Launched a Design Consultancy for new business and geo expansion.
In 2020, I was tasked with my current organisation’s market expansion in North America. We already had minor presence but the objective was to become more focused, relevant based on several interviews with the customers and research.
Drawing from our creative strengths and experience in working with multi-billion dollar organisation, vision was to build a design consultancy that would cater to specific industry and market needs that are currently unmet. This meant - a relevant business model, new skills sets, a separate team, new processes and frameworks, and all the bells and whistles required for a launching a new business.
Darjeeling Design Co. , a design consultancy for human-centered experience design needs.
Sharing a snippet of the strategy and business model from the initial stages:
What was the elevator pitch?
The acceleration of change, the declining shelf-life of business models, and the widening gap between customer intent and behavior are all connected to one constant – human experience. We are a multi-disciplinary, independent boutique digital design consultancy managing a diverse range of projects for clients large and small.
The problem statement:
Simply put, business is being digitally reinvented and it needs to be steered in the right way by infusing design thinking methodologies at the very core of a organization. Brand strategy & marketing should be too. Because image and perception help drive value, deliver experiences, help give an edge over others in this competitive landscape; without an image there is no perception. It’s time to think beyond the funnel.
Unsuccessful strategies are piling up because these approaches don’t work:
Focus only on implementing new digital technologies
Try to ‘org design’ the way to digital
Approach digital transformation as a technology implementation
Just tell people to be more agile and innovative
Isolated victory or bursts of activity – then declare digital success
Hire or buy digital skills without also focusing on training existing talent in digital
Client patterns we see asking for help or facing challenges in their digital transformation journey are:
The Competitor – The CEO gave a directive to transform. Now. How to do it?
The Disrupted – Help! We are being disrupted. What do we do?
The Fatigued – Our digital projects lack clear direction or real life benefit. How do I ROI?
The One Man Show – My BU is lacking identity and appeal. How do I bring it at par with the BU in terms of positioning?
The Spot Solution – We need a new mobile app solution. I know what I want and I need help getting it done. Let’s not boil the ocean right now, but focus on the delivery.
Industry trends and landscape:
As per a recent McKinsey research points to a set of factors that might improve the chances of a transformation succeeding. These factors fall into five categories:
Having the right, digital-savvy leaders in place
Building capabilities for the workforce of the future
Empowering people to work in new ways
Giving day-to-day tools a digital upgrade
Communicating frequently via traditional and digital methods
Our Value Proposition:
Aligning the forces to make your goals compelling, beautiful and tangible takes a team who understands the balance of what’s possible with what’s right. We apply data driven insights, intuition and creativity to improve virtual and physical environment which our clients’ brands connect with real people.
We use strategy, design and technology to create transformative experiences that impact your customers, your employees and your business.
Business Outcomes:
Led the business to grow 68% YoY and 5X headcount growth since 2019.
Competitive pricing resulting in gaining more Bay Area based clients.
Introduced new and expanded service offerings spontaneously to meet the increasing demand from clients and market trends.