Date Help Business Plan: Entrepreneurship & Commercialisation Strategy

This business plan outlines the strategy for Date Help, a blind dating company designed to connect single individuals in major Australian cities like Melbourne and Sydney. The company aims to provide a platform for busy professionals to interact, offering competitive pricing, matchmaking services, and post-match support. The plan details the company's mission, vision, background, products, target market (20-45 year olds), and competitive advantages such as a refund policy for unsuccessful matches. It includes a SWOT and PESTLE analysis, market segmentation, key performance indicators, pricing models, and marketing channels. The operations plan covers sourcing, personnel, and financial projections, including break-even analysis, profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, forecasting sales growth and profitability within the first five years.

Running head: BUSINESS PLAN
Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation
[Date Help]
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
1.0: Executive Summary............................................................................................................4
1.1: Mission and vision..........................................................................................................4
1.2: Background.....................................................................................................................4
1.3: Products and services......................................................................................................5
1.4: Market.............................................................................................................................5
1.5: Competitive advantage....................................................................................................6
1.6: Capabilities......................................................................................................................6
1.7: Objectives........................................................................................................................6
1.8: Strategy...........................................................................................................................7
1.9: Management team...........................................................................................................7
2.0: Background and market analysis........................................................................................8
3.0: Product or service..............................................................................................................10
3.1: Description....................................................................................................................10
3.2: Competitive analysis.....................................................................................................11
3.3: Value proposition..........................................................................................................12
3.4: Business level strategy..................................................................................................13
4.0: Environment analysis........................................................................................................14
4.1: SWOT Analysis............................................................................................................14
4.2: PESTLE Analysis.........................................................................................................15
5.0: Market analysis.................................................................................................................17
5.1.0: Market........................................................................................................................17

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5.1.1: Market segmentation..................................................................................................17
5.1.2: Key performance Indicators.......................................................................................18
5.1.3: Service Range............................................................................................................19
5.1.4: Service Developmental Stage....................................................................................19
5.1.5: Service innovation......................................................................................................20
5.1.6: Intellectual property...................................................................................................20
5.1.7: Product standardization..............................................................................................21
5.1.8: Insurance....................................................................................................................21
5.1.9: Action Plan.................................................................................................................21
5.2: Pricing...........................................................................................................................22
5.2.1: Pricing model.........................................................................................................22
5.2.2: Competitor pricing.................................................................................................23
5.2.3: Distribution and Sales............................................................................................23
5.2.4: Marketing channels................................................................................................25
5.3.1: Purchase process........................................................................................................25
5.3.2: Sales support..............................................................................................................26
5.3.3: Systems......................................................................................................................26
5.4: Promotion and strategy.................................................................................................27
6.0: Operations plan.................................................................................................................27
6.1: Sourcing........................................................................................................................27
7.0: Personnel plan...................................................................................................................30

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7.1: Organization chart.........................................................................................................32
8.0: Financial plan....................................................................................................................34
8.1: Statement Summary......................................................................................................34
8.2: Break-even Analysis.....................................................................................................34
8.3: Profit and Loss statement..............................................................................................35
8.4: Balance Sheet................................................................................................................35
8.5: Cash Flow statement.....................................................................................................37
Reference List..........................................................................................................................38

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1.0: Executive Summary
Date Help will be a blind dating company that will help the single males and females
that are present in an area to interact with each other based on the certain attributes that will
be filled out by them in the form. The company will be based in Australia and will provide its
services in major cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, as most of the residents in the area
are busy with work and will provide a platform for them to interact with the opposite gender.
The company will be managed by a team of three owners who will be sharing the profits and
losses in an equal manner.
1.1: Mission and vision
The mission statement for the company will be to introduce the females and males
within a short period of time so that they can be familiar with each other. This will help in
increasing the level of publicity on the company platform. It will also aim to provide the
services at a reasonable price and increase the level of satisfaction towards the customers at
the same time.
The vision of the company will be divided in to two sections where firstly the
company will try to establish its platform in the tourism sector, mobile application and
television as well. Secondly, it will try to provide the platform so that the matches can be
increased.
1.2: Background
In the recent scenario, it can be seen that the lives of the young people has narrowed
down and they are mostly focussed on their work. This has led to the decrease in the
diversified styles of their social lives (Scarborough 2016). Most of the urban residents have a
fast-paced life and get very less time to interact with each other. This has led to a life of
loneliness among them. The use of the online dating platforms will help the people to find

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their perfect matches, as most of them are hooked on the internet and will be easy for them in
operating it (Burns and Dewhurst 2016).
The online dating platforms has been in existence for a long period of time and has
been used up by different countries as well. It has also helped many people to get long-time
partners and has been living together as well. The traditional matchmaking platforms was
hectic and with the use of internet, it has helped in making the interface user-friendly in
nature. The online platforms also provides courses to the people who are inexperienced so
that it can help in finding their ideal matches at a faster rate (Blank 2013).
1.3: Products and services
The services that are mostly provided by the online dating platforms is that it helps
the user in providing their own details so that it can be viewed by the opposite gender and get
a valuable opinion about their partner. The services will be custom made so that it can cater
to the various needs of the customers (Schaper et al. 2014).
The unique feature of Date Help that will be offered to the clients are as follows:
 Competitive pricing packages so that it can increase the number of subscribers
towards the company
 The package will cover the entire cost of matchmaking and setting up the couples for
the first few dates
 It will also provide support to the couples after they have been matched (McKeever
2016)
1.4: Market
The company will be targeting two segments of customers that is people belonging to
the age range of 20-34 years and the other section being 35-45 years. It will cater to the needs
of the younger people, which will help in increasing the growth rate of the company by 10

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percent on an annual basis. The other age group will help in increasing the rate of growth by
5 percent on an annual manner and together it will help in attracting more than 100,000
customers. This will help the company in increasing its opportunity in the market by a great
extent (Wentzensen and Wacholder 2013).
1.5: Competitive advantage
The company will be providing the services at a lower price so that it can help in
attracting more number of customers as subscribers. The customers will be provided with an
interactive platform so that they can chat with their partners in a proper manner and get to
know more about them (England 2013). Another major competitive advantage for the
company will be that the subscription amount that will be taken up from the customers will
be returned if they do not find their perfect match. This will be analysed when the customers
will claim for a refund based on the understanding that they have created with the opposite
gender. It will also provide excellent services to the customers so that they can be loyal
towards the company and increase the number of subscribers as well (Jones and Penaluna
2013).
1.6: Capabilities
The company will be capable to achieve its profits by providing efficient services to
the customers through user-friendly platform. This is due to the fact that the base of
customers will increase to a great extent. The marketing of the company will be done in a
strong manner so that the services that are being provided can gain the maximum reach
among the customers. The operations of the company will be moderate in nature, as it will
help in increasing the level of efficiency on the online interface. The financial aspect for the
company will also be strong, as there will be many subscribers to the company to find their
perfect matches (Ward 2016).

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1.7: Objectives
The main objective of the company will be as follows:
 To be the best dating company in the major Australian cities by providing user-
friendly services
 To increase its success rate by at least 50 percent in the Australian market by ensuring
that the relationship with the client can be long-term
 It will also realise the level of efficiency that can be gained from the assistance of the
computers in services related to matchmaking
1.8: Strategy
The marketing strategy of the company will be to negotiate with the internet service
providers so that they can get a cheaper rate. It will also increase its level of marketing in the
major locations so that the business can be promoted efficiently. The operations plan will
help the company in ensuring that the skilled employees can be hired that will increase the
utility of the firm. The finance of the company will be divided in a proper manner so that the
amount can be divided in to major sections that will result in increasing the level of profit
(Brinckmann and Kim 2015).
1.9: Management team
The company will be managed by three partners who have a better level of skills in
managing different types of projects. They also have experience from other top companies,
which has enabled them in setting up their new company. The use of the right skills has
helped them in making the interface user-friendly in nature so that it can help in increasing
the level of level of interaction among the customers through the online dating platform (Ross
and Byrd 2015).

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The company has forecasted its sales to be rising in the first five years of its
implementation and higher amount of profits will be earned from the second year. It will also
provide an excellent platform for the local companies to join the company so that it can
increase the rate of attraction in the market.
2.0: Background and market analysis
The company Date Help will be formed in 2018 as a start-up company by the
entrepreneurs. It is being done with a view of providing a platform for the single males and
females to come together so that they can find a perfect match. This venture will be started in
Melbourne and will operate in different major cities such as Sydney as well. The idea of this
venture was started due to the latest technologies that are available that will help in setting up
of the business. It will also help in strengthening the bonds between the opposite genders who
have been single for a longer period of time (Gately and Cunningham 2014).
The milestones for the company will be as follows:
 A loan of $50,000 AUD will be taken from a leading financial institution so that it can
help the business to be started
 The office for the business will be rented at an amount of $5000 in January 2018
 Employees will be hired in the company based on the technical knowledge from
February 2018
 The operations manager will be hired in the month of February 2018
 The company will be purchasing a car for $10,000 so that the transportation facilities
can be efficient in March 2018
 The staffs will be given training so that they can work in an efficient manner
 The business will expand in to the major cities so that higher profits can be earned
 The break-even analysis of the company will not be achieved in the first year

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The company had successfully launched itself in the market and the total share of the
company will be less than 10 percent in the initial years.
The positive outcome of the company in 2018 are as follows:
 The loan was granted in a successful manner
 The business was established as well successfully
 The company is also able to initiate a loyal base of customers
There are negative outcomes as well for the company, which are as follows:
 The company was not able to achieve its break-even sales in the initial financial years
 There will be a slow rate of progress for the company due to a smaller base of
customers
The initial research that was conducted in the market has shown that the company has
a potential opportunity to increase its base of customers. This is due to the fact that the major
cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland can provide greater level of opportunities
for the company to prosper. The company will be expanding to the new metropolitan cities
after the first year, which will help in increasing the level of profits (Weinstein et al. 2014).
The market also have great potential, most of the residents are busy in their office life.
Thus a platform like this will help them in mingling with the opposite gender. The online
platform will provide them an opportunity to get to know more about their partners while
concentrating on their work as well. The young age group of people will be very much
interested in trying out the application, as it will be cheaper that the competitive applications
(Schutz, Rego and Leger 2013). This will help the company in increasing its rate of attraction
in the market as well. The market research that was conducted had shown that there is a huge
opportunity for the start-up business to expand its operation. This is due to the fact that there
is a higher percentage of people who belong to the working class. The use of this online

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platform will help in creating opportunities for them in getting to know people of the opposite
gender (Jones et al., 2013).
The customers of the company will also be receiving regular updates when matches
will found of the opposite gender so that it can help them in communicating in an efficient
manner. It will also help in increasing the loyalty among the customers as well. The
application will be easy to download and can be accessible through the phones as well, which
will result in increasing its level of efficiency. The market has not yet saturated that will help
the company in thriving its business (Haag 2013).
3.0: Product or service
3.1: Description
The services that will be provided to the customers will be through the online
platform. The customers need to fill out the questionnaires and the surveys that will be
provided to them on the application so that it can help in finding their perfect matches. It will
also help the customers in making logical explanations regarding their characters with respect
to their dislikes and likes so that an estimation can be gathered regarding the type of person
they are looking in the opposite gender (Rosati and Conti 2016). The computer will help in
generating the perfect matches for the customers by permuting the surveys that has been
filled up by them. This will make the applications to be done in an accurate manner. The
information that will be provided in the application will help the company in choosing the
perfect date for the list of customers available in their interface. The information will include
the features such as activities that are enjoyed by the customers, their level of interests in
certain things, sports, hobbies, the level of education that they have earned, occupation that
they are currently in, religious preferences and the age group in which they are interested

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(Blackburn, Hart and Wainwright 2013). These will be the basic factors on which the
customers will be evaluated to find their perfect match.
3.2: Competitive analysis
It is one of the important aspects that the new company needs to take in to
consideration so that it can help them in providing the services in an efficient manner. The
competitive analysis will help the company in getting to know the customers, substitutes that
are present along with the suppliers and the technology that is being used. This will help them
in becoming aware of the services that are being given by the other companies. This analysis
can be done with the help of Porter’s Five Forces.
Threat of new entrants- The major threat to Date Help will be that there are other online
dating sites that offer the similar services to its customers with some differentiation. The
other sites do not have much restrictions and the customers can join as subscribers as well.
This results in increasing the competition in the market for the company, as the other
companies can give the products and services at a cheaper rate as well (Thomas et al. 2014).
Bargaining power of suppliers- The survey that will be conducted by the company in the
market will help them in providing perfect couples who will remain happy and their
relationships will grow in the future as well. The company will charge a little more than the
other companies, as the customers will be satisfied in using the product for the first time
(Alison, McKenny and Short 2014).
Rivalry among competitors- The major rivals that are operating in the market are OKCupid
and eHarmony that uses the same idea in their services. These companies also charge around
10 percent lesser than the new company and are able to distinguish themselves from the type
of services that they are offering to the customers. The new company has to increase the rate