We all love cupcakes. But by 2012, it’s nearly impossible to find store bought pastries that taste as good as home baked goods. Crave Cupcakes is a Calgary based company that sells baked goods that are not only delicious, but are baked in store every day and uses only fresh ingredients. Sisters Carolyne and Jodi began the company in 2004 with a mission – to bring the delight of homemade baked goods to the population of Calgary. The aspiring spirit and vision of these two women make them strong entrepreneurs with a company that is not currently, but could potentially become a social enterprise.

Crave regularly donates cupcakes to communities and charities that are in need, and donates all extra cupcakes left at the end of the day to low-income services. These charitable actions pave the path to a social enterprise, but Crave is not quite there yet.

With a good-hearted mission such as the one Crave has, it is very possible to make minor changes to the company to create social change in the community. By hiring marginalized individuals or teaching kitchen skills to those in need, Crave can not only continue operating for profit, but also create social change.

Sources:
http://www.cravecupcakes.ca/about-us/the-story.html

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Instagram is a photo sharing social networking application that has caught on popularity around the world. But what is it about the application that caused Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, to spend 1 billion dollars on it? At the time of purchase (April 2012), Instagram was only valued at 500 million. Instagram does not sell products, or place advertisements within the application. The company even saw a 2.7 million dollar loss within the first two years of operation. However, I believe that there are two reasons that Zuckerberg bought the company.
One, there is great potential for product advertisement. Many designer brands such as Chanel and Gucci already have their own Instagram accounts, posting photos of their new fashion lines and runway shows. This creates potential for Instagram being an important part of online marketing.
Second, the popularity of Instagram was growing at a very steady rate, with their user count rising over 600% within 1 year. This essentially set Instagram as Facebook’s primary competition in terms of user growth. By buying Instagram, Zuckerberg was able to eliminate competition.
With these two reasons at hand, Zuckerberg made great strides in gaining more market share, as well as owning a potentially extremely profitable company.

Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-finances-2012-8
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With the recent September 21^st release of the iPhone 5, tech-savvy consumers worldwide are faced again with the seemingly age old debate: team android or team iPhone? The main competitor the Apple iPhone is the Samsung Galaxy S3, offering very similar features, with a different look.

Comparing features, the Galaxy seems to have everything that the iPhone has, and more. While both are touchscreen, contain an application store, and have an intelligent personal assistant, The Galaxy also presents more memory, a longer battery life, and a lower price. The Galaxy stayed strong during the September 12^th announcement of the iPhone 5, experiencing a 15% growth.
However, even with greater features and a lower price, I do not see the Galaxy being more successful than the iPhone in the long run. Though there are numerous benefits, the Galaxy simply cannot compete with the iPhone in one category: aesthetics. The iPhone is sleek, beautiful, and has a realm of social status associated with it. Because the iPhone was the first simplistic touch-screen phone to dominate the market, it will be the one to stay on top. The Galaxy may remain as the primary competition, but I don’t see it ever gaining enough popularity to defeat the sales of the iPhone.

Sources:
http://www.mobilenapps.com/articles/4598/20121007/samsung-galaxy-s3-sales-continue-spike-iphone.htm
http://www.autoomobile.com/news/iphone-5-vs-samsung-galaxy-s3-27/1004728/
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As canvas shoes grow in popularity, they are becoming a common staple item in the closets of many. Tom’s Shoes is one of many companies that sell canvas shoes, but its rapid growth since the company’s inception in 2006 has drawn much media attention.

Unlike many other shoe companies, Tom’s unique ‘One for one’ value proposition targets the kind heart in all of us. The company proposes that with each pair of shoes sold, ‘Friends of Tom’s’ – a non profit affiliate of Tom’s, will donate one pair of shoes to a child in need. This point of difference separates Tom’s from its competitors such as Vans, Converse, and Keds, who all produce various forms of canvas shoes.

Toms’ point of difference is especially unique because the difference is not specifically within their product. Tom’s shoes are simple, with no laces nor equipped with the latest orthotic design. The difference comes from the humanitarian promise in their company – previously unseen in the clothing industry. This point of difference is the basis of their value proposition, and reaches to a broad customer base due to peoples’ want to participate in this ‘One for One’ project.
Tom’s has proved to be successful in the shoe industry, selling over 1 million pairs of shoes as of 2012. Only time will tell if people will continue to support the ‘One to One’ campaign, or if the fad will fade out!

Sources:
http://www.toms.ca
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