Editor’s Note: On December 19th, 2013 I had the opportunity to interview Year in the Life candidate MarketDojo, a New Wave company that that helps clients to “maximize” their purchasing power. In the post-show commentary, our Dragon’s Den (or Shark Tank if you prefer) panel of experts provide their take on the interview and offer advice to the company. In today’s review I will provide my take on MarketDojo;
While creating a more efficient supply chain may not be rocket science – although given the multitude of past challenges in successfully launching an initiative to automate the process may make one think it is – in talking with the founders of MarketDojo I was immediately reminded of a group of bespectacled, lab coat wearing scientists. It was not so much the way they actually looked, but their manner in explaining the methodology they employed to create the “perfect” e-Sourcing solution. Within this context, it would be easy to conclude that they would be equally at home in a NASA lab, as they are in a boardroom or testifying before a government committee.
In the many times that I had communicated with them leading up to the December 19th radio interview, I got the distinct impression that they are always figuring the angles and aligning the different variables in an effort to meet the at time complex needs of a rapidly changing market. Or to put it another way, this is not a let’s win the business first and worry about making it work later group of people.
When you visit the MarketDojo site you will quickly discover that the only Madison Avenue element of the company is their somewhat whimsical name. Outside of that you will be provided with a stark, highly functional very factual overview of what they do, why they do it and how you can benefit from their expertise. In short they are a no sizzle all substance enterprise that employs the slide-rule more than the hard sell to win customers and deliver results.
All this being said, there is a downside for a company that uses hard logic as its main lever for winning business.
For many of their potential customers who have expended substantial sums of money and time in an effort to implement traditional procurement applications that have for the most part failed to deliver the expected results, choosing to go with a company that can provide an almost immediate return for a fraction of the cost is a difficult pill to swallow. Let’s face it, how do you explain to your board that you have thrown good money after bad for so long while a better and more affordable solution was literally available right under your nose. There is no logical argument that can help you to reconcile this discrepancy in judgment. This is perhaps why so many of the old application vendors are trying to acquire the most promising up and coming cloud-based solution providers. It gives the customers a chance to make a change within the framework of their existing relationships.
With MarketDojo, or for that matter any of the New Wave Companies that are coming to the forefront of market consciousness, being able to navigate these at times contradictory realities as opposed to providing the best solution will be the key to their ultimate success. At this stage I am not certain that MarketDojo possesses the prerequisite marketing know how to gain the traction that their solution warrants.
For this reason I believe that 2014 will be the most critical year for the company, because after all there are only so many shopping days before Christmas meaning that there is a relatively short window of opportunity for them to make their mark.
On a closing note, the founders of MarketDojo might actually wear lab coats as Alun Rafique is an Aeronautical engineer, Nick Drewe has a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering, and Nicholas Martin a physicist.
The MarketDojo Team?
Be sure to check out our other Year in the Life Candidates as well as follow The Year in the Life 2014 Series on Twitter #YRiLife2014.
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Procurement Insights 
marketdojo
February 5, 2014
Hi Jon, loving the reference to The Big Bang Theory and we had an interesting debate to work out who is who. We really enjoyed the write up and the radio interview. Your insights seem spot on. I must admit that one of the things I did not quite get across during the radio interview and in fact didn’t quite answer one of your questions correctly is that we are now becoming much more then just an add on to an ERP system. In fact many procurement departments are realising that ERP and eSourcing don’t necessaries go hand in hand. One looks at a through process of parts and the other is more artistic in looking at annual requirements. In these terms it does make that pill slightly easier to justify. However you are also very correct in terms of marketing. Being boot strapped we only have so much time and with the most recent developments, a PAAS and a possible energy eMarketplace we must dedicate considerable time and be ‘clever’ about our marketing strategy.
piblogger
February 5, 2014
Thank you for the feedback MarketDojo, and for clarifying the the ERP connection. As indicated in the post, the harsh reality of marketing might as opposed to best solution determining success is one that potentially costs everyone – especially the end-user.
This brings us back to the question I asked all candidates near the end of each interview . . . if approached by a bigger, well established player such as an IBM or SAP would a MarketDojo sell the company?
marketdojo
February 5, 2014
That is a very good question. We have been approached many times already about investment and obviously not gone ahead. It has never been right for us and to be honest it is not something that we have been actively progressing. Our solution is now coming to a point which really sets us aside and with the new release of our IPAD app for category strategy and opportunity analysis (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/category-dojo/id787256583?mt=8) we are hoping to reach a critical mass for an expansion via word of mouth. We are very dedicated at the moment to innovate within the eSourcing space and investors might mean being pulled to expand the solution to ERP areas which as mentioned above can be contradictory. Having said that we are always open to ideas but probably more to investment then outright selling the company. We enjoy what we do and we love providing excellent customer service in a time when that seems very hard to come by. There are so many interesting challenges ahead.