Jonathan Lachowitz founded a start-up venture in the Financial Planning industry called White Lighthouse Investment Management in 2006. He targeted a niche segment (US citizens living abroad) that had a critical problem that was not addressed by existing companies (eg US Tax Reporting). The organization has grown slowly and consistently. In 2015 the current form of organization is stretched to a maximum. There are several decisions Jonathan needs to make, he needs to decide whether or not to hire new employees or partners and he needs to come up with a strategy on what type of clients he should accept.
Learning Objective
- How targeting a niche segment can be the key to success (need-based market segmentation).
- How to create a knowledge-based service company (using Business Model Canvas).
- Understanding the competition and fee models in the financial planning industry.
- How the entrepreneur’s unique choices link to the financials by analyzing the DCF projected in 5 years, NPV, IRR and RI.
- How this unique mix of consistent choices enabled initial success and sustainable growth.
