EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In the context of the course "Business Project: Starting-up" (WS 22/23) we have created a business model that follows the lean start-up approach. For one semester, we, an international team of 4 students, experienced all phases of the conception of a start-up.

First, it is important to identify a relevant problem. We identified that more than 750.000 Students in Germany and Austria are looking for a suitable minijob (e.g. barista) to earn a little side income. At the same time more than 1.6 million businesses from a great variety of sectors like HR, IT or Gastronomy are looking for temporary employees. However, according to our student assessment, we have realized that 80% of the students struggle to find suitable minijobs. This is due to numerous pain points associated with the process. For students, finding a minijob is very time-consuming, and many cannot find a job that they can do flexibly when it fits into their schedule. And businesses are concerned about the qualifications of applicants and face expensive alternatives.

For these problems we have found the perfect solution: HOPONJOB, the absolute first mobile app that connects students who are looking for a flexible side income with businesses that require short term staffing.

Goal

Our goal is to develop a business model that creates a faster and easier matchmaking process for both students and businesses. The course and the professors prepared us to apply techniques and methods to discover, evaluate and realize an innovative business idea. The focus was on acquiring project management, pitching and teamwork skills that ideally prepare us to become entrepreneurs. At the end of the course, we had the opportunity to present HOPONJOB to experts on a DemoDay and at the E&I Touchdown.

Methodology

Over the course of 4 months, we followed the lean startup journey from opportunity recognition through evaluation to opportunity exploitation to develop a sound business concept. After creating a project vision board in the ideation phase, we proceeded to conduct customer discovery interviews. Once we were able to draw our customer personas, we went on to draft our value proposition hypothesis for them. This hypothesis has been tested and accepted in the customer validation phase by conducting a survey and showcasing a demo video of our product. Next, we gained a better market overview by TAM-SAM-SOM market sizing and competitor analysis. We were then able to develop our business model and translate our concept into milestones and numbers by working on our go-to-market strategy and financial plan. Finally, with the help of a public speaking coach, we could pitch our startup to an expert panel at Demo Day, and as winners, also at the E&I Touchdown.

Results

We were able to leverage the geographical arbitrage opportunity that existed to start the absolute first minijobs platform in Austria. HOPONJOB provides students with a convenient and fast way to find minijobs that fit their schedule and preferences. After an easy registration process, applying to minjobs and getting paid afterwards happens quickly and seamlessly. On the other hand, employers can select trustworthy hires by seeing reviews and pre-recorded interviews with the students. While they pay per minijob listing, with larger packages they can choose extra features such as priority placement or analytics functionality.

We estimate the minijob listing market relevant for students to be worth 30M euros annually in Austria and Germany, and we believe that by 2025, we could gain a significant share in these markets. According to our financial planning, we could reach operating profitability by January 2025, and over 30k users in the same year. To do so, our next step would be putting our concept into practice by developing an MVP for HOPONJOB.

Cooperation Partner

• Team HOPONJOB

Contact Person

• Nicolai Hessing (M.Sc. SIMC) - nicolai.hessing@gmx.de

Student Team

• Anastasia Boldyr

• Nicolai Alexander Hessing

• Aakash Ashok Jajoo

• Orsolya Varady-Szabo

Project Manager

• Shtefi Mladenovska, M.Sc.

• Associate Prof. Dr. Peter Keinz

• Tina Marie Monelyon, M.Sc.