Case 05
CREATE IT.
There was no business idea.
Just an asset.
And the ambition to build something.
An investor was considering acquiring a relatively inexpensive piece of land in the American Southwest.
He wanted to become an entrepreneur and saw the property as a possible starting point.
His question was essentially:
What business could we build here?
There was no defined product.
No business model.
Not even a developed business idea.
There was an asset and an ambition.
Investigation
We began by looking outward rather than immediately deciding what should be constructed on the land.
The work explored:
- Location
- Population
- Demographic trends
- Regional activity
- Reasons people travelled to or through the area
- Lifestyle trends
- Existing and emerging needs
- Potential commercial uses of the location
Several observations began connecting.
One involved the popularity of RV and mobile lifestyles.
Another involved the large aging population sometimes described as the Silver Tsunami.
A particular tension emerged among long-term travellers and mobile retirees:
As mobility becomes more difficult with age, people may eventually be forced to abandon not simply a vehicle but a lifestyle, community and identity.
The Concept
From those observations, a business concept began to emerge.
The idea was to develop a community capable of evolving with its residents through later stages of life rather than forcing them to abruptly abandon the lifestyle they valued.
The concept combined:
- Mobile/RV-oriented living
- Community
- Wellness
- Retreat experiences
- Progressive support services
- Other services appropriate to the needs of an aging population
The underlying principle became:
You don't necessarily move away
from your lifestyle as you age.
The lifestyle evolves with you.
Testing
Further market and economic work supported the commercial potential of the concept.
Then the architecture exposed a critical location-specific constraint involving access to an essential resource required for long-term development.
The uncertainty was significant enough to threaten the viability of the entire property-based project.
THE PROPERTY WAS REJECTED.
But the business concept was not.
The investigation had separated the business opportunity from the original asset.
The concept could potentially be adapted to a different location where the underlying conditions were stronger.
Status
The concept remains in development, with potential partnership and development opportunities being explored in another U.S. market.
It should not currently be represented as investor-ready or as a completed development.
Outcome
CREATE / VALIDATE / STOP / RELOCATE
An asset generated an investigation.
The investigation generated an idea.
The idea developed into a potentially viable business concept.
The original asset failed an important condition.
The asset was rejected.
The business survived.
We killed the property.
Not the business.
Sometimes the thing you start with
isn't the business.
It's simply how you discover it.