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 MCFE May 2023

Graduate Office of Experiential Learning

7-WEEK PROJECTS

Olin Hall Suite 320oel@babson.edu

Dear Babson Graduate Students Welcome to Babson s Graduate Office of Experiential Learning We are excited to share our latest Management Consulting Field Experience MCFE Project Catalog for the upcoming May to June 2023 Summer Elective Set I The project offerings associated with this elective time period are scheduled to run for 7 weeks and those projects that have been approved by a specific division for concentration approval are denoted As you plan your electives please note the following dates and deadlines Thursday March 23 Application submissions due by midnight EDT Week of March 27 Communicate team formation to students Project acceptance confirmation due 3 DAYS AFTER RECEIVING the team formation email Experiential Learning office to register each team with Registrar s Office Week of April 3 Should you have any questions or want additional information regarding the Management Consulting Field Experience MCFE please contact Amanda Malin in the Office of Experiential Learning or your Graduate Academic Services Advisor We look forward to having you join a team Wishing you continued success Amanda Malin AMANDA MALIN John Rehm Director of Experiential Learning Babson College F W Olin Graduate School of Business T 781 239 5053 F 781 239 6193

MCFE PROJECT TABLE OF CONTENTS AcceptU Professional Services Brainwave Science Technology ChopValue Boston Manufacturing Commission for the Promotion of Peru for Exports and Tourism Non Profit G I Junk Removal Other

POSHI Consumer Products Retail Sqope Intelligence Financial Services TrialAssure Life Sciences Healthcare Technology Visa Financial Services Waitrr Technology

AcceptU www AcceptU com Industry Professional Services Project Focus Sales Marketing Company Description Location Newton MA Revenue USD 6 2M Employees 15 AcceptU is the 1 rated admissions consulting firm Our team is composed entirely of former admissions officers from highly selective colleges and graduate programs who provide 1 on 1 virtual support on all aspects of the admissions process AcceptU s innovative approach to admissions counseling delivers results more than 90 of our clients are admitted to at least one of their top three choices and our clients are 4x more likely to be admitted to highly selective colleges and universities AcceptU has supported thousands of applicants from around the world including 20 countries enabling them to get admitted to 300 colleges and graduate programs including all of the top 100 in various rankings More information about AcceptU can be found at www AcceptU com Project Challenge AcceptU is an innovative technology driven provider of college and graduate admissions counseling Since our founding in 2010 and especially following the pandemic we have seen an increasing number of providers and competition We are seeking a comprehensive competitive analysis of the admissions consulting industry and landscape Our goal is to better understand our competitors including their service packages offerings fees and customer demographics as well as the ways in which these companies market their services From this we hope to distill key insights and takeaways to refine our own service offerings as well as our fees positioning and marketing strategies to ensure AcceptU continues on its growth trajectory and maintains its competitive position at the 1 rated admissions consulting firm Deliverables

A successful project is one in which we would gain a deep understanding of the current competitive landscape including the major players their offerings fees and marketing tactics Doing so will enable AcceptU to refine its offerings and also potentially develop new offerings to maintain its advantage in an increasingly crowded marketplace We would expect the competitive analysis to be delivered to us through a written report and or PowerPoint A lot has changed in the admissions consulting industry and landscape over the last few years AcceptU is and always has been a virtual service provider with a robust team of former admissions officers and a highly refined pedagogical approach that consistently delivers outcomes However today we are seeing an increasing number of competitors including many that are well financed and looking to replicate our model With this project students will work directly with the company s co founders as well as a team of 5 6 sales and marketing directors to make a direct impact on our organization Given a better understanding of the competitive landscape we will be able to assess our current offerings identify gaps and opportunities and optimize our service fees and pricing We also hope to be able to better understand how competitors are acquiring customers to protect existing marketing channels and expand into new ones

Brainwave Science https brainwavescience com Industry Technology Project Focus Sales Marketing Company Description Location Southborough MA Revenue USD 7M Employees 45 Brainwave Science developed a technology called iCognative with the latest developments in Neuroscience that can identify and prevent different types of fraud in the insurance industry These include intentional damage claims staged accidents false or inflated property damage burglary or theft arson fake disability and death claims etc iCognative technology identifies scientifically whether the information related to a specific fraud is stored in the brain of the test subject by precisely measuring brainwaves Technology contains a custom built noninvasive headset that collects brain responses while the subject sees information related to fraud flashed on the iPad These responses are analyzed realtime and offline by the technology and results show whether fraud related information is present in the subject s brain or not In a similar manner the technology also identifies whether the subject has an intention or planning to commit any specific type of fraud in the future Project Challenge Brainwave is planning to introduce the product into the Insurance sector Insurance companies are our main customers and may face various practical and legal challenges while implementing iCognative technology Currently insurance companies do not have effective and reliable methods and instruments for checking false or inflated insurance claims and as a result suffer significant losses because of the high level of insurance fraud forcing them to increase insurance premiums for their clients Implementation of iCognative technology will greatly help them to identify fraudulent practices by various actors in the system which will in turn increase savings for Insurance companies and help them reduce insurance premiums According to FBI data the total cost of insurance fraud non health insurance is estimated to be more than 40 billion per year That

means Insurance Fraud costs the average U S family between 400 and 700 per year in the form of increased premiums The main issue is how to implement the product while addressing the main concerns raised by insurance companies clients and the Government that needs to legitimize the use of the technology We need a study that will help us to understand what kind of resistance can be expected from insurance companies clients and the Government about the use of the technology and how to overcome it Deliverables Students will deliver a study that will identify challenges of implementation of iCognative technology in the insurance sector and suggest remedies The study should address the following issues Identifying possible resistance to iCognative technology implementation from insurance companies clients and offering resistance mitigation strategies Identifying Governmental approach both at the Federal and State levels towards implementation of iCognative technology in the insurance industry and suggesting mitigation strategies Suggesting methods of implementation of iCognative technology in the insurance industry We will consider the project as successful as long as a student can successfully collect 70 of data related to our goals This project s results will give us direction and save us time for our sales It is important at this time of pre launch of the product

ChopValue Boston www chopvalue com Industry Manufacturing Project Focus Sales Marketing Analytics Web Mobile Market Research Other Company Description Location Charlestown MA Revenues USD 150K Employees 8 ChopValue Boston manufactures carbon negative furnishings and architectural features out of recycled chopsticks Our products are highly sustainable not only due to locally recycled content but also due to local manufacturing Charlestown MA which eliminates the need to ship our products from overseas We are an independently owned franchise of a global company based in Vancouver Canada Boston is currently one of two US franchise locations the other is Las Vegas We are a certified B Corporation as well as a women and minority owned small business Project Challenge Project Title Articulating NetZero Benefit to Drive Sales Quick Background Why Important ChopValue Boston is new to the US market manufacturing carbon negative furnishings and architectural features out of locally recycled chopsticks Our products are highly sustainable not only due to locally recycled content but also due to local manufacturing Charlestown MA which eliminates the need to ship our products from overseas An increasing number of companies have set ambitious net zero targets and sustainable procurement intentions but there are limited options for products that will help them achieve these goals ChopValue Boston intends to ramp up commercial sales of its custom architectural features to a minimum 1M in 2023 by providing a new alternative to buyers for locally made sustainable building material interiors architectural features We are an independently owned franchise of a global company based in Vancouver Canada

Project Scope Review ChopValue Boston s existing carbon capture data and the franchisor s methodology for calculating it Understand how sustainability drives buying decisions for commercial customers e g architectural firms interior designers builders developers Translate ChopValue Boston s product value into market relevant carbon offsets for current and future buyers Deliverables If successful at the end of the project ChopValue Boston would be able to clearly articulate to commercial buyers how exactly a purchase of our carbon negative products would help them achieve their NetZero goals Sample Activities Deliverables Research and summarize LEED certification process requirements and any sub certification needs Develop recommendations for ChopValue related to LEED relevance e g will need to be certified by XYZ authority in order to receive LEED points Create calculations statements articulations of how ChopValue s material by unit will affect NetZero goals or building projects Recommended best practices for sales approaches in the sustainable building space based on interviews We would use the project results findings immediately in business development activities as we approach commercial buyers e g architectural firms colleges universities etc and work to grow our 2023 sales revenue to 1M Why is this important to us now The sustainability value proposition of our products is key to our sales strategy though we lack the ability to translate this value to our sustainability focused customers B2B sales are critical to the company s growth and financial viability and 2023 is our year to make this pivot both in our pipeline and actual account mix

Commission for the Promotion of Peru for Exports and Tourism https peru info en us Industry Non Profit Project Focus Sales Marketing Company Description Location Lima Peru Revenue USD 80 500 Employees 300 The Commission for the Promotion of Peru for Exports and Tourism Promper is the government organization whose objective is to position Peru in the world through the promotion of its image its tourist destinations and its export products with added value contributing to the sustainable and decentralized development of the country In 2011 Promper launched the brand Marca Peru a tool that seeks to boost tourism and exports to attract investment and aims to improve the image of Peru before the world s eyes our campaigns have garnered significant national and international recognition such as it s its exhibition in Times Square in New York City before millions of people during the Christmas holidays with a result of more than 11 million impacts in return We seek to continue standing out in strategies that contribute to this objective and that is why we resort to new points of view Project Challenge Although the Peru Brand has achieved a certain position both locally and internationally the permanent scenario of uncertainty and accelerated changes due to COVID 19 international conflicts and environmental problems has made the Peru Brand and the country brands face significant challenges especially as countries want to keep their reputations intact in the face of the pandemic looking to rebuild their economies

In this sense country brands compete in a complex scenario so it is necessary to lay the foundations for management through innovation and sustainability to attract investment encourage tourism boost the economy communicate a positive image and improve our position internationally In recent years Peru has been going through a complex political and social context that has had a negative impact on the perception that international audiences have of the country s image and positioning of the Peru Brand This situation has been outsourced affecting sectors such as tourism Likewise the communication actions of the Peru Brand will seek to maintain a certain neutrality within the situation experienced by the country maintaining a relative reserve on issues outside its competence which is part of the political moment experienced within the region Let s contrast this with the communication carried out by other country brands during and after the pandemic Their crisis management in the face of the social and political context we may see that they seek to consolidate their participation in timely and necessary platforms to make visible their potential and tourism offer due to the brutal hit by the COVID 19 pandemic It is here where their communication and marketing strategies are mainly focused on making their countries stand out arouse interest captivate and above all attract their key audiences It is important to highlight that these neighboring countries in the region have been reinforcing their presence in campaigns that attract different audiences and seek to develop tactical actions to capitalize on their promotion and positioning efforts in the international market It is essential to plan and execute marketing actions that boost the demand and perceived value of the Peruvian offer in the tourism export and investment sectors within a context of economic recovery For this the signals that are given from the public and private sectors with actions that help disseminate Peru as a safe destination with high quality goods and services and great potential to attract foreign investment flows are essential Just so you know the challenge we present to you is to Benchmark country brands related to the communications strategy for crisis situations We recommend conducting the analysis in the following countries Chile Colombia Argentina Brazil and Mexico Deliverables

What we are looking for is to broaden the knowledge of country brands We want to identify the areas or activities that must be optimized in the Peru country brand and in which sectors we should improve communication Deliverables Generate a country brand benchmark report and a crisis management plan A list of suggested tools to analyze country brands With the information analyzed and received new communication strategies could be implemented in our next campaigns in the face of possible crises This analysis is crucial for us to know how to act before facing an economical or social crisis

G I Junk Removal www gijunknw com Industry Other Project Focus Sales Marketing Sales Business Development Strategy Business Planning Forecasting Analytics Web Mobile Market Research Company Description Location Portland OR Revenue USD 980K Employees 13 G I Junk Removal was founded by Matthew and Jennifer Calhoun in Portland Oregon in 2018 Matthew is a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the U S Army He was an intelligence officer and served for 20 years He oversees company operations Jennifer has a Master s Degree in Human Resources and has worked as a Labor Relations consultant for 12 years She oversees the other business functions including HR accounting finance sales marketing and strategy The business provides residential and commercial junk removal services Each day 2 3 employees go out in each truck trailer drive to customers locations to collect items that they want hauled away remove the items sort them based on where they need to go landfill recycling storage warehouse etc and then haul the items to each location Customers book their appointments on demand either online or with the company s in house dispatchers by phone text or email In the beginning 2018 Matt and his teenage son were performing all of the labor with one used truck and trailer operating out of their home garage Jennifer worked in her corporate job full time and supported the business on the side The Covid 19 pandemic spurred rapid growth which provided the capital to invest in improvements to the company s systems and hiring of additional employees which in turn supported ongoing rapid growth The company now has 15 employees 4 trucks trailers and 6 000sq ft of commercial warehouse space

Project Challenge Business applications for Artificial Intelligence are growing at an unprecedented rate across all industries Companies no longer need a team of in house developers and extended time horizons to leverage AI in meaningful ways The increased efficiency of AI particularly in the areas of marketing sales and data management can change the game for small businesses We are looking for a consulting team to assess and ultimately recommend options for AI adoption that will have the largest impact on our company s growth Deliverables We would discuss with the team the areas of the business in which we believe AI could be effectively leveraged and would like the team to develop a framework by which to assess AI tools against our use cases We will seriously consider the team s specific recommendations for AI adoption as well as hopefully continue to use their developed framework for assessing future AI implementation opportunities This is especially important to our company as we work to control our overhead expenses while sustaining our current rapid rate of growth

POSHI LLC www poshi com Industry Consumer Products Retail Project Focus Sales Marketing Sales Business Development Company Description Location Coral Gables FL Revenue USD 12M Employees 10 POSHI Power of Simple Healthy Ingredients provides all natural healthy snacks and food ingredients promoting healthier diet and lifestyles Based in Miami Florida POSHI is a company which thrives on continuous innovation of new products The website is www POSHI com The instagram account is eatposhi Project Challenge Our objective is to launch a new line of innovative pickles in the global markets based on the success of our current products sold in the market Deliverables A successful project would include the presentation for a new product launch strategy This includes research analysis and strategy as well as a realistic plan for execution We are eager to invest more resources to expand our innovative and healthy pickles in the market A clear understanding of the current market along with the competitors and latest trends regarding our new line of products will help us determine the best strategy to launch the new line of products This would include the choice of products its positioning in the market and the strategy to reach the primary target consumers This challenge is important for our Company as this project is key for the continued double digit year to year growth of our Company As we have been successful with the Babson students in the past the new Babson team will be able to see their work being implemented in the market in the next 6 to 12 months

Sqope Intelligence www sqopeintelligence com Industry Financial Services Project Focus Sales Marketing Sales Business Development Strategy Business Planning Forecasting Company Description Location New York NY Revenue USD 2 6M Employees 30 Founded in 2010 Sqope is a leading provider of enhanced due diligence reports and ESG reputational assessments that empower professionals to evaluate risk and make decisions Our clients benefit from premium intelligence based on transparent sources produced by our team of experts Sqope s analysts are based around the globe and have regional expertise and years of experience from various backgrounds including military intelligence academia investigative journalism and the private sector Sqope has offices in Luxembourg HQ Geneva London New York and Tel Aviv Our customers typically include private banks family offices life insurance companies asset managers VC firms law firms and private equity Our products enable professionals to comply with every AML CFT and anti corruption regulation by providing them with deep and ongoing knowledge of their clients prospects employees investors and business partners We deliver results quickly and ensure full confidentiality of our clients identities and sensitive information Project Challenge While Sqope Intelligence is a leading provider in European markets we need a new strategy to break into the US market Since opening a branch mid 2022 in New York we have not yet been successful in attracting local clients While we know our services are needed in the US our biggest challenge is figuring out how to market ourselves and get our name out there

Deliverables We would expect a successful project to conclude with a presentation with the following components A synopsis of the the regulatory environment potential market segments size of the addressable markets An analysis of customer buying habits and the market price for our products Details regarding the competitive landscape and the competitors strength weaknesses A recommended market entry strategy among exporting licensing partnering joint ventures countertrade acquisition piggybacking and greenfield venturing The results findings will be directly utilized for the purpose of shaping our go to market strategy in the USA It will help us plan a US focused product line to offer to clients localize our pitch and determine whom we should be targeting This is critical for our company now as the strategy we use for Europe has not been effective and we need a fresh perspective to capture the US market

TrialAssure Inc www trialassure com Industry Life Science Healthcare Technology Project Focus Sales Business Development Strategy Business Planning Forecasting Company Description Location Canton MI Revenue USD 2M Employees 5 FT 30 including contractors TrialAssure is clinical trial transparency software suite which provides a flexible scalable and streamlined SaaS platform that supports risk based data set and document anonymization data driven plain language summaries and clinical trial registry activities The development of TrialAssure was initiated in 2013 while part of MMS Holdings TrialAssure is now an independent organization with business partner relationship with MMS For more information please visit www TrialAssure com Project Challenge Anonymization of data documents and images is important for all industries that deal with confidential information Ex Names ages race etc of participants of clinical trials Ex An individual s credit card information in financial documents What anonymization allows companies to do is hide confidential information from the public while retaining the utility of that data

TrialAssure leads the competition in the Transparency field of disclosure anonymization patient engagement for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology for over a decade and now we are looking to expand our products and services into other industries financial legal government transportation etc Project purpose is to research investigate and define Market Scope and Business Opportunities for anonymization of information data documents etc in industries other than pharmaceutical what are the business needs what resources processes and tools are being used and how best TrialAssure can tailor our software to serve these industries In addition to anonymization summarization of complex documents into plain language summaries using TrialAssure LINK can be explored for other industries Identify and understand plain language summary use cases in different domains Deliverables Project output to have market analysis business opportunities in non pharmaceutical industries and domains with high level marketing and business plan for expanding TrialAssure into these domains We would expect to be presented with a full understanding of ways that data and document anonymization is used in industries outside of pharma and biotech We would expect to understand how and when anonymization is being used in these industries identify relevant conferences pertaining to anonymization for our participation and market analysis of potential competitors of TrialAssure in these industries The finding of the project results would help TrialAssure to expand our software services business into non Life Sciences industries ex financial government legal etc and would help TrialAssure to understand the needs and market scope within those industries

Visa Inc https usa visa com Industry Financial Services Project Focus Analytics Web Mobile Market Research Company Description Location Lima Peru Revenue USD 25B Employees 26 500 Visa Inc is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in San Francisco California It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world most commonly through Visa branded credit cards debit cards and prepaid cards Visa is one of the world s most valuable companies Visa has a presence in more than 200 countries in the world This project is for Latin America the Caribbean region Project Challenge In LAC we have low card payments penetration in some segments because of payments behaviors infrastructure no acceptance etc A lot of this payment volume is already digitized by mobile banking services but Visa does not perceive any income for these payment flows even when they are using our cards and brand Visa s goal is to be the best way to pay and be paid and when the UX is not in our hands we lose control and may not meet client expectations We want to build a solution where our cardholders will be able to make their payments with flexibility using any Visa card having the best payment experience and in an easy and secure way Deliverables Benchmark Market research LAC and others World wide best practices Best user experiences Consumer preferences

We want to launch this solution in many LAC markets where this kind of solution is needed and where there is risk of disintermediation

Waitrr https waitrr com Industry Technology Project Focus Operations Logistics Supply Chain Other Company Description Location Singapore Revenue USD 700K Employees 9 Mission Waitrr provides a mobile ordering and payments platform for the hospitality industry letting restaurant guests order and pay using their own phones without the need to download an app Waitrr exists to increase profits and reduce hassle for owners of full service SME cafes restaurants hotels and bars Problem A third of all expenses in full service F B establishments is manpower and the biggest pain point for owners is recruiting training and retaining waiters There is a massive shortage of waiters especially in developed markets due to low pay poor hours and having to deal with upset customers This problem has existed for years and is forecast to worsen as restaurants are forced to reduce wages in response to increasing rent and increases in cost of ingredients Solution Waitrr s QR ordering payments Guests scan a restaurant s QR code they order and pay all from within their phone s browser NO app download required Automating the order taking and payment allows restaurants to provide premium customer service with fewer staff Waitrr also increases average spend through automated up selling and cross selling Further revenue increases through add ons like integrated loyalty programs increasing frequency of customer visits feedback collection or even taking a loan from one of Waitrr s fintech partners to open another outlet

Project Challenge Develop marketing strategy for Waitrr with the ultimate goal of getting target restaurants to sign up with Waitrr Deliverables A research based marketing strategy where pilot tests have been conducted to confirm validity of recommendations We ll implement the findings to grow the number of inbound leads from our specific target audience Our solution is now ready for broader exposure all our major features have been built and now we need to focus on restaurant acquisition

Ready to apply 1 Review the 7 week MCFE Overview 2 Decide whether you ll apply as an individual or find classmates to work as a team Please note neither option will increase or decrease your chances of being selected 3 Select your top 3 project choices 4 APPLY NOW As a reminder please note the following dates and deadlines Thursday March 23 Application submissions due by midnight EST Week of March 27 Communicate team formation to students Project acceptance confirmation due 3 DAYS AFTER RECEIVING the team formation email Experiential Learning office to register each team with the Registrar s Office Week of April 3 If you have any additional questions please contact Amanda Malin at amalin babson edu