{"id":1508,"date":"2015-12-05T23:10:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-06T04:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/borrowlenses-com-smooth-bokeh-starting-at-50\/"},"modified":"2015-12-09T16:08:16","modified_gmt":"2015-12-09T21:08:16","slug":"borrowlenses-com-smooth-bokeh-starting-at-50","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/borrowlenses-com-smooth-bokeh-starting-at-50\/","title":{"rendered":"BorrowLenses.com \u2013 Smooth Bokeh starting at $50"},"content":{"rendered":"

BorrowLenses.com is a successful start-up (recently acquired by Shutterfly)\u00a0that rents photography equipment to hobbyists and professionals online. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"LOGOtagline\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Company Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

BorrowLenses.com was created when the founder, Max Shvyakov, realized that there was a high level of demand by professional photographers to rent instead of buy expensive (often upwards of $10,000 each) lenses for professional assignments but there was no satisfactory place to rent from. Professional photographers are typically self-employed and the equipment required for their profession can often be worth over $50,000. Given the wide variety of lenses available that are often only useful for certain projects photographers have struggled to justify the cost of expensive specialty\u00a0lenses for only one assignment. Existing rental establishments had unpredictable inventory availability (and what inventory they did have was rarely aligned with what consumers actually demanded), required customers to make sizable deposits, and required picking up and dropping off of\u00a0rented equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Business Model<\/strong><\/p>\n

BorrowLenses.com\u2019s business model is to own a wide variety of photography tools and rent them to customers on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The company differentiates itself from the competition by delivering lenses to the customer\u2019s door without requiring the hassle of deposits and with the service of a professional staff. <\/span><\/p>\n

Operating Model and\u00a0its alignment with the Business Model<\/strong><\/p>\n

Capacity<\/em><\/p>\n

To create value, Max first acquired the lenses that professional photographers actually demand<\/strong>. He scoured professional photography forums, conducted interviews and focus groups, and acquired a set of lenses (and now cameras, flashes, and other photography\/videography equipment) that photographers would rent. He then set the company\u2019s initial price on par with brick and mortar competitors. To generate inbound interest on the site he offered free rentals to key influencers in the photography world in hope that they would blog about the company and generate buzz. His bet paid off and demand for his products quickly accelerated as word of the quality and convenience of his business spread.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crowdsourced Scale<\/i><\/p>\n

As demand outpaced supply of lenses, BorrowLenses.com began to hold customer\u2019s lenses on consignment and rent the lenses to other customers generating revenue for both BorrowLenses.com and the supplier of the lens. This unique method of funding growth enabled the firm to quickly gain market share and become the market leader with over $10 million in annual revenue. <\/span><\/p>\n

User Experience<\/em><\/p>\n

BorrowLenses.com aligned its operating model with its business model by creating a website that has the same look, feel, and performance of BandHphoto.com or Amazon.com where photographers are familiar with acquiring their equipment. <\/span><\/p>\n