Business Model Canvas Should Pay More Attention to the Software Startup Team

Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a tool widely used to describe startup business models. Despite the various business aspects described, BMC pays a little emphasis on team-related factors. The importance of team-related factors in software development has been acknowledged widely in literature. While not as extensively studied, the importance of teams in software startups is also known in both literature and among practitioners. In this paper, we propose potential changes to BMC to have the tool better reflect the importance of the team, especially in a software startup environment. Based on a literature review, we identify various components related to the team, which we then further support with empirical data. We do so by means of a qualitative case study of five startups

Optimizing the costs of short sea shipping : A case study for a Finnish company in forest industry

This study is a shipping cost optimization of a forest industrial company. The case company ships its products from its mills in Sweden and Finland to Continental Europe via short sea shipping, which means shipping for relatively short distances. The most competitive distance for short sea shipping is between 1 700 and 2 500 kilometers. The current short sea shipping-chain of the case company needs improvements 2021 onwards, because of an aging ship, which will be out of traffic by then. Additionally, the case company is willing to cut its costs related to short sea shipping. In this study, a functioning future short sea shipping-chain is formed and at the same time cost savings are achieved. Shipping costs are approached through quantitative analysis and constructive research methodology, which is based on previous literature of shipping costs. Literature review also covers the shipping market of forest products, definition of short sea shipping and its integration to intermodal transport chains and future maritime regulation from the perspective of an exporting forest company. In this study, cost savings are achieved by finding the lowest euro per ton cost for each route, which consists of the pre-leg transport from a mill to loading port via road or rail, the sea transport from loading port to discharge port and the distribution transport from the port of discharge to the end customer via road or rail. For finding the minimal costs, different loading ports and discharge ports for mills are evaluated in comparison with the current ones. This means that the cost optimization is a rerouting analysis: savings are found only by rerouting a mill’s volumes to a different loading port or to a different discharge port. The new traffic arrangements found in this study, provide an annual cost saving of 4.0% or 8.5% in the entire spend of the short sea shipping-chain of the case company. The first figure is in comparison with 2018-costs, and the latter with 2021-costs, when the new model would be implemented. This is achieved by shortening the pre- and distribution-legs, thus shipping longer distances at sea and shorter distances at land. In addition to the lower costs of the new short sea shipping-chain, literature suggests that the optimized chain is more sustainable, safer and has less negative impacts to society and the economy, because it has less road- and rail kilometers than before. Shipping is the greenest mode of transport in terms of ton-kilometers. The new short sea shipping-chain would also shift the road and rail transport of the intermodal transport chain to shorter and more competitive distances. The European Union and the European Investment Bank also have highlighted the environmental and societal benefits of short sea shipping in their transportation strategies. For the case company, this could be utilized by applying for EU-funding for possible short sea shipping-related investments

Pitkäaikainen asuntosijoittaminen : yksityishenkilön näkökulmasta

Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on kuvata pitkäaikaista asuntosijoittamista yksityishenkilön näkökulmasta. Pitkäaikaisessa asuntosijoittamisessa sijoittaja lähtökohtaisesti ostaa asunnon ja vuokraa sen eteenpäin. Työlle on määriteltynä kolme tutkimuskysymystä. Ensimmäiseksi pyritään määrittelemään, mitä pitkäaikaisella asuntosijoittamisella tarkoitetaan. Toisella kysymyksellä pyritään selvittämään, miksi asuntosijoittajat valitsevat juuri pitkäaikaisen asuntosijoittamisen sijoitusmuodokseen. Kolmantena tutkimuskysymyksenä pyritään selvittämään millaiseen tuottoon pitkäaikaisella asuntosijoittamisella on mahdollista päästä. Tutkimus suoritettiin määrällisenä tutkimuksena käyttäen kvantitatiivista tutkimusmenetelmää. Opinnäytetyön muodoista kyseessä oli tutkimuksellinen opinnäytetyö. Työn kysely suoritettiin sähköisesti ja se oli kohdennettu ainoastaan asuntosijoittajille. Tuloksista selvisi, että puhuttaessa pitkäaikaisesta asuntosijoittamisesta sillä tarkoitetaan matalan riskin sijoittamista, joka perustuu kassavirtaan. Asuntosijoittamisessa kassavirralla tarkoitetaan vuokratuottoa. Asuntosijoittajien kokemusten mukaan sijoittamisen aloittaminen koettiin helpoksi ja suureksi mahdollisuudeksi, sillä he kokivat riskit pieniksi ja tuottomahdollisuudet hyviksi. Asuntosijoittamisen riskit olivat sijoittajien mielestä verrattain selvästi alhaisemmat kuin vaihtoehtoisten sijoituskohteiden kuten osakkeiden ja rahastojen riskit. Asuntosijoittajista noin 70 prosenttia saavuttaa sijoittaessaan vuokratuoton, joka on viiden ja seitsemän prosentin välillä. Suurin yksittäinen tappion aiheuttaja vastanneiden mukaan asuntosijoittamisessa oli sijoituskohteiden remonttikustannusten vaikutus vuokratuottoon.The goal of this thesis is to describe long-term housing investing from a private person’s perspective. When it comes to long-term housing investment, the idea is that an investor buys and apartment and leases it forward. This thesis addresses three research questions. The first question is to identify the fundamentals of long-term housing investing. The second research question is to determine why housing investors choose long-term housing investing as their primary form of investing. The final question aims to discover what is the profit percentage that can be reached whit long-term housing investing. The results indicated that long-term housing investing is described as low risk investing that is based on cash flow that is the rental income. According to the experience of long-term housing investors, it was found easy to start the investing in question. The risks were perceived low and the profit possibilities high. When comparing the risks with other investing methods, they were found relatively low by the investors. Nearly 70 percent of long-term housing investors reached a profit between five and seven percentage. The greatest single cause for investment loss was the impact of renovation on rental income

An empirical evaluation of business model canvas in software startups : a team perspective

Business model canvas is a commonly used tool among software startups. The tool aims to help companies develop business models and new strategies. Even though the model has been widely adapted among software startups a lack of scientific research regarding the topic can be found. This thesis evaluates how the business model canvas should be further devel- oped when it comes to early stage software startups. This is done with a team perspective. First, an understanding of software startups is created. Secondly, based on the literature the Team Component is presented including the con- structs of resources, networks, self-organization and way of working. After this, the scope is widened to business model canvas, and the lack of a team construct in it. The theoretical Team Component is compared to the empirical data. The prima- ry data consists of interviews conducted to startup teams and secondary data is based on external student observations. The data was collected in qualitative means and analyzed with a thematic analysis. The empirical data validates two of the constructs included in the Team Component, resources and networks. The two other constructs are not seen important in the context of early stage software startups. Based on the empirical results a further developed version of business model canvas is presented, with the team playing as a core construct. The study claims, that early stage software startups should see the team as a front thought and concentrate on acquiring as versatile resources and wide networks for their team in comparison to strategic planning at early stages. The study confirms, that resources and networks are the most determinate factors to affect an early stage startups success or failure