Evaluate an Entrepreneurial Venture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Evaluate an Entrepreneurial Venture - Essay Example 3Â  billion (Cozon, 2013). In less than four years, Dyson managed to become a market leader, as regard sales in vacuum cleaners, both in the US and UK markets, which clearly shows its success story. However, the journey that started with launching the Ballbarrow in the 1970s to the production of the extremely successful vacuum cleaner in the 2000s has been a rather difficult one. It involved struggles in procuring funds during the initial years to fighting court cases against multinational rivals for patent rights. Despite these major setbacks, Sir James Dyson persevered, and transformed his company into a leading manufacturing company in the market, amidst stiff competition from other large multinational brands. Dyson is considered as a great entrepreneur and his sense of innovation and business acumen is evident in his marketing of a product that used a technology rejected by other product manufacturers. The product, when launched, was priced at double the average market rates for similar products and there were very little advertisements and marketing done to promote it; instead, DAL commissioned retailers through their own efforts, an occasional article that described the product was published in newspapers, and the name was made to spread by a general word of mouth. Key Historical Facts James Dyson, a British entrepreneur in 1973, founded Dyson Appliances Ltd. ... The Hoover Junior vacuum cleaner he owned did not perform as he wanted and therefore took it upon himself to develop a better model. Between 1979 and 1984, Dyson developed over 5000 models of vacuum cleaners trying to make them more efficient. When he produced the first fully functional prototype, he had problems getting licenses in the European and American markets, mainly because other more established manufacturers feared the competition brought Dyson’s company. The company has a long history since its establishment in the 1970s. Here, we will examine some of the key historical facts such as products, market entry, funding and others critical to its start up. i.) Products In 1986, Dyson began the manufacture of the DC-series of vacuum cleaners. These had a lot of success on the market as discussed in the market entry segment. This series started with the DC01, DC02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 08T, DC9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 24, and DC25. Besides the vacuum cleaners, the company also deals in hand dryers. It is the manufacturer of the Air-blade hand dryer series. This series comprises of AB01, AB03, AB06, AB07, AB08, AB09, AB10, and AB11 (Dyson, 1998). The company also diversified into production of a bladeless fan called the Air Multiplier. The company also produced the contra-rotator washing machine CR01. This was followed by the CR02. The company however dropped this product line and ceased to provide any support services for it. ii.) Market entry The first vacuum cleaner that the company ever sold was sold in Japan for an equivalent of $2000 in 1986. This was not a sustainable venture for mass production. After setting up a research facility in Wiltshire in 1993, a cheaper model, the DA001 was produced and retailed at