Starting an E-Business

Case Study: vetclick.co.uk

Background

In Jan 2000, a number of entrepreneurs came together with the purpose of creating an online business. Although they had a good track record and experience of running regular bricks only businesses, the internet provided a unique challenge. One member of the team, Graeme Viljoen already had experience of ICT and web development. Whilst in conversation they realised that they all had an interest and love for animals and in particular their pets. With this common interest in mind they decided to create an online business focussing on pets and those who work with them.

Development of the Idea

It sounded like a great idea to focus on pets but being seasoned entrepreneurs the team new that they needed to make sure that there is a market for their idea. Which market will they aim their website at? Where will they find their clients? Where will their revenue come from? After doing a bit of research the start-up team found that veterinary clinics may be both an easy and lucrative market to target. The service would provide a portal for all vets and their clients in the UK, providing support and information, selling related products and even help the clinic’s themselves to establish them selves on the web. They called the service Vetclick and immediately registered the domain www.vetclick.com and www.vetclick.co.uk

Competition

The start-up team discovered that although there was some competition amongst veterinary practices in some areas of the UK, as a service that would serve the industry as a whole they virtually had no competition. They knew they had to work quickly and create a service that would be difficult to imitate. One of the big problems for Internet companies is the fact that once others know the idea it may be easy to copy or imitate. The barriers to entry are often lower