BUS357 Starting and Managing a Business Tutor Marked Assignment July 2025 | SUSS

BUS357 Tutor-Marked Assignment July 2025 Semester

Question 1

In the global travel industry, a significant trend is emerging: Personalised and Authentic Experiences (Vazan, 2024). Modern travellers are increasingly seeking custom-tailored trips that emphasise cultural immersion and unique adventures. This includes activities such as wellness retreats, culinary tours, and visits to off-the-beaten-path destinations that prioritise authenticity and personalisation.

Recognising a business opportunity in this global trend, you and two friends are considering creating a leisure travel platform, naming it “Travel With Host” (TWH). The platform would match travellers with residents who act as hosts, offering services such as accommodation, personalised travel guidance, and/or transportation. The business model centres on providing a “matching service” where local hosts predefine the services they offer, making the platform a comprehensive solution for personalised travel needs.

The platform’s revenue stream would be based on commissions (platform fees) from the transactions between travellers and hosts. To facilitate this, the TWH platform will include integrated credit card payment features, ensuring secure and seamless financial transactions. TWH will collect payment from the travellers upon confirmation and pay the hosts after deducting commissions.

Among the team, one member has expertise in software development and will design and build the initial version of the website and mobile application. The other two members will focus on the commercial aspects of the business, including marketing, partnerships, and customer acquisition.

The team collectively sees immense potential in this venture, with opportunities to upsell related travel products, such as attraction tickets, travel insurance, etc., and the possibility of scaling the business to other countries. Although each member’s initial contribution of $15,000 as start-up capital may be modest, the team believes the business idea is innovative and has the potential to succeed if approached strategically.

However, the team acknowledges the challenges posed by the lack of a proven track record and experience, which makes securing bank loans or equity financing nearly impossible during the start-up phase.

To mitigate risks, the team plans to use a Validation Board to thoroughly appraise and test the business idea before committing further time and resources. This step is essential to ensure the concept is viable and has a strong foundation for success.

Required:

You are required to analyse the information given above, and develop a Business Feasibility Assessment Report in a report format with the following sections:

Important Points to Note:

• You are required to use the prescribed Validation Board format used in the seminars.
•  You are NOT required to carry out an actual experiment or create an MVP. You should state what you intend to do, e.g., a prototype of the eCommerce website or app, and how it can be used to validate your assumptions or ideas.
• You are to assume that the first and riskiest assumption is validated, but the second assumption is assumed to be invalidated. Therefore, you are required to describe only ONE pivot for the second assumption that is invalidated. Any additional pivots will not be required and hence will not be marked.
• You are NOT required to provide any financial projections or proforma financial statements, or financial calculations.
• Any additional but relevant information should be inserted as an Appendix at the end of the report.
• Please adhere to the page limits specified. Marks will be deducted for excessive length.
• Your report should be formatted with 2.5cm (1-inch) margins all around, use Times New Roman 12-point as the typeface, and with 1.5 line spacing for the paragraphs.