Week 5 - Ia Lo

Danish furniture companies were rather lucky, or arguably so opportunistic, to have made their brand of furniture a value commodity all over the world. Consumers purchase furniture that would last them for their entire life or passed down to the next generation. There was a change in consumption as people bought furniture more frequently, switching in and out their household items. However, the furniture industry had their own housecleaning of their own as they restructured their operations. Most importantly, with advanced technology, the industry was able to manufactured high quality furniture. The industry would have not been successful if they did not outsource their materials which were more affordable. They were able to keep the cost down through technological advancement, selling “high quality” Danish furniture. They were also selling the ideology. Danish furniture was seen connected to a desired lifestyle or a socio-economic class. The combination of high quality and well-off lifestyle allow their industry to flourish.

From the Danish furniture industry experience, I am reminded again that consumers are not only buying material things, but also a concept or ideology that the company has designed. IKEA ads of white-theme, clean, airy ad makes us feel that by purchasing their items, our room would look airy, spacious, and clean. How I would best promote my company is to sell an idea. I need to know Bhutan first (the people, government, landscape, atmosphere, etc.) and see how they want to be branded as. Beyond this, I also need to study the target countries that I want to come visit Bhutan. Then I will be able to translate the idea, the product, to the targeted country in a way that entices them without compensating Bhutan’s image. 

We know that the structure involves government, industry, and people and we have been looking at how start ups make money with their product/idea. Can a startup have the same structure, but does not involve money?

https://www.google.com/search?q=selling+an+idea&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiv97TgzPXRAhWqv1QKHXizA9kQ_AUICCgB&biw=1366&bih=662#imgrc=7VB1fgiy_CdtuM:

Connie Tsai: Week 5

IKEA has become a homegoods powerhouse because of its existence as a low-cost company. Instruction manuals are completely done in images with no words---because there are no translations necessary, all furniture can be distributed anywhere without the need for sorting by language. IKEA furniture is well-known for being inexpensive and utilitarian, with the DIY hack capabilities for the more creative- and handy-minded. The Kallax shelving unit, for example, is a mainstay on DIY blogs across the Internet due to its practicality and ease of alteration. The company itself largely supports these hacks, thus showing that their furniture are able to be tailored to the specific tastes of the consumer, which appeals to those who enjoy the aesthetic of individuality. IKEA partners with Scandinavian artists and designers in order to produce more aesthetically pleasing homegoods, which thus makes them more appealing design-wise as well. As such, IKEA has begun to grow internationally because of these two factors: aesthetics, and cost.

Hansen says that one of the two reasons Danish modern furniture became so popular is that “the development of a social network of individuals and organizations promoted and legitimized these narratives” (451). I think this portion of the Hansen reading is most applicable to the marketing of our startup because it relies so much on outside factors—specifically, the people we can bring in to participate in the app’s community—to be successful. It will be impossible for our startup to become successful unless we have people who give it credence. Firstly, by bringing therapists and holistic health centers into our network, we will be able to say that these people and organizations support our app. Secondly, it is important to target the user-end narrative. The narrative capabilities for an app which helps people practice mindfulness—both in mental and physical health—need to be explored, but as it stands I believe our ability to guide it in a positive direction will be extremely helpful. What I mean by a "positive narrative" is one in which a user, through our app, is able to tell their friends and family that they have been able to practice healthy habits which has improved their mental and physical health. This thus gives our app the image of a healthy, helpful impact on someone's daily life. Therefore, in order to ensure that our app grows domestically and internationally, we need to rely on these networks as well as a positive narrative to ensure that our app is able to positively impact those who need its help.

---

Question

What obstacles become apparent when accounting for international growth?

---

Sources

1. Hansen, Per H. "Networks, Narratives, and New Markets: The Rise and Decline of Danish Modern Furniture Design, 1930-1970." The Business History Review vol. 80, no. 3, 2006, p. 449-483. Accessed 13 May 2015.
2. https://www.brit.co/ikea-shelf-hacks/

Week 5 - Regina Kwon

According to Hedemann, Danish business employees showed resilient and competitive qualities in the vastly growing and global industry which reflected what their manufacturing can achieve and handle to make it in the real world. Furniture stores such as IKEA are great in America but in turn cause European stores to optimize and intensify labor as well as international competition. Yet Denmark’s supply and demand of furniture grew through these factors: renewal of technology, intensification, optimization; and competition. The aftermath has led to a sort of rebranding of Danish furniture and Denmark. Therefore, Denmark remade itself through adequate social engagement and frequent changes to its traditional structure of production. Correspondingly, as Hansen claims: “Without an elaborate, committed social network, Danish Design would never have achieved such a considerable degree of success” (452). Consumers and producers essentially had to combine their strengths to make all the difference. With the help of outside connections and organizations, the motivation behind consuming Danish furniture became increasingly important. People grasped an understanding and inclination to purchase the furniture. “Danish Modern” furniture, for instance, symbolized exquisite “taste” and “lifestyle.” Denmark became reasonably fashionable. However, limitations surfaced. In order for Denmark to restart the “life cycle” of their products and achieve maximum national aesthetics, they must adjust to changes, innovate, and plan. This resonates with the idea of social entrepreneurship. While maintaining a sense of national identity, Denmark can begin something new and refined.

Domestically in the best way, I would promote my product by getting in touch with the newly founded Mental Health Conference on campus. From there, I can collaborate with board members and share/expand on ideas. Internationally is more of a challenge, but with the help of cross-cultural associations, I’m sure my product will take flight. In other words, I would work alongside professional individuals who have expertise in presenting a product. In Asia, there can be more mental health/wellbeing services made available and reachable. Therefore, I will speak with international workers about sponsorship and if they’d be interested in promoting a product with widespread advantage. I’m not into advertising so I’d replace this method of endorsement by reaching out to the best global markets in the healthcare industry. I’d also step out of my comfort zone and create an internship program (based on study abroad) that essentially provides local and international students with the opportunity to get in contact with overseas business connections, apply their foreign language skills, and experience the rewarding process of promoting my product. In addition, more jobs would be available both locally and internationally.

Question: How might historical narratives reflect the construction of future enterprises, when these forms of meaning frequently change?

Sources: Hansen, Per H. “Networks, Narratives, and New Markets: The Rise and Decline of Danish Modern Furniture Design.” The Business History Review 80.3 (2006): 449-483. JSTOR. Web. 2 Feb. 2017. 

Hedemann, Lars, and Mogens Rostgaard Nissen. “The Internationalization of Danish Furniture: A Value Chain Perspective.” Erhvervshistorisk Årbog 2 (2013): 15-36. Web. 2 Feb. 2017.

http://blog.danishdesignstore.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/dds-chs-ch24-promo-5.jpg

Week 5 - Shannon Trinh

Our startup’s goal is to build a functional mobile application that serves the overworked and stressed youth in the Silicon Valley. We are tackling problems such as the lack of recognition of resources that are allocated towards improving physical, emotional, and well-being, and the lack of importance many deem these things to be. Our app will not only provide and push resources that are most popularly used in the U.S. (individual therapy and counseling), but will also give a plethora of options of consider when it comes to take caring of oneself. (acupuncture, dieting/exercising programs, yoga, meditation, group therapy, empowering literature).

This week’s reading “The Rise and Decline of Danish Modern Furniture” makes a good point regarding catering to the individual. The author states, “The consumer’s decision to buy a certain piece of furniture, such as a chair, depends not only on the chair’s physical function and appearance but also on current fashion, the individual’s own taste, and his or her need to signal possession of a distinctive lifestyle.” A product not only needs to be impressive in terms of functionality and feasibility, but it is important to also be useful and resonate with the individual who is using it. It should be able to be a positive and healthy integration of one’s lifestyle. For domestic consumption, we are making it easier for consumers to find an ideal match for a counselor/therapist by providing the professional’s education/occupational history, background check, and specialties. This caters to the big need of the domestic population. Thinking of the international scale, we were aware that this was not the only way of self-care and treatment. Our app will generate a narrative and an idea that there are so many ways to better one’s physical, emotional, and mental state. We are trying to tell the people of the world that it’s okay if treatments like counseling and therapy aren’t for them, as these types of approaches are normalized among certain cultural practices and mentalities. It will also promote a message of openness towards new ideas, innovations, and technologies. At the same time, we think that it will be a good idea to promote our application in a more open-minded and open-hearted way towards the domestic population as well, as this can promote new and unique experiences for self-care. 

Question: What are the major challenges/obstacles of nationally promoting a start-up? 

 Per H. Hansen. “Networks, Narratives, and New Markets: The Rise and Decline of Danish Modern Furniture.”
http://www.y-o.gr/images/healthy_site2.jpg