Driving Investor Confidence: Leveraging Market Research for Funding Success
To demonstrate a deep understanding of the market and secure investment, 7 Leagues needed to provide concrete, data-driven evidence on the market viability and potential profitability of the fish leather market.
The Situation
7 Leagues is a startup organization with a vision of creating sustainable leather, made from quality fish skin. Fish leather is a popular material in Europe as a niche product for high-end fashion, due to its benefits of sustainability, durability, and flexibility. Fish leather has a variety of purposes including handbags, shoes, car detailing, and more.
The mission for 7 Leagues is to change the global leather industry by creating leather that is good for people and for the planet. Harnessing innovation in every stage of the process, means eliminating toxic chemicals and plastics from leather production, and nearshoring products to shrink their carbon footprint.
The business idea is to build and sustain an ecological, innovative, and local production of fish leather based in Metro Vancouver, B.C. At the time of the report, there was no existing company producing fish leather in Canada, which created the opportunity for 7 Leagues to be the only commercial fish leather tannery in Canada. With a growing demand for ecologically responsible, locally made products with traceable supply chains, 7 Leagues believed they could capture a large share of the market.
The Challenge
7 Leagues wanted to find a way to produce local fish leather at a large scale to serve the market. The durability and distinctiveness of fish leather, in combination with its other unique characteristics, created a high global demand for this material. To capitalize on the growing demand in the leather market, 7 Leagues needed to scale production. With a small internal team and limited financial resources, 7 Leagues needed financial support from investors.
To demonstrate a deep understanding of the market and secure investment, 7 Leagues needed to provide concrete, data-driven evidence on the market viability and potential profitability of the fish leather market. Presenting a compelling case to potential investors was critical for the growth of 7 Leagues. With internal capacity at a maximum, 7 Leagues needed experts to conduct market research and provide the company with an analysis on the fish leather industry.
What Changed
CTRS was contracted to build a market assessment that provided a detailed market analysis. This market assessment served as the proof 7 Leagues needed to convince investors of the viability of the fish leather market.
7 Leagues had already undertaken a majority of discovery calls before working with CTRS. They requested that CTRS dive into secondary market research to find the statistics and hard data needed to support the findings from the discovery calls with leather goods manufacturers that the Founder of 7 Leagues had made previously.
The intelligence gathering was completed by the CTRS senior research team and focused on the following project deliverables:
A market scan analyzing current and future economic conditions in which 7 Leagues will be operating.
A customer analysis, to show the potential and breadth of customers available now and in the short term.
A competitive review, to investigate the major players and get a sense of market saturation.
A market forecast, using data-driven analysis to predict high and low case scenarios for future potential annual revenue.
With the market assessment in hand, the last step 7 Leagues needed was to turn the data and insights into an investor pitch deck. At the time of this case study, CTRS has ongoing work with 7 Leagues on strategic implementation which includes the creation of a pitch deck, quarterly action plans, and progress meetings with a subject matter expert.
The Result
The market research data and analysis delivered by CTRS, verified the fish leather market and proved that demand surpasses current supply. This allowed 7 Leagues to gain confidence, renew energy, and translate the key data from the market assessment into a pitch deck.
The independent validation from CTRS highlighted the market value and key numbers that 7 Leagues needed to enhance and strengthen their pitches during investor meetings. Additionally, 7 Leagues was provided with a high level lead list of business segments that would be beneficial for partnerships, as well as potential customers.
“The biggest takeaway for 7 Leagues was to see the trends and interest we had identified through our own research and experience externally validated through data and alternative sources. We could see that our positive estimation of the market opportunity was not clouded by wishful thinking but supported by the numbers. Now we had those numbers behind us to fill in the gaps in the pitch deck and propel the conversation with investors.” - Tasha Nathanson, Founder of 7 Leagues.
The ongoing strategic implementation is designed to provide 7 Leagues with the clear direction they need to take to progress the business. The strategic action plan, breaks down each quarter and lists the necessary next steps. This ensures the team at 7 Leagues knows what’s required of them, the resources they need, and the next step on their path forward. As for the quarterly meetings, it gives Tasha the chance to talk directly with a business expert to receive support, gain insights and advice, and guidance on how to execute the plans.
All together, 7 Leagues was able to effectively pitch their business to potential investors, with the confidence and hard data needed to secure funding for their venture.