Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship CIA 3 Feasibility Analysis submitted in partial fulfilment

of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration

By

Sam Benedict M

2127730

Under the Guidance of

Prof. Elangovan

School of Business and Management

CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), BANGALORE
JANUARY 2023

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 Hydracomfort-comfort at your place
Feasibility analysis
Problem:
India is the second highest populated country in the world and first in terms of
youth population. When it comes to travel even after the cash flow has
increased among Indians, still majority of the urban and rural population prefer
bus and train as the mode of travel. So as youth population is higher, definitely
in future there will also be an equal number of senior citizens. There won’t be
enough space to accommodate all senior citizens in bus and trains as they can’t
climb and sit in the upper seat of the berth system. This also applies to people
who are obese. So mostly they prefer car travel apart from people who can
afford for flight. High usage of cars can lead to air pollution. When many use
individual transport instead of preferring common transport air pollution can’t
be controlled
Opportunities:

• Sustainability and global health were some of the key concepts of

discussion in G20 summit in which now India has also claimed presidency. So
adopting a business which is focused on sustainability as a indirect benefit will
definitely be a opportunity for the business growth

• Adopting a business model to support a problem that arises because of

population increase in which the model helps those population will definitely be
a profitable venture for the business investors

• Majority Indian people’s mindset or sometimes the taboo that flights are
costlier is one of the opportunity for our business

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• With these opportunities when we do the right pitching we can definitely
conquer all the travel agencies in India which is a huge opportunity

Market gap:
• There are only ladders in trains and buses to climb the upper berth which
is really difficult for senior citizens and obese people

• People can opt for flight travel but still majority of Indians prefer bus and
train as the mode of transport. So there is a gap to accommodate seniors in
upper berth with alternate technology

• There is a lot of youth population and hence in future senior citizen

population will also arise.

• So there is no technology to accommodate them in upper berth with ease.

• Senior citizens coach is there in trains but again it can support only on
short term. When senior population breaches the limit definitely we senior
citizens birth can’t help. So obese and senior citizens in general prefer private
transport over buses and trains and our business idea fills this gap using
Hydracomfort
Problem solving: Hydraulic berth- B2B business
In order to solve this problem I have a business idea to devise a product
called hydraulic berth system. This comprises of hydraulically operated seats
one above the other connected by a piston in hydraulic cylinder which can be
remote operated by moving to and fro. Once the piston starts operating the
upper berth moves down. The senior citizens or obese people can get in the
couch and once they get in then the piston can be operates again which pushes

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the seat up. This solves the problem of accommodating senior citizens in buses
and trains

Hydraulic berth features:

• Mechanically operated piston connecting the upper and lower berth
which combines all the features of what you need for a travel berth
• Button(just like a treadmill hydraulic operator) which can be used to go
up and get down
• Manual closet at the sides just to ensure that the customer sleeps without
the fear of falling down
• The closet is made with enough potholes such that there is no suffocation
during travel
• A striking bell which the senior citizen can use at any time which alerts
his/her accompanied person to help him/her with medicines, water, food or any
other help

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Strength of the Business Idea:
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Extent to which the idea takes advantage of an environmental trend, Solves
a problem and addresses an unfilled gap in the marketplace:
This is a strong and high potential criteria because India has the highest
younger population and also the recent survey showed that India’s population
has crossed china’s population. So with the presence of younger population
there is a good chance of the future in India to have a high amount of senior
citizens. The problem of climbing ladders for senior citizens and obese people
in order to get into the berth in trains and buses can be solved with the help of
the hydraulic mechanism. Still there is no alternate for ladders in the market
space. Another environmental aspect is the pollution as climate change is one of
the important topics that was discussed in the G20 summit in which India is also
a member. People preferring individual transport over a common transport will
not be advisable in the future as it causes pollution. So if senior citizens don’t
find enough comfortable seating in buses and trains they will definitely prefer
cars. So to accommodate large no. of senior citizens in buses and trains in
future, hydraulic operated birth in bus and trains is a good business idea.
Timeliness of entry to market:
As far the timeliness is concerned this product is moderately timely as it is
destined mostly for the future keeping in mind the conversion of the large youth
population of the word into senior citizens as the main target group. The next
target is the people who are obese. So during travel in buses and trains they
mostly prefer buses with hydraulic facility more and hence it will be easy to
pitch in to the transport companies who are our customers that is involved in
trains and buses in the future. This is also done because India currently
addressed climate change in the G20 council and hence it will support such
initiatives as they reduce private transports in the future that causes pollution.

Extent to which the idea “adds value” for its buyer or end user:

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 This factor is definitely in high scale because it reduces the body stress while
climbing the ladder or the danger of falling while climbing or getting down for
senior citizens and obese people. This on the whole adds value to our indirect
beneficiaries customers by providing a safe and comfortable travel which can
make them opt for hydraulic berth which on the whole attract our primary
customers who are the transport sector business holders as they function
according to their customers demand

Extent to which the customer is satisfied by competing products that are

already available:
Though our primary customer is the transport department their preference
depend on their passengers from the senior citizens and the obese people. But
from observation methodology I found that senior citizens and obese people are
currently not been satisfied with the ladder mechanism that is used for climbing
the berth as they find it difficult to cope up with.In passengers only these 2
category people come under not very satisfied label because the other sectors
find no issue with climbing the ladder.But since our passenger base is mainly
these 2 sectors we are not considering the other sectors.

Degree to which the idea requires customers to change their basic practices
or behaviours:
This new mechanism require very Moderate changes required for customers as
they need to know the lever buttons used to operate the hydraulic seats and to
operate the striking bell for any emergencies. This is applicable for both
primary and secondary customers.
As far as primary customers alone they also need to do regular maintenance of
the pistons as suggested by the design engineers and manufacturers

PART 1:Strength of the Business Idea

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 Low Potential Moderate Potential High Potential

Extent to which the idea:

• Takes advantage of an Weak Moderate Strong
environmental trend
• Solves a problem
• Addresses an unfilled gap
in the marketplace

Timeliness of entry to market Not Timely Moderately Timely Very Timely

Extent to which the idea “adds Low Medium High

value” for its buyer or end user

Extent to which the customer is Very Satisfied Moderately Not very satisfied
satisfied by competing products Satisfied or ambivalent
that are already available

Degree to which the idea Substantial Moderate changes Small to no

requires customers to change Changes required required changes required
their basic practices or
behaviours

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PART 2:Industry Related issues
Low Potential Moderate Potential High Potential
Number of Competitors Many Few None
Stage of Industry Life cycle Maturity phase or Growth phase Emergence phase
decline phase
Growth rate of industry Little or no Moderate Growth Strong growth
growth
Importance of industry’s products “Ambivalent” “Would like to have” “Must have”
and/or services to customers
Industry Operating Margins Low Moderate High

Number of competitors:
As far as hydraulic berth is concerned it falls under disruptive innovation in
travel industry as no one has experimented upon it and it also addresses a
problem. Hence there are no competitors for the product. It purely depends upon
the people’s acceptability and the economics to install it.
Stages of industry life cycle:
Travel industry is one of the industry that is always in growth phase as far as the
population increases. Hence the industry is highly profitable as far as done by
qualitative analysis.
Growth rate of industry:
As mentioned previously travel in india is on a constant growth rate after a
slight dip during covid. Revenue in the Travel & Tourism market is projected to
reach US$18.91bn in 2023. Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate
(CAGR 2023-2027) of 13.47%, resulting in a projected market volume of
US$31.35bn by 2027.

Importance of industry’s products and/or services to customers:

As far as travel industry is concerned seating is the very important aspect for
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long travels and the leisure of any travel depends upon the comfort of the
seat.So as our innovation is primarily focused on increasing customer comfort I
see it as a very important aspect to the customers.So they must have the
comfort level in seats and it is further enhanced for senior citizens and obese
people with the help of the hydraulic berth system.
Industry Operating Margins:
The industry operating margins would be initially moderate as the cost of
setting is higher and there is also a need for the maintenance of hydraulic
pistons and striking gears but as customer preference starts and the senior
citizen base increases this seating will definitely fall under high profit zone.
This is more possible when it is test runned at some selected transports and
based on the feedback from the customers we can design it more ergonomically
to be customer centric such that the operating margin helps more in wealth
maximization for the company.
PART 3:Target Market and Customer Related Issues
Low Potential Moderate Potential High Potential
Identification of the target market Difficult to May be able to Identified
for the proposed new venture identify identify
Ability to create “barriers to Unable to create May or may not be Can create
entry” for potential competitors able to create
Purchasing power of customers Low Moderate High
Ease of making customers aware Low Moderate High
of the new product or service
Growth potential of target market Low Moderate High

Analysis
Identification of the target market for the proposed new venture

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 The target market is the transport sector in which the selected transports are
trains and buses. The population selected are senior citizens and obese people
who prefer this mode of transport.

Ability to create “barriers to entry” for potential competitors

Oto industry, prakash body construction company and Oscar enterprises are
some of the top seat manufacturers in india. But they doesn’t follow this
innovation as it is disruptive. But they can easily prototype this in the near
future as hydraulic mechanism is easy to devise for anyone.So itz unable to
create barriers for potential competitors.

Purchasing power of customers

When the product is initially launched it will definitely be of high price as it
takes time to get accepted by all and democratized. But as time goes on when
the product attracts more customers there are high chances for the product’s
price to get reduced to a greater margin. So I will rate it under moderate
category.
Ease of making customers aware of the new product or service
As travel has become one of the important aspects of every human being
travel industry is always more flashy than other industries and hence making
this product more aware among customers is more easier when compared to any
other products
Growth potential of target market
Senior citizens who are the main target market is of high chance to grow in the
future than at present because India currently has the largest young population
in the world and hence the senior population will also be more high in the
future.So it is easy for the business to attain a growth state.

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Founder’s experience in the industry:(No experience)
I have no experience in the industry.Itz only through observation
methodology.

Founder skills as they relate to the proposed new ventures product or

service:(moderate skills)
Since im from a mechanical bg I have few knowledge on the functioning of
hydraulic piston and this will add value to the design.
Extent of founder’s professional and social networks in the relevant
industry:(Moderate)
Since im from a mechanical backdrop I have networking among design and
manufacturing engineers from various organizations and hence it will be a
added value while proposing my design.

Extent to which the proposed new venture meets the founder or founders

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personal goals and aspirations:(Moderate)
Being a obese guy I find it difficult to climb the upper berth during travel.So
I always longed for a mechanism that is easier to climb the berth.So I aspired to
design such a business proposal and hydracomfort is a byproduct of it.So I
consider it as a personal goal

Likelihood that a team can be put together to launch and grow the new
venture(Very likely)
Because the product needs a dedicated RND, design, manufacturing, production,
fitting, feedback collection and service team. Hence the likelihood that a team can be
put together to launch and grow the new venture

PART 5:Financial issues

Low Potential Moderate Potential High Potential
Initial Capital Investment High Moderate Low
Number of Revenue drivers (ways in One Two to three More than three
which the company makes money)
Time to break even More than two One to two years Less than one
years year
Financial performance of similar Weak Modest Strong
business
Ability to fund initial product Low Moderate High
development expenses from personal
funds or via bootstrapping.

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Initial Capital Investment:

The initial capital investment would be definitely bomb as the idea is a

disruptive innovation and hence it needs heavy RND, design, manufacturing,
production, processing, installation, services, land, machinery, raw materials
and manpower(skilled/skilled/unskilled)

RND:

The research for the best ergonomic design of hydraulic operated berth comes
under RND and it needs a lot of time to come up with a new idea

Design:

Design phase is where the product design is softwared and we get the apt
manufacturing model for the setup

Manufacturing & Production:

Manufacturing refers to the conversion of raw materials into seater parts and
production department involves final production and assembling of the products

Installation is the service stage where the parts are been dispatched and are
been installed in the transport vehicles.

Maintenance is the sub service stage of this product. Land machinery, Raw
materials are viable for the business to run.

Skilled labour to involve in Human resource department, purchase, marketing.

Sales, RND, design, manufacturing, production, installation and services

Semiskilled labour for floor and processing equipment maintenance and

facility maintenance

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Unskilled labour for Security, Janitors ,office maintenance and other blue
collar works

Number of Revenue drivers (ways in which the company makes money)

Sales, installation and services are the 3 ways through which the company can
make money.

Time to break even:

Since the model is disruptive and more future oriented the initial attraction and
viability of the product will take longer time than expected and hence the time
to breakeven may sometimes be more than 3 years.

Financial performance of similar business

Since hydraulic berth in buses and train in india is a disruptive model there are
no similar businesses to it. But the most near business would be the traditional
ladder based berth and it is of higher performance as population is high and to
accommodate them production of public vechicles are continuously increased.
Hence it is strong.

Ability to fund initial product development expenses from personal funds

or via bootstrapping.

Since the initial setup is very high the fund initial product development
expenses from personal funds or via bootstrapping is merely impossible.

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Financial breakup chart

PART 6:Overall potential:

Strength of the business idea-High potential

Industry Related Issues-High potential

Target Market and Customer Related Issues-High potential

Founder Related Issues-Moderate potential

Suggestions for improving the potential:By upskilling with respect to the

industry both technically and non technically and also by networking in the
particular industry

Financial Issues-Low potential

Suggestions for improving the potential:By pitching into venture capitalists

and industrial banks which invest for idea and give loan for ideas respectively.

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Overall Assessment-Moderate potential

Summary:

This disruptive model business idea can be categorized as a moderate potential

business as it is more futuristic and it takes time to get set in the market.But
once the stability is been achieved there will be huge turnovers from the product
and it can be profitable to the business.

Conclusion:

The concept of hydraulic berth can be the viable business idea, but it depends
on the various factors such as the availability of the resources, the regulation of
the place for the handing and also the demand of the people and also availability
of the interested people who are interested to opt for this disruptive innovation.
As discussed previously it can be not only useful for senior citizens and obese
people but it also supports for the environmental safety of India as it can
accommodate more people in a common transport. This business has to be
carefully devised as transport seater is one of the competitive industry.It will not
only be a profitable venture for us but also for our primary customers who are in
transport industry as this system helps senior citizens and obese people opt for
buses and trains who initially dont opt for these.This increases the demand for
transport industry and they start preferring our products.

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References:

 https://www.livemint.com/industry/travel-market-in-india-projected-to-reach-125-
billion-by-fy27-ficci-11657182309901.html
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_India
 https://www.livemint.com/news/india/how-to-book-confirmed-lower-berth-for-
senior-citizens-in-indian-railways-irctc-explains-11663917206125.html#:~:text=to
%20the%20needy.%22-,According%20to%20the%20rules%2Cin%20all%20trains
%20having%20reserved%20sleeping,and%20above%20and%20pregnant%20women
 https://whyps.com/hydraulic-system-components-and-their-functions
 https://www.tescaglobal.com/blog/what-is-hydraulic-system-and-how-does-it-work/
 https://www.coachbuildersindia.com/2021/01/everything-you-need-to-know-about-
sleeper-buses-in-india.html
 http://www.trainspread.com/india/indian-train-seat-types/

 https://dir.indiamart.com/impcat/bus-seats.html

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