyed by disease, and David was almost broke. He decided to get into2construction in 2007 and made some money, but his heart was in farming. He returned toAranguez and tried his hand at lettuce, and he enjoyed success. "Every time I called, David seemedto be in different professions; fisherman, farmer....," remembers Rachel.David was not happy selling produce wholesale, but he was not keen on retail either. Helpondered about selling to the final customer as he and Rachel did at the bank. David would dropoff the order forms in the morning and collect them later. "Having worked at a bank, youunderstand the importance of forms," says David with a smile. But things weren't going so wellfor our founding entrepreneurs with this "form" system. The forms had to be dropped off andpicked up, and sometimes the documents weren't distributed, so sales were low.In 2008, David's mentor was back and armed with a degree in international relations. Shewas job hunting but had the time to do what she liked, running around with David. Rachel wasquick to spot the inefficiency of the direct-to-customer model that David had invented. Havinglived in New York City, she was exposed to electronic ways of selling. Rachel told David theyneeded to sell through the internet and over the phone. This strategy would take the hassle outof the current system. Rachel used her credit card and purchased a domain name for US$10(www.dmarketmovers.com), and so abandoned her career plans. They developed their websiteand were ready to go.In January 2009 copreneurs, Rachel and David decided to look for finance to start theirventure. The first company told them they needed to wait until they hired a business analyst,which would take three months. Feeling discouraged, they were told about the Youth Business ofTrinidad and Tobago (YBTT) and submitted their business plan for $30,000.They presented to a loan panel at YBTT, and the process was grueling. The panel wasimpressed with their unique business model but only approved $10,000. Looking back, David andRachel were not disappointed. "It was the best thing that happened for us, as we learnt toseparate needs from wants," remarked Rachel. YBTT had questioned the practicality of someaspects of their business.In the beginning, the going was tough. In March 2009, Market Movers was launched andthey operated from Rachel parent's home. Help came again from YBTT when they were featuredin their newsletter. An Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) official saw the write-up andrecommended them to several foreign workers. "They were skeptical about the site as theythought it could be a scam," recalls Rachel. These were home-makers and wives of workers fromdiverse origins; Portugal, Argentina, Italy, South Africa, etc.3The process was orders come in by 8.00 pm, and they would accumulate them and rushout at 2.00 am to the Port-of-Spain wholesale market. Overdressed Rachel and David had toconvince the wholesalers to sell them since their initial volumes were retail in size. At 4.00 am,they would sort out the orders per customer to start delivery at 8.00 am. They used a relative'svan to go to the market, and Rachel later got her mother to purchase a used car. To make it work,they would target the east-west corridor and limit customer orders to over $50.Their car was unreliable, and they got lost frequently. The passion for the business wastheir motivation. They worked almost around the clock, and when David was driving, Rachelwould take a nap (or eat) and switch as they went along. By delivering and being in the customer'sface, they learnt a lot about what they wanted. Many wanted unconventional herbs like Basil,Mint and Rosemary.Enter the Great Recession of 2008. The world was entering a deep downturn triggered bya financial crisis. Many foreign companies were forced to cut their expenditure and many ex-patshad to return to their homeland.Since 50% of their customers were foreign, it resulted in a sharp 20% decline in sales. Theyfaced a significant threat to what seems to be a successful business model. The current revenuewas below their break-even position, and they knew they must consider changing either theirbusiness model or their strategy.David and Rachel must now do some creative problem solving of their own if they are tosurvive. Market Movers founders never planned for this eventuality. They both must havepondered whether this was a good time to start a venture.

Question

QuestionsCan you describe how David and Rachel proceeded to find their blue ocean in 2009? (150 words)Their blue ocean seems to have shrunk with the with the coming of the Great Recession, what advice would you give them to find another? (150 words ) David & Rachel were pioneers of local online produce sellingDavid Thomas was born in the fishing village of Las Cuevas in north Trinidad. Hisgrandfather and father were fishermen, and he wanted to break the cycle. Rachel Renie was bornin Port-of-Spain to parents of humble means and wanted to work with the United Nations. Whilethey had different dreams, they ended up creating Trinidad's first online business sellingperishables. How did they do?When Rachel finished school, she was hired by Republic Bank and met David in 2001. &#34;Hewould travel up to Paramin late at nights after work and pick up seasonings,&#34; remembers Rachel.David found a small market at the bank and would buy fish from Las Cuevas and process it. Racheljoined David for the fun of it.Rachel left for studies in 2004 and told her parents she was going to study medicine. Shecould not tell them her actual plan was to study international relations, do odd jobs and workpart-time since her parents' money ran out. She had become like David, a hustler.While at college, Rachel got a call from David, who now had left the bank, and he wantedsome advice from her. David wanted to buy a boat. &#34;David, just do it&#34;, recalls Rachel when he washesitant. His intention was for his father to work the vessel, and he would market the catch. Thingslooked good, but the boat started leaking badly, and David had to abandon his plans.One night in the mosque, David was encouraged by a friend to get into farming inAranguez. His friend put up the land, and he would contribute the capital for planting cucumbers.Their first crop was destroyed by disease, and David was almost broke. He decided to get into2construction in 2007 and made some money, but his heart was in farming. He returned toAranguez and tried his hand at lettuce, and he enjoyed success. &#34;Every time I called, David seemedto be in different professions; fisherman, farmer....,&#34; remembers Rachel.David was not happy selling produce wholesale, but he was not keen on retail either. Helpondered about selling to the final customer as he and Rachel did at the bank. David would dropoff the order forms in the morning and collect them later. &#34;Having worked at a bank, youunderstand the importance of forms,&#34; says David with a smile. But things weren't going so wellfor our founding entrepreneurs with this &#34;form&#34; system. The forms had to be dropped off andpicked up, and sometimes the documents weren't distributed, so sales were low.In 2008, David's mentor was back and armed with a degree in international relations. Shewas job hunting but had the time to do what she liked, running around with David. Rachel wasquick to spot the inefficiency of the direct-to-customer model that David had invented. Havinglived in New York City, she was exposed to electronic ways of selling. Rachel told David theyneeded to sell through the internet and over the phone. This strategy would take the hassle outof the current system. Rachel used her credit card and purchased a domain name for US$10(www.dmarketmovers.com), and so abandoned her career plans. They developed their websiteand were ready to go.In January 2009 copreneurs, Rachel and David decided to look for finance to start theirventure. The first company told them they needed to wait until they hired a business analyst,which would take three months. Feeling discouraged, they were told about the Youth Business ofTrinidad and Tobago (YBTT) and submitted their business plan for $30,000.They presented to a loan panel at YBTT, and the process was grueling. The panel wasimpressed with their unique business model but only approved $10,000. Looking back, David andRachel were not disappointed. &#34;It was the best thing that happened for us, as we learnt toseparate needs from wants,&#34; remarked Rachel. YBTT had questioned the practicality of someaspects of their business.In the beginning, the going was tough. In March 2009, Market Movers was launched andthey operated from Rachel parent's home. Help came again from YBTT when they were featuredin their newsletter. An Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) official saw the write-up andrecommended them to several foreign workers. &#34;They were skeptical about the site as theythought it could be a scam,&#34; recalls Rachel. These were home-makers and wives of workers fromdiverse origins; Portugal, Argentina, Italy, South Africa, etc.3The process was orders come in by 8.00 pm, and they would accumulate them and rushout at 2.00 am to the Port-of-Spain wholesale market. Overdressed Rachel and David had toconvince the wholesalers to sell them since their initial volumes were retail in size. At 4.00 am,they would sort out the orders per customer to start delivery at 8.00 am. They used a relative'svan to go to the market, and Rachel later got her mother to purchase a used car. To make it work,they would target the east-west corridor and limit customer orders to over $50.Their car was unreliable, and they got lost frequently. The passion for the business wastheir motivation. They worked almost around the clock, and when David was driving, Rachelwould take a nap (or eat) and switch as they went along. By delivering and being in the customer'sface, they learnt a lot about what they wanted. Many wanted unconventional herbs like Basil,Mint and Rosemary.Enter the Great Recession of 2008. The world was entering a deep downturn triggered bya financial crisis. Many foreign companies were forced to cut their expenditure and many ex-patshad to return to their homeland.Since 50% of their customers were foreign, it resulted in a sharp 20% decline in sales. Theyfaced a significant threat to what seems to be a successful business model. The current revenuewas below their break-even position, and they knew they must consider changing either theirbusiness model or their strategy.David and Rachel must now do some creative problem solving of their own if they are tosurvive. Market Movers founders never planned for this eventuality. They both must havepondered whether this was a good time to start a venture.

Accepted Answer

The Blue ocean strategy is the combination of differentiation and low cost at the same time to…

Can you describe how David and Rachel proceeded to find their blue ocean in 2009? (150 words) Their blue ocean seems to have shrunk with the with the coming of the Great Recession, what advice would you give them to find another? (150 words )