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Read the following mini-ease, then answer the questions that follow. Who said you can't move from management positions at an online retailer of shoes to
Read the following mini-ease, then answer the questions that follow. Who said you can't move from management positions at an online retailer of shoes to founding a company dedicated to satisfying the eravings of die-hard sports fans? While there isn't a clear connection between the two, there actually is a similarity in the types of people who make up the customer base. Tom Ellingson and Dean Curtis are former employees of online shoe giant Zappos who left their full-time jobs in management to launch Fandeavor, a startup dedicated to providing sports fans with the types of sports experiences that only corporate sponsors typieally get. Zappos caters to women who love shoes and are impulsive bryers, Fandeavor caters to sports fans who will do anything to get closer to their favorite teams and athletes. Fandeavor launched in 2012 with \$575,000 in seed funding from the co-founders' former boss and Zappos founder, Tony Hsich, through his investment fund: VegasTechFund. The launch strategy was to partner with colleges and sports teams to create, package, and sell unique experiences for fans. Fans could peruse the Fandeavor site to see what was avalable and then either bid on experiences, much like ellay's auction, or purchase the experiences at preset prices. Initially the experiences ranged in price from $179 for a pre-game tour for two to $500 for a piek-up game at a team's arena with locker room passes and an autographed basketball. The value proposition for the schools and their teams was that thes could focus on the sports and Fandeavor would tale care of their fans. Not surprising. Ellingson and Curtis are dichard sports fans themsclves. During their time at Zappos, Ellingson worked as the Head of Business Development and Curtis was an Enginecring Manager. Zappos is a company that is obsessed with the customer experienee, providing the best customer service possible at all the touch points in the buying process. Their primary mission is to make buying shoes as casy, comenient, and fun as possible. So if i no wonder that Ellingson and Curtis were nble to recognize an opportunity to take that obsession with the customer experiener to rabid sports fans like themselves. They believed that the combination of their passion for sports and their experience working together to create customer experiencer at Zappos wat a winning formula for a founding team. Hefore leaving Zappos, the duo deciled to teat their concept for Fandeavor at the Univerity of Nevadn, Las Vegas (UNLW), where thoy had a basketball connection. Ellingsos and Curtis mathiged to set up a basio webrite with information about the expericness the were affering, which included eigned basketballs, ports gear, box suito, and the opportanity to present the same ball it mid court. UNLV promoted the site through its Go online and do some quick research on Fandeavor as of 2018. Given the experience of the founding team and their very suceessful investor, what Iid you find that was surprising? What ean yout eonclude
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