The inside track for serious adventure sports enthusiasts and professionals. Search, vet and book.
Business overview
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Social media | |
| Website | www.ongosa.com |
| Sectors | Travel, Leisure & Sport Mixed Digital/Non-Digital B2C |
| Company number | 9297585 |
| Incorporation date | 5 Nov 2014 |
Idea
Introduction
An online, cross platform market place, ongosa.com will connect adventure sports enthusiasts, who want to find, plan, book and share their sporting adventures with adventure sports guides and instructors, who want to market more effectively, sell more of their capacity and transact more efficiently.
Ongosa would enable customers to find guides & instructors based on relevant selection criteria (sport, geography, language, fitness and skill level and reviews). They would be able to view content, plan routes, share ideas with their group and guide, book and pay. Guides would be able to connect directly with potential clients and view their history allowing them to gauge expertise and tailor trips. The site would provide guides with more clients for less effort, reduce their marketing burden giving them more time to guide, earn money and take payments. This would help them sell more of their inventory before the season starts and the better client engagement could lead to higher transaction values.
Intended impact
As a marketplace and community for adventure sports, Ongosa has three core audiences: Enthusiast, Professional, Sponsor.
Enthusiast
Ongosa aims to help push their sports to the next stage, in new environments, with new skills and to new limits. They would be able to:
- Easily search, compare, vet, book and review professionals.
- Safely pay for services before travel.
- Confidently book services ahead of travel.
- Make descisions based on experience not location.
- Connect with other enthusiasts who have similar sports interests, local. knowledge or past experiences with professionals.
- Join group sessions that are prequalified at the same skill, adrenaline and fitness levels.
- Enjoy reduced cost, better experience through meeting like-minded sports enthusiasts.
Professional
Ongosa aims to help reduce marketing, sales and administration costs, and increase sales and yield. They would be able to:
- Promote their offer to a wider target market beyond the local catchment.
- Easily and cheaply keep profile up to date, relevant and exciting.
- Book clients easily.
- Sell additional group sessions by tapping into an Ongosa group.
- Manage payments securely.
- Build brand loyalty with clients.
- Keep in touch with clients over years.
- Get personal recommendations.
Sponsor
Ongosa aims to enable sponsors to connect with a high value, hard to reach demographic in an engaged way with credible brand association. They would be able to:
- Reach affluent high male bias AB demographic (30 - 60 years).
- Engage targeted audience with key relevant messages.
- Location and sports specific advertising opportunities.
Substantial accomplishments to date
Initial core audience market research demonstrates that this is a credible and relevant business model that would be adopted.
Recruitment of 30 professional guides, including a mountain guide agency commonly believed to be the most dominant UK agency.
"Ongosa would be a great way for me to find new clients, and keep in touch with the ones I have. It’s really hard to keep track of what they are doing and keep me in their thoughts. If Ongosa would allow me to find, book and keep my clients this is definitely something that I would use" Lars Vanhaelewyck: Mountain Penguins
“For us to be successful, we need to generate awareness for our brand. If Ongosa is able to connect us with new potential clients and the cost is affordable then this has real value for us and we would be delighted to promote our company through the website.” Chris Parks: Mountain Tracks
Monetisation strategy
A content and feature rich website highly focused on the adventure sports community, supported by a significant investment in search engine optimisation and pay per click should drive highly targeted traffic to Ongosa.com. Once web traffic is established, revenue streams are anticipated to be:
Sports activities bookings (guides, instructors, packaged trips) 70%
Based on 10% commission per booking
Accommodation (10%)
Based on 10% commission per booking
Insurance (7%)
Based on 20% commission per booking
Equipment (7%)
Advertising & Sponsorship (5%)
Use of proceeds
We are looking for first round investment to fund an 18 month start-up programme with the key objectives are:
1. Proving product and consumer fit in key test regions and sports (i.e. clients book professionals through the system).
2. Proving cost of supply and demand acquisition and retention
3. Building greater confidence in expected LTV
4. Identifying key operational team ahead of 2nd phase
5. Securing 2nd and planned final round funding in Q3 2016 ahead of 16/17 winter season.
The investment will fund building the technology platform, building the guides/ sports activity database and driving web traffic through advanced SEO activity supplemented by PPC, affiliate and sports body partnerships and in resort highly targeted promotional activity.
Website development to enable core features of search, review & booking professionals. 30%
Payroll for building up professionals profiles & providing a level of customer service. 25%
Marketing 15%
Other (legal, IT/Telecoms, expenses etc) 30%
Market
Target market
As a market place there are two main audiences: Enthusiast & Professionals.
Enthusiasts:
Active multi-sport individuals who are very likely to participate in two or more of the sports listed. We expect there to be a high level of this audience who either ski or climb and are proficient enough to look for off-piste/backcountry and more adventurous and demanding experiences. ABC1, 30 – 65
Professionals:
Independents or small agencies focussing on providing guiding or instructor services in the sports listed in key identified regions.
Each will have a high level of interest in two or more of the following:
Winter:
Climbing
Ice climbing
Mountaineering
Ski Mountaineering
Backcountry skiing & snowboarding
Heli & Cat Skiing & Boarding
Summer:
Mountain Biking
Hiking/Trekking
Endurance Running
Parapenting
Climbing
Mountaineering
Phase 1 regions: High Alpine, multi season, multi sports resorts recognised for backcountry offering.
France: Chamonix, Trois Vallees, Val d'isere, Les Arcs Les Deux Alps & La Grave.
Switzerland: Verbier, Engelberg, Andermatt
Phase 2 regions: Moving into wider mountain regions with more accessible backcountry offering across EU
Phase 3 regions: North American mountains following the same growth strategy.
A third audience would also be enabled to provide value added, paid content:
Insurance, sports equipment, accommodation & transfer companies with an interest in the above demographic and an association to relevant sports.
Characteristics of target market
Size
We understand there is market for these services as there are a number of associations of professionals and accreditation for training and guides. There are currently 6000 IFMGA registered guides.
Through our own research we conservatively estimate the European guiding & instructor market to be worth approximately £900 Million representing 1.8 Million trips.
There is also active web presence for outdoor/adventure sports
www.dream-guides.com >38,000 UVPA
(Well known English speaking Guide Agency in Chamonix)
www.powder-extreme.com >35,000 UVPA
(Company offering off-piste skiing in Verbier)
www.thebmc.co.uk >600,000 UVPA
(British Climbing/Mountaineering Association)
www.welove2ski.com >380,000 UVPA
(British Ski Interest Website)
Outsideonline.com >16M UVPA
(Media platform for outdoor/adventure sports)
Backcountry.com >10M UVPA
(E-Tailer for adventure sports equipment)
UVPA: Unique Visitors Per Annum as detailed on www.siteworthtraffic.com
Marketing strategy
Initially focussing on key mountain resorts that draw more progressive, well connected & respected professionals and enthusiasts will ensure that Ongosa is made available to target market leadership community. Promotion would be achieved through a combination of on and offline activity, building good will and ensuring visibility and access at the most likely buy points.
Online:
Enthusiasts would be targeted while they are searching on the internet through PPC and SEO which we initial expect to be a 50/50 weighting moving to 30/70 as the website is established. A relevant, feature and content-rich website should encourage them to stay and social media tactics would encourage them to promote the website to peers. Last minute group filling promotions would also be targeted, ensuring we maximise yields for professionals and increase revenue for the platform.
Offline:
A combination of in resort and event based promotion, focussed on raising awareness and driving online traffic. Key in resort and UK, low cost high profile events have been identified. Additionally key sports organisations have been identified and discussions on affiliate programmes are underway.
Professionals would be brought on through a free to use directory, which we have shown can be successful. As web traffic is proven, professionals would be encouraged to list spare capacity.
Sponsors & Advertising would be targeted through advertising sales specialist agencies.
Competition strategy
Current:
There is no online market place for adventure sports guides and instructors that we are aware of. Initially competition will come from in resort, established agencies or booking direct. Ongosa will mitigate these by aiming to provide:
1. Top ranking internet search results through a combination of advanced search engine optimisation, highly targeted pay per click and strategic partnerships (e.g. BMG). .2. Superior client experience, service and choice underpinned by simplicity and speed of booking.
3. Independent fast, safe and reliable access to new and existing client base with superior marketing and booking platform.
.In Verbier the leading agency has offered Ongosa 10% commission on all bookings and agreed to make all spare capacity available through Ongosa.
Future:
While there is no current competitive market place, the mitigation strategy for emerging competition is:
1. Having early mover advantage and creating barriers to entry.
2. Build a coveted, trusted and recognised brand in key adventure sports regions with world class professionals (e.g. Chamonix & Verbier where pilots are being focussed)
3. Secure and hold high level of quality inventory.
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