Practise Edexcel Business questions on entrepreneurial characteristics, leadership and business ownership, applying strengths and limitations to a real case.
Extract E
Mr Cory's Cookies
Young entrepreneur Cory Nieves is also known as Mr Cory. When he was five years old he started selling hot chocolate in his neighbourhood to raise money to buy a car for his family. Cory then began selling lemonade and cookies to increase the buying options for his loyal customers. His passion and entrepreneurial spirit, combined with a love of treats, led him to be the owner of Mr Cory's Cookies at six years old. Cory's mother, Lisa, spent many months learning how to bake the cookies. She then test marketed each batch in the local area. The business became famous in the local community for Cory's chocolate chip cookies, which continue to be the best seller. The product line has expanded, and the cookies are manufactured using only natural and high-quality ingredients. The cookies are now only available online. Due to the publicity he received as a young entrepreneur, Cory has had many television appearances and has worked with large companies and brands such as Mercedes Benz, Ralph Lauren, TOMS and Macys. In addition, he has worked with non-profit organisations such as the Children's Aid Society.
Extract F
The value of Mr Cory's Cookies
The sweets and snacks market is extremely competitive and the market is growing. In 2021 Cory Nieves was 17 years old and the value of his business had increased to $ 1500000. Value of Mr Cory's Cookies (2018-2021)
Extract E
Mr Cory's Cookies
Young entrepreneur Cory Nieves is also known as Mr Cory. When he was five years old he started selling hot chocolate in his neighbourhood to raise money to buy a car for his family. Cory then began selling lemonade and cookies to increase the buying options for his loyal customers. His passion and entrepreneurial spirit, combined with a love of treats, led him to be the owner of Mr Cory's Cookies at six years old. Cory's mother, Lisa, spent many months learning how to bake the cookies. She then test marketed each batch in the local area. The business became famous in the local community for Cory's chocolate chip cookies, which continue to be the best seller. The product line has expanded, and the cookies are manufactured using only natural and high-quality ingredients. The cookies are now only available online. Due to the publicity he received as a young entrepreneur, Cory has had many television appearances and has worked with large companies and brands such as Mercedes Benz, Ralph Lauren, TOMS and Macys. In addition, he has worked with non-profit organisations such as the Children's Aid Society.
Define the term 'entrepreneur'. (Extract E, line 2)
Sources for use with
Extract E
Niche brands are increasing their mass market appeal
In the last 10 years there has been an increase in the number of health and well-being brands moving from a niche to a mass market. Many health products are benefitting from increased revenue, due to growing consumer desires to live healthier lives. These brands are no longer viewed as exclusive products and are now purchased by more customers each year. One of these brands is Pukka, which sells premium priced speciality tea. The global speciality tea market is predicted to grow by $50bn between 2021 and 2026. Extract F
About Pukka
Pukka sells a range of speciality teas including herbal, organic and fruit teas. Entrepreneurs Sebastian Pole and Tim Westwell launched Pukka in 2001. Sebastian had been interested in plants and conservation for many years. He was determined to follow his dream to start a business selling a healthy product. Sebastian saw an advertisement of Tim’s which offered to help start up an ethical business. They agreed to meet to discuss their ideas and Pukka was formed shortly afterwards. From the first moment Tim and Sebastian met, they were the perfect match. Although they had completely different personal skills, they shared a common marketing objective, to create a business that would benefit the health of people. Tim had 10 years’ experience as a business management consultant. They spent many hours in Tim’s house planning their future strategy. They worked evenings and weekends to turn their ideas into a successful business.
Discuss the barriers to entrepreneurship Sebastian may have faced when thinking of starting a business.
Sources for use with Section A
Extract A
Alibaba Group
The Alibaba Group was established in 1999. The business was inspired and led by entrepreneur Jack Ma, a former English teacher from China. Jack Ma and 17 other people invested in the business. From the beginning, the business focused on using technology to enable small businesses to grow and compete more effectively in the global economy. Its mission is ‘to make it easy to do business anywhere’. Jack Ma is now a billionaire.
The Alibaba Group’s first website allowed small Chinese exporters and entrepreneurs to sell internationally. The Alibaba Group has grown into a global leader in online and mobile commerce. It is a world recognised brand and the fastest growing e-commerce business, employing thousands of people. The Alibaba Group has expanded and now has many websites. Its three main websites are Alibaba, Taobao and Tmall. Alibaba is for business-to-business sales (B2B). Taobao is consumer-to-consumer sales (C2C), similar to eBay, though it does not charge a selling fee like competitors such as eBay. Tmall is for business-to-consumer sales (B2C), similar to Amazon. Transactions on its websites totalled $248 bn in 2018, which was more than eBay and Amazon combined.
The Alibaba Group has a programme called the ‘Tech For Change Initiative’ that aims to support female education through free online training and free access to computing resources. It aims to help one million women become computer developers by 2030. The Alibaba Group donates funding for healthcare for the underprivileged and for wildlife protection.
Extract B
Leadership of Jack Ma
Jack Ma, a Chinese entrepreneur and founder of the Alibaba Group, built a large team around him that trust his decision making. He is known for his paternalistic style of leadership. He believes in taking responsibility for the actions of the group.
In an interview, Jack Ma mentioned how his paternalistic leadership helped him to succeed. He said he gave his team the confidence to follow his commands as he took the responsibility for anything that went wrong. He also said that his job is to make sure his team is happy, because when the team is happy, they can make customers happy.
Explain one risk Jack Ma may have taken when setting up the Alibaba Group.
Discuss if profit maximisation is the main business objective of the Alibaba Group.
Sources for use with Section A
Extract A
Alibaba Group
The Alibaba Group was established in 1999. The business was inspired and led by entrepreneur Jack Ma, a former English teacher from China. Jack Ma and 17 other people invested in the business. From the beginning, the business focused on using technology to enable small businesses to grow and compete more effectively in the global economy. Its mission is ‘to make it easy to do business anywhere’. Jack Ma is now a billionaire.
The Alibaba Group’s first website allowed small Chinese exporters and entrepreneurs to sell internationally. The Alibaba Group has grown into a global leader in online and mobile commerce. It is a world recognised brand and the fastest growing e-commerce business, employing thousands of people. The Alibaba Group has expanded and now has many websites. Its three main websites are Alibaba, Taobao and Tmall. Alibaba is for business-to-business sales (B2B). Taobao is consumer-to-consumer sales (C2C), similar to eBay, though it does not charge a selling fee like competitors such as eBay. Tmall is for business-to-consumer sales (B2C), similar to Amazon. Transactions on its websites totalled $248 bn in 2018, which was more than eBay and Amazon combined.
The Alibaba Group has a programme called the ‘Tech For Change Initiative’ that aims to support female education through free online training and free access to computing resources. It aims to help one million women become computer developers by 2030. The Alibaba Group donates funding for healthcare for the underprivileged and for wildlife protection.
Extract B
Leadership of Jack Ma
Jack Ma, a Chinese entrepreneur and founder of the Alibaba Group, built a large team around him that trust his decision making. He is known for his paternalistic style of leadership. He believes in taking responsibility for the actions of the group.
In an interview, Jack Ma mentioned how his paternalistic leadership helped him to succeed. He said he gave his team the confidence to follow his commands as he took the responsibility for anything that went wrong. He also said that his job is to make sure his team is happy, because when the team is happy, they can make customers happy.
Explain one risk Jack Ma may have taken when setting up the Alibaba Group.
Sources for use with Extract A Indian based Bambrew is helping to put an end to single-use plastic straws For Vaibhav Anant to see a tortoise struggling in pain because it was caught up in plastic waste, was a difficult sight to witness. Plastic waste, including plastic straws, is accumulating in lakes and oceans, becoming a global crisis. Anant used product innovation to help tackle this problem and formed his business Bambrew. After researching for over a year and a half for materials that do not harm the environment, Vaibhav Anant found that bamboo was the best alternative material to plastic to make straws. Bamboo is available in high quantities in India. Bambrew developed a technology for making straws from bamboo fibres and bamboo waste. These materials are natural and biodegradable which means the products can decay naturally and do not have a negative impact on the environment. Secondary research helped him to collect quantitative data. He found that there are about 137 bamboo species, but not all of them are suitable for making straws. He researched the best areas in India to source the bamboo and identified communities in India who could manufacture the straws. Bambrew is now developing disposable bamboo food containers and packaging as well as straws and exporting these to the US, UK, and Canada. The marketing strategy used by Bambrew is business to business (B2B). Customers include Zomato, a food delivery business, and Lalit Hotels, a luxury hotel chain. According to reports, the global biodegradable packaging market, which was valued at $3.92bn in 2018, will be worth $21bn by 2025.
Extract B Bambrew: Our products At Bambrew we believe the Earth has the right to live without pollution. All our products are 100% handmade, reusable and the perfect natural substitute for plastic. They are lightweight and fully biodegradable. No chemicals or pesticides are used in the production of our products. Our aim is not just to protect the environment, but to help and support local communities who produce our products. We act ethically to ensure the communities are supported and are paid a fair price for the straws.
Analyse two entrepreneurial characteristics shown by Vaibhav Anant that may have helped Bambrew to succeed.
Sources for use with Extract A Indian based Bambrew is helping to put an end to single-use plastic straws For Vaibhav Anant to see a tortoise struggling in pain because it was caught up in plastic waste, was a difficult sight to witness. Plastic waste, including plastic straws, is accumulating in lakes and oceans, becoming a global crisis. Anant used product innovation to help tackle this problem and formed his business Bambrew. After researching for over a year and a half for materials that do not harm the environment, Vaibhav Anant found that bamboo was the best alternative material to plastic to make straws. Bamboo is available in high quantities in India. Bambrew developed a technology for making straws from bamboo fibres and bamboo waste. These materials are natural and biodegradable which means the products can decay naturally and do not have a negative impact on the environment. Secondary research helped him to collect quantitative data. He found that there are about 137 bamboo species, but not all of them are suitable for making straws. He researched the best areas in India to source the bamboo and identified communities in India who could manufacture the straws. Bambrew is now developing disposable bamboo food containers and packaging as well as straws and exporting these to the US, UK, and Canada. The marketing strategy used by Bambrew is business to business (B2B). Customers include Zomato, a food delivery business, and Lalit Hotels, a luxury hotel chain. According to reports, the global biodegradable packaging market, which was valued at $3.92bn in 2018, will be worth $21bn by 2025.
Extract B Bambrew: Our products At Bambrew we believe the Earth has the right to live without pollution. All our products are 100% handmade, reusable and the perfect natural substitute for plastic. They are lightweight and fully biodegradable. No chemicals or pesticides are used in the production of our products. Our aim is not just to protect the environment, but to help and support local communities who produce our products. We act ethically to ensure the communities are supported and are paid a fair price for the straws.
Assess if there is likely to be a trade-off between an ethical stance and profit for Bambrew.
Sources for use with Section A
Extract A
Alibaba Group
The Alibaba Group was established in 1999. The business was inspired and led by entrepreneur Jack Ma, a former English teacher from China. Jack Ma and 17 other people invested in the business. From the beginning, the business focused on using technology to enable small businesses to grow and compete more effectively in the global economy. Its mission is ‘to make it easy to do business anywhere’. Jack Ma is now a billionaire.
The Alibaba Group’s first website allowed small Chinese exporters and entrepreneurs to sell internationally. The Alibaba Group has grown into a global leader in online and mobile commerce. It is a world recognised brand and the fastest growing e-commerce business, employing thousands of people. The Alibaba Group has expanded and now has many websites. Its three main websites are Alibaba, Taobao and Tmall. Alibaba is for business-to-business sales (B2B). Taobao is consumer-to-consumer sales (C2C), similar to eBay, though it does not charge a selling fee like competitors such as eBay. Tmall is for business-to-consumer sales (B2C), similar to Amazon. Transactions on its websites totalled $248 bn in 2018, which was more than eBay and Amazon combined.
The Alibaba Group has a programme called the ‘Tech For Change Initiative’ that aims to support female education through free online training and free access to computing resources. It aims to help one million women become computer developers by 2030. The Alibaba Group donates funding for healthcare for the underprivileged and for wildlife protection.
Extract B
Leadership of Jack Ma
Jack Ma, a Chinese entrepreneur and founder of the Alibaba Group, built a large team around him that trust his decision making. He is known for his paternalistic style of leadership. He believes in taking responsibility for the actions of the group.
In an interview, Jack Ma mentioned how his paternalistic leadership helped him to succeed. He said he gave his team the confidence to follow his commands as he took the responsibility for anything that went wrong. He also said that his job is to make sure his team is happy, because when the team is happy, they can make customers happy.
Discuss if profit maximisation is the main business objective of the Alibaba Group.
Extract A About The Coffee House The Coffee House is a chain of coffee shops in Vietnam. The Coffee House opened its first shop in 2014 and within four years it had 100 shops across the country. Its shops are located on busy high streets in Vietnam's large cities. Coffee shops have grown in popularity in Vietnam and have attracted successful international businesses such as Starbucks. The Coffee House is an innovative brand that has been built by offering an attractive space, excellent customer service and product quality at affordable prices. The mission of the business is to 'deliver happiness'. It aims to provide excellent customer satisfaction as well as providing the employees with an enjoyable place to work. The Coffee House is recognised for its innovation by:
- creating a unique design for each shop to provide a welcoming atmosphere that feels like home
- regularly updating menus to adapt to changing tastes and trends
- providing dedicated and comfortable spaces where people can work
- being one of the first businesses in Vietnam to launch a mobile app to allow customers to order their drinks online
- investing in its own farm in Vietnam to provide coffee beans for its shops.
Extract B Leading coffee shop brands in Vietnam in 2022 (by number of shops)
Extract B Leading coffee shop brands in Vietnam in 2022 (by number of shops)
Extract A About The Coffee House The Coffee House is a chain of coffee shops in Vietnam. The Coffee House opened its first shop in 2014 and within four years it had 100 shops across the country. Its shops are located on busy high streets in Vietnam's large cities. Coffee shops have grown in popularity in Vietnam and have attracted successful international businesses such as Starbucks. The Coffee House is an innovative brand that has been built by offering an attractive space, excellent customer service and product quality at affordable prices. The mission of the business is to 'deliver happiness'. It aims to provide excellent customer satisfaction as well as providing the employees with an enjoyable place to work. The Coffee House is recognised for its innovation by:
- creating a unique design for each shop to provide a welcoming atmosphere that feels like home
- regularly updating menus to adapt to changing tastes and trends
- providing dedicated and comfortable spaces where people can work
- being one of the first businesses in Vietnam to launch a mobile app to allow customers to order their drinks online
- investing in its own farm in Vietnam to provide coffee beans for its shops.
Define the term 'customer satisfaction'. (Extract A, line 9)