TRICKY BUSINESS 2
PROGRAMME 6: STICMATZ
The business
Sticmatz is a sticky mat designed to keep dashboards clutter free. Items stick to the mat rather than sliding around. The mat is available in different colours and can be customised to accommodate corporate branding.
The entrepreneur
Twenty-six-year-old Matt Aitkenhead is an industrial design graduate. He invented Sticmatz shortly after leaving university and has been developing and promoting it since then. He has big ambitions for the business and believes that Sticmatz will be an international success. He obtained £195,000 start-up funding comprising £5,000 in personal savings, £15,000 in start-up grants, £75,000 in bank loans and a parental investment of £100,000. He has great enthusiasm and confidence in both his product and his business abilities. He is self-motivated, tenacious and determined to succeed. He also benefits from a large support network of family and friends. Unfortunately, he prefers to focus on the design elements of the business rather than operational issues such as financial management, pricing, marketing and sales.
Matt's parents, Colin and Madeleine Aitkenhead, both work for him. Madeleine is a personal assistant and Colin helps with product development. They enable Matt to run the business and, as Sticmatz has yet to make a profit, they also fund his lifestyle.
The business problem
Sticmatz has no sales outlets apart from the company website. Three large supermarkets dropped the product after a trial sales period. The business has neither a marketing strategy nor any staff with sales experience. The start-up funding has run out and, with no sales, there is no income. If the situation does not change quickly, Sticmatz will not be able to pay its debts and will have to close down.
The business solution
John makes it clear that it will be hard to turn the business round. The only way forward is to obtain additional funding and hire an experienced salesperson to roll out a nationwide marketing campaign.
The outcomes
Sticmatz fails to thrive and the financial situation worsens. A local millionaire, Graham McMullen, confirms John's analysis and Matt's parents withdraw their support. Still Matt refuses to believe that Sticmatz will fail. He does not listen to or act on any of the advice he receives and remains confident that success is round the corner. An order from PC World for 2,000 Sticmatz gives him hope but does not clear his debts. He is living off his credit cards.
