In 2011, Alexis Horowitz Burdick founded Luxola, an e-commerce platform selling branded cosmetics online in Singapore. By 2015, Burdick was able to expand her venture across 12 markets in Asia Pacific region and was acquired by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesey (LVMH) under its cosmetics arm of Sephora. However, the initial years of Luxola had been fraught with several challenges.
The primary challenge for Luxola had been attracting funding from venture capitalists. Luxola was founded by a female solopreneur; and venture capitalists tended to avoid investing in start-ups established by women. Another unexpected challenge for the company was the ‘lack of trust’ reputed cosmetic brands had on e-commerce platforms. To address these challenges, Burdick used a lean business model and customer-centric strategies.
The success of Luxola is hinged on the brand’s ability to tap on an unmet user need of women in Southeast Asia – sourcing branded cosmetics from an online platform. The unmet user need had stemmed from a demographic transformation wherein the young women in the region were becoming increasingly independent and liked to splurge on themselves. Other than demographics, what other sources of innovative opportunity had Luxola satisfied? Was exiting through acquisition the right strategy for Luxola?
This case looks into the sources of innovation in entrepreneurship and exemplifies how demographic changes in an existing market can create avenues for new ventures to be successful. The case also helps students gain an understanding of how a start-up firm can tap on the lean start-up methodology to expand their business. The case also reflects upon some of the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in establishing and growing a venture, and how some of these disparities can be overcome by focusing on the company’s product offerings, and making customer centricity a priority.
Leveraging on the Framework of Applied Innovation
Developing a new generation of innovative business leaders requires a framework strongly anchored on creativity and critical thinking.
Training is hinged on making sure participants develop essential skill sets that they can readily apply in a real-world, business setting and get measurable results. A good curriculum entails lessons that focus on Design Thinking and Lean Innovation. These are designed to teach not only the basic principles of innovation in business but also to allow students to think on their feet as they encounter challenges in the corporate workplace.
Such skills are meant to underscore learned proficiencies that will ultimately allow individuals to stay ahead of the competition in a constantly evolving business landscape prompted by digital transformation and highly competitive industries.
To that end, SMU Academy’s Graduate Certificate in Applied Innovation offers an opportunity for participants to learn actionable, relevant, and cross-disciplinary skills ideal for developing corporate managers, entrepreneurs and business practitioners across a wide range of industries.
The focus is on building their ability to recognize opportunities for innovation in their respective fields so they can apply it not for their own interests, but to ensure that the next generation of leaders will continue to apply innovative techniques and strategies in the workplace.
SMU has the advantage of having working professionals and academics as well as innovation experts, recognized for their work and accomplishment from prestigious institutions such as Disney, General Motors, F&N, Sentosa Development Corporation, and Dell.
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Originally published by the SMU Centre for Management Practice, 11 Dec 2018 by Reddi Rayalu Kotha and Lipika Bhattacharya. Access the case in full here.
