Zipcar Refining The Business Model 
Karl Held
Laura Gallas
Ben Midthun
Riley Eichhorn
Zipcar: Refining the Business Model
The idea for Zipcar began in 1999 when Antje Danielson approached Robin Chase with her new idea for a start up – car sharing. Danielson had observed the concept of car sharing on a vacation in Germany, which she noted was a trend throughout Europe. Chase agreed to partner with Danielson and they began to develop their business plan and to seek funding for it.
The entrepreneurial opportunity is definitely large enough for Zipcar to capture value. Looking at Manhattan alone, 75% of its population does not own a vehicle. For those people in this world where owning a vehicle just doesn't make sense for them whether is be financial reasons or have no use in it, Zipcar is the perfect solution for them. That one time every two weeks they go grocery shopping and need a vehicle, or that one time a month you want to go and visit family. The market is unbelievable right now for this company.
The social/environmental trends that allow Zipcar to capture financial value is the fact that people love to see new things and always be traveling as much as possible. With Zipcar, people are more likely to go on day long trips just to get out of the house and see new things. Now if they didn’t have access to a car of any sort, you can only go so far on a bicycle or running. In other words Zipcar opens up new opportunities for people that can’t afford to own a vehicle or the logic just doesn’t make sense to them.
The founders Danielson and Chase we believe are qualified to run their own business, but with a multimillion-dollar business, it is a whole new game they got themselves into. With the help of others we believe they can absolutely make it happen and be very successful at it though. By looking at the business today, it looks like they have done just that.
The difference between a business model and a financial projection is that, A business model represents the way you structure your
Laura Gallas
Ben Midthun
Riley Eichhorn
Zipcar: Refining the Business Model
The idea for Zipcar began in 1999 when Antje Danielson approached Robin Chase with her new idea for a start up – car sharing. Danielson had observed the concept of car sharing on a vacation in Germany, which she noted was a trend throughout Europe. Chase agreed to partner with Danielson and they began to develop their business plan and to seek funding for it.
The entrepreneurial opportunity is definitely large enough for Zipcar to capture value. Looking at Manhattan alone, 75% of its population does not own a vehicle. For those people in this world where owning a vehicle just doesn't make sense for them whether is be financial reasons or have no use in it, Zipcar is the perfect solution for them. That one time every two weeks they go grocery shopping and need a vehicle, or that one time a month you want to go and visit family. The market is unbelievable right now for this company.
The social/environmental trends that allow Zipcar to capture financial value is the fact that people love to see new things and always be traveling as much as possible. With Zipcar, people are more likely to go on day long trips just to get out of the house and see new things. Now if they didn’t have access to a car of any sort, you can only go so far on a bicycle or running. In other words Zipcar opens up new opportunities for people that can’t afford to own a vehicle or the logic just doesn’t make sense to them.
The founders Danielson and Chase we believe are qualified to run their own business, but with a multimillion-dollar business, it is a whole new game they got themselves into. With the help of others we believe they can absolutely make it happen and be very successful at it though. By looking at the business today, it looks like they have done just that.
The difference between a business model and a financial projection is that, A business model represents the way you structure your