Cindy Fu

Lee Graff expands her foundation company Cover FX, through serendipity.

Twitter recently had its IPO, moving from being a private company to a public one. What about small companies who don’t have capital to expand?

Cover FX,  a foundation cosmetics company landed an investment partner through serendipity. This is exactly what Sauder Alumni Brian Wong advised us about, to generate serendipity and by “creating your own luck…believe in people who understand how to build the right relationships and… their own capacity and propensity to create.”  

Cover FX targets a specific customer need, and their value proposition is to sell a high quality foundation to customers that want a natural look that is also good for the skin. With a clear and concise value proposition, they have a clear goal to achieve. Having a focused strategy,

The company’s business model canvas has actually been revised under different circumstances including supplying a sophisticated chain store rather than from being only available through a dermatologist. The revisions done to the business model canvas allows for growth, and is perfectly normal as learned from revising the business plan we created for a business. The customer strategy shifted when Cover FX built its online brand for awareness, widening the customer channel.

From a successful partnership with a private equity firm, that was unexpected, she now has a broader set of skills and financial power necessary for taking the company to the next level.

References:

“Twitter Goes Public.” Yahoo Finance. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/watch-twitter-ipo-live-stream-coverage-nov-7-194141440.html>.

“Private investor takes cosmetics company to next levelAdd to ….” The Globe and Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/going-global/private-investor-takes-cosmetics-company-to-next-level/article15387067/>.

“Vancitybuzz.” Vancity Buzz Vancouver Events News Food Lifestyle and More. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2012/07/vancity-entrepreneurs-brian-wong-kiips-it-real/>.