italki - Business Model Analysis

Document from the year 2013 in the subject Business economics - Company formation, Business Plans, grade: 1,5, Novancia Business School Paris, language: English, abstract: What the German playwright and poet already understood in the 18th century has by now gained center stage. In our modern, globalized world, the ability to speak foreign languages has become a person¿s main asset, opening the door to different cultures, human enrichment and international success. When italki¿s co-founder, the American entrepreneur Kevin Chen, went to Shanghai to learn Mandarin Chinese, he got the vision to make learning languages a social experience. Today, the Company founded together with current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Yongyue Jiang is one of the leading social networking sites in this field (cf. italki.com, Inc., 2012). In the following, this paper is going to analyze italki¿s business model using the Business Model Canvas, a strategic and entrepreneurial management tool developed by Osterwalder & Pigneur (2010). This will also provide a basis to develop ideas related to a possible business model evolution in the near future. To start, a short overview of the Company and its main features is given.