Fermentation of Carbohydrates: Ethanol from Sucrose Essay

Objective: To exhibit a maturation procedure, separate the ethanol delivered by fragmentary refining, decide the sythesis of the ethanol arrangement recuperated, and make stoichiometric and yield estimations. Systems: Maturation Weigh out 20.0 g of sucrose and spot it into a 250-mL Erlenmeyer jar. Include 100 mL of water and tenderly shake until all the sucrose has broken up. To this arrangement include 0.60 g of dipotassium hydrogen phosphate (K), 1.8 g of sodium phosphate hydrate (Na3PO4ï‚ ·12HO) and 2.0 g of dried baker’s yeast. Enthusiastically shake the substance to blend them altogether. The Erlenmeyer jar is fitted with a one-gap elastic plug containing a short bit of glass tubing. Latex tubing (8 - 12 in.) is joined to the glass tubing. An overhand bunch is freely tied in the tubing. The low piece of the circle is loaded up with simply enough water so the entry is blocked, however gas from the aging chamber will have the option to push the water off the beaten path and getaway (brewers call this a sealed area). This arrangement bars air (and oxygen) from the framework (which permits anaerobic oxidation) and forestalls further oxidation (by vigorous oxidation) of the ethanol to acidic corros ive. Mark the aging arrangement with your name and spot the carafe in the hatchery chamber Separation by Fractional Distillation Try not to shake the jar; abstain from upsetting the residue on the base! Get your jar from the hatchery shower or chamber. Cautiously expel the elastic plug from the 250-mL Erlenmeyer flagon. Set up a vacuum filtration get together utilizing two 250-mL side-arm channel carafes, a 5.5-cm Buchner pipe (with a Filtervac or neoprene connector), and two lengths (every 12 in.) of vacuum tubing. [N.B. We utilize the subsequent jar so between the suction apparatus and our channel cup with the goal that the filtrate won't become polluted if faucet water is gotten back through the hose.] Place a bit of channel paper into the Buchner pipe so it covers all the openings and lies level. Into aâ 250-mL recepticle, place 100 mL of water and one tablespoon of Celite. Mix enthusiastically and empty the blend into the Buchner pipe while the water is running and a vacuum is applied. A dainty layer of the Celite Filter Aid will frame on the channel paper. Dispose of the water gathered in the channel ja r. Try not to suck an excessive amount of air through the channel cushion; on the off chance that it dries, it might break and be unusable. Cautiously tap the fluid in the maturation cup over the residue through the Celite Filter Aid, utilizing attractions. This procedure traps the little yeast particles in the Celite Filter Aid yet lets through water, ethanol, and some other fluid polluting influences. This fluid filtrate will be refined. Acquire a refining arrangement and collect the dish sets for refining. Note the arrangement of the thermometer bulb in the connector take-off to the condenser. Safely brace the contraption and condenser, and secure joints with plastic clasps. Utilize a little touch of silicone oil on all the standard-tighten joints as you interface them. Gather the distillate in a graduated chamber. Utilize a round-base refining carafe that will be filled around one-half to twothirds full; a 250-mL round-base jar ought to do. Add 2-3 bubbling stones to the cup. Utilize a warming mantle for the warmth source and a Variac to control the warmth. Your mantle may have a worked in voltage controller. Step by step turn up the warmth until the fluid in the refining carafe starts to bubble. As the fumes ascend in the head, you will see fluid consolidating; this ring of condensate will ascend in the segment. Control the setting on the Variac with the goal that the condensate rises gradually through the segment and at an even rate. (In the event that the rate is excessively quick, the section will flood.) The temperature readings at the refining head will rise; when the temperature comes to (about) 78Â °C, start to gather the fluid that distils. Dispose of any fluid refining before this temperature is reached. Gather fluid refining somewhere in the range of 78 and 90Â °C. Gather 10-15 mL of distillate. Mood killer the warmth source and expel the warming mantle from the refining carafe. Gauge a 50-mL measuring utencil to the closest 0.001 g. With a 10-mL volumetric pipet, move 10 mL of distillate to the measuring glass (V). Don't pipet with your mouth; utilize a pipet bulb. Recheck the recepticle and fluid (5), and by contrast, decide the heaviness of the distillate. Decide the density,â and by alluding to the chart, decide the percent structure of the ethanol.

Persuade to Stop Physical Bullying

Physical Bullying Physical harassing is a major issue, influencing the harasser and the person in question, yet additionally different understudies who witness the tormenting. Guardians, instructors, and other concerned grown-ups and youngsters ought to know about what physical harassing is and a portion of the approaches to deal with it. There are numerous kinds of adverse physical cooperations that can happen between youngsters, including battling, down to earth jokes, taking, and inappropriate behavior. These things are not viewed as physical tormenting except if: * a similar casualty is focused on over and again The domineering jerk or menaces plan to hurt, humiliate, or scare the victimâ * The activities happen in a circumstance with a genuine or saw irregularity of influence, for example, when the harasser is more grounded than the person in question or has a higher social remaining In this specific circumstance, physical harassing can take numerous structures: * Hitting * Pu shing * Tripping * Slapping * Spitting * Stealing or wrecking assets, including books, attire, or lunch cash Physical tormenting may likewise go too far into lewd behavior or sexual assault.Physical tormenting happens frequently at school, however it can likewise happen while in transit to and from school and after school. Center school is the age when harassing is generally normal, with practically all center school understudies being influenced straightforwardly or in a roundabout way by tormenting. This is an age where youngsters need more to fit in with their companions, making a few understudies bound to menace or support harassing to fit in, while the individuals who don't fit in stand apart more as victims.Bullying can likewise happen in prior evaluations, just as through secondary school and even into adulthood. Physical harassing is bound to happen among guys, however females may likewise be the perpetuators or casualties of physical tormenting. Menaces may have any number of explanations behind tormenting others, for example, needing more command over others, and needing to fit in. Menaces are frequently genuinely more grounded than their casualties and have companions who excuse their behavior.Students who menace others, in any case, regularly experience difficulty with restraint, adhering to rules, and thinking about others, and are at higher hazard for issues sometime down the road, for example, viciousness, criminal conduct, or disappointment seeing someone or vocation. Casualties of physical tormenting are generally truly more fragile than the harassers, and furthermore might be socially minimized for reasons unknown, including weight, ethnicity, or different qualities that make it harder for them to fit in. Harassing can have genuine ramifications for the person in question, prompting low confidence, wretchedness, inconvenience at school, and at times even fierce behavior.Some signs that an understudy might be a survivor of physical tormenting include: * Coming home from school with wounds, cuts, or other unexplained wounds * Having harmed attire, books, or assets * Often â€Å"losing† things that they take to class * Complaining of much of the time not feeling a long time before school or school exercises * Skipping certain classes * Wanting to abstain from going to class or going to class a specific way, for example, taking bizarre courses home from school or not having any desire to ride the transport * Acting dismal or discouraged Withdrawing from others * Saying they feel singled out * Displaying low confidence * Mood swings, including outrage or bitterness * Wanting to flee * Trying to take a weapon to class * Talking about self destruction or brutality against others If an understudy is a casualty of harassing, show love and backing to the youngster and clarify that the harassing isn't their flaw, and that what the harasser is doing isn't right. Converse with the casualty to discover when and how the harassi ng is occurring, at that point converse with educators and school executives about the problem.Bullying ought to consistently be paid attention to. Try not to urge the casualty to retaliate. Frequently the most ideal approach to manage menaces is to maintain a strategic distance from them or respond as meager as could be expected under the circumstances. Shockingly, with physical tormenting this isn't generally conceivable. Remaining with a companion or companions or where grown-ups are administering can some of the time help deflect the tormenting. On the off chance that the casualty is battling with sentiments of melancholy or outrage, look for directing to assist them with managing their feelings. In the event that an understudy is being a domineering jerk, disclose to them that the conduct isn't acceptable.All youngsters ought to be instructed to regard others and that tormenting isn't worthy. Guardians should converse with their youngsters regularly about what goes on at school , including their companions and in the event that they ever observe or experience tormenting. Guardians ought to urge their youngsters not to help harassing, even by watching it, and to report it if it's going on. Contingent upon the circumstance, the understudy might have the option to confront the harasser, show support for the person in question, or if nothing else leave the tormenting and report it to an adult.Parents of casualties or of menaces can likewise urge schools to have more grounded enemy of harassing measures, similar to hostile to harassing efforts, cautious grown-up management of understudies, zero-resistance strategies, and guiding for understudies engaged with harassing. Sources: SAMHSA Family Guide, â€Å"Bullying Affects All Middle School Kids† [online] Nemours, TeensHealth, â€Å"Dealing with Bullying† [online] Consortium to Prevent School Violence, â€Å"Fact Sheet #2: Bullying Prevention† [online] HealthNewsDigest. com, â€Å"Know the S igns of Physical Bullying† [online]

Wayfair

Wayfair WHAT IS WAYFAIR?The CompanyWayfair Inc, formerly known as CSN Stores, is a multinational ecommerce website. The US based company has headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts as well as warehouse and corporate offices in various locations in the United States as well as in Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom and Germany.The company began in 2002 as CSN Stores that sold limited furniture such as stereo racks and stands. Over the next few years, the site grew to become the largest online destination for home items such as furnishing as well as luggage, toys and pet related products. The site expanded from a single website to over 250 individual sites that sell a variety of items.Nearly ten years after the site was founded, the creators took the step to move all the sites to one destination and renamed it as Wayfair. This was in 2011 and by 2012 the annual revenue crossed $600 million with the site offering millions of products in different categories, styles and prices. As of 2013, the comp any features more than 7000 suppliers that offer over 7 million products through five distinct brands: Wayfair.com, AllModern, Birch Lane, DwellStudio and Joss Main.HistoryThe initial version of the Wayfair was created by two entrepreneurs, Niraj Shah and Steve Conine in 2002. The operation as a two person enterprise in Conine’s home in Boston. Both founders had degrees from Cornell University and had already had experience running two companies, Simplify Mobile and iXL.The website was named CSN Stores which was nothing more than a combination of their initials. The initial website was called rackandstands.com selling media stands and furniture for storage. In the following year, other items were added to the portfolio of products including patio and garden supplies. The websites grew from three employees to a dozen. The company continued to grow over the next two years with items such as home décor, office furniture, kitchen and dining furniture, home improvement goods, bed and bath products, luggage and lighting added to the catalogue.In 2006, the company made its first $1 million in sales. Over the next four years, the pace of growth continued both within the United States and outside. Overseas expansion began with shipping to Canada, selling in the United Kingdom and an office location in London. International expansion continued with Australia and Germany.In 2008, the company was named the fastest growing ecommerce company in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal and the fourth fastest overall. By 2010 the company had grown enough to move to a 10 floor office space and by 2011, over 200 online shops were covered under the CSN Stores umbrella. These shops were predominately niche stores that catered to specific interests or products such as cookware.com, strollers.com etc.At this point, Shah and Conine realized the need to unify into a single site and create a more focused entity. CSN was rebranded and launched as Wayfair in 2011 after a $165 mi llion fundraising. The investment into the new brand and its expansion efforts came from four investment firms, Battery Ventures, Great Hill Partners, HarbourVest Partners and Spark Capital. All of the CSN Store websites were consolidated except Joss Main and AllModern. Wayfair acquired Wayfair supply, catering to business, government and institutional customers and DwellStudio, a New York City based design house and retailer.At present, Wayfair remains the largest online retailer for home products in the United States. Revenue has continued to increase from $380 million in 2010, to over $500 million in 2011 and close to $1 billion in 2013. The founders remain with the company with Niraj Shah as the Chief Executive Officer and Steve Conine as both the Chief Technology Officer and the Chairman.IPOThe company announced its intention to attempt to raise $350 million in an IPO in August 2014. The company also revealed mounting losses in the face of huge expenses. Though revenues have c ontinued to grow, this has been accompanied by a concurrent increase in operating expenses.The company’s IPO decision has been closely followed and the IPO itself one of the most anticipated ecommerce IPO’s of the year. The excitement was somewhat overshadowed by the Alibaba Group’s IPO announcement around the same time with the expectation that it will bring in close to $20 billion.At present, the co-founders own 57.8 percent of the shares in the company. After them, the private equity firm GreatHill Partners own 11.4 percent. HarbourVest and Battery Ventures own a little more than 7 percent and 6 percent each. These shareholders will continue to hold B class shares that afford the holder 10 times more power to vote than the A class shares that are in the works to be sold in the IPO.CultureThe company has managed to maintain a startup like culture throughout its growth and expansion. Teams are built for speed with open floor plans in offices. This setup is created with the in tention of encouraging a collaborative environment and openness. The co-founders, who hold top management positions also do not have their own offices, instead sitting among other employees.The dress code is relaxed with a mix of business casual and flip-flops. Work-life balance is strongly encouraged and advocated. The company has remained focused on the long term with sustained growth and expansion. This is supported by the culture in every way with the company backing its focus on culture with concrete actions and steps such as onsite yoga, daily ticket raffles for concerts, theatre and sports. There are also free snacks and games such as ping pong and foosball inside the office.Glassdoor ranked the company as the 19th best place to work in the United States in 2011 and the 18th best for work-life balance in 2012. BUSINESS MODEL KEY COMPONENTSProduct categoriesThe company sells home products in different ranges and categories. These are:Wayfair.com: The main brand name, this web site is the destination for millions of home based furniture, accessories and other products sold by thousands of suppliers.AllModern: This is the Wayfair business that sells home items in original modern designs.Birch Lane: Opposite to AllModern, Birch Lane is focused on classic and timeless furnishing and home accessories.DwellStudio: This online store sells modern furnishings and products that are trendy and fashion forward.Joss Main: This website is based on online flash sales that focus on inspiring home design on a daily basis.USPWayfair’s unique selling proposition has been the sheer volume of items sold through the website. Over 200 separate websites were amalgamated into the Wayfair umbrella. These were niche sites for individual categories of items such as rugs, crockery etc. each website had a multitude of suppliers offering different items in that category. All this adds up to millions of products on sale.Order FulfillmentThe company operates somewhat differently from other retail giants in how orders are fulfilled. Almost none of the stock is kept in company operated warehouses. Instead, items are shipped directly to the customer through the supplier themselves. Wayfair enables the suppliers to gain shipping discounts by availing its accounts with major shipping companies. What makes this system work is a series of algorithms that fulfill orders with a 98 percent success rate. This technology driven approach is vital given the company’s over 7000 suppliers and a detailed and elaborate supply chain.The system works through communication between suppliers and Wayfair. Information regarding current stock is either uploaded to the server or emailed to the company. The algorithm mentioned before goes through this data and picks up and potential red flags such a delays etc. it also stores relevant information about the items such as what is in stock and where it is at the moment. The same algorithm calculates shipping time and checks item availabil ity every time a customer browses through a page.Once the order is placed, a software is in place to send notifications to the supplier. The same system decides the best way to ship the item depending on its nature. When the item is sent, the system updates its progress to the Track My Order page for the customer. Wayfair CustomersThe website gets more than 11 million visitors every month. Most of these visitors are women between the ages of 35 and 65. The company has divided these visitors into two groups. The hunters and the gatherers. Hunters include those people who have come looking for something specific. Search engine optimization is what draws them to the website often as they search for a particular item. Typically, these people are on the lookout for the best price for their chosen product and Wayfair is just one stop in their search. They may spend about five minutes on the website.Gatherers on the other hand are basically window shopping. These people will spend anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours on the site, going through categories and products. They may be less driven by specific brands.LEARNING FROM WAYFAIR’S SUCCESS © Wikimedia commons | WayfairFormerly known as CSN Stores, Wayfair is an online retail giant dealing in home products, furniture and accessories. In this article, we will look at 1) what is Wayfair?, 2) business model and key components, and 3) learning from Wayfair’s success.WHAT IS WAYFAIR?The CompanyWayfair Inc, formerly known as CSN Stores, is a multinational ecommerce website. The US based company has headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts as well as warehouse and corporate offices in various locations in the United States as well as in Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom and Germany.The company began in 2002 as CSN Stores that sold limited furniture such as stereo racks and stands. Over the next few years, the site grew to become the largest online destination for home items such as furnishing as well as luggage, toys and pet related products. The site expanded from a single website to over 250 individual sites that sell a variety of items.Nearly ten years after the site was f ounded, the creators took the step to move all the sites to one destination and renamed it as Wayfair. This was in 2011 and by 2012 the annual revenue crossed $600 million with the site offering millions of products in different categories, styles and prices. As of 2013, the company features more than 7000 suppliers that offer over 7 million products through five distinct brands: Wayfair.com, AllModern, Birch Lane, DwellStudio and Joss Main.HistoryThe initial version of the Wayfair was created by two entrepreneurs, Niraj Shah and Steve Conine in 2002. The operation as a two person enterprise in Conine’s home in Boston. Both founders had degrees from Cornell University and had already had experience running two companies, Simplify Mobile and iXL.The website was named CSN Stores which was nothing more than a combination of their initials. The initial website was called rackandstands.com selling media stands and furniture for storage. In the following year, other items were added to the portfolio of products including patio and garden supplies. The websites grew from three employees to a dozen. The company continued to grow over the next two years with items such as home décor, office furniture, kitchen and dining furniture, home improvement goods, bed and bath products, luggage and lighting added to the catalogue.In 2006, the company made its first $1 million in sales. Over the next four years, the pace of growth continued both within the United States and outside. Overseas expansion began with shipping to Canada, selling in the United Kingdom and an office location in London. International expansion continued with Australia and Germany.In 2008, the company was named the fastest growing ecommerce company in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal and the fourth fastest overall. By 2010 the company had grown enough to move to a 10 floor office space and by 2011, over 200 online shops were covered under the CSN Stores umbrella. These shops were predominat ely niche stores that catered to specific interests or products such as cookware.com, strollers.com etc.At this point, Shah and Conine realized the need to unify into a single site and create a more focused entity. CSN was rebranded and launched as Wayfair in 2011 after a $165 million fundraising. The investment into the new brand and its expansion efforts came from four investment firms, Battery Ventures, Great Hill Partners, HarbourVest Partners and Spark Capital. All of the CSN Store websites were consolidated except Joss Main and AllModern. Wayfair acquired Wayfair supply, catering to business, government and institutional customers and DwellStudio, a New York City based design house and retailer.At present, Wayfair remains the largest online retailer for home products in the United States. Revenue has continued to increase from $380 million in 2010, to over $500 million in 2011 and close to $1 billion in 2013. The founders remain with the company with Niraj Shah as the Chief E xecutive Officer and Steve Conine as both the Chief Technology Officer and the Chairman.IPOThe company announced its intention to attempt to raise $350 million in an IPO in August 2014. The company also revealed mounting losses in the face of huge expenses. Though revenues have continued to grow, this has been accompanied by a concurrent increase in operating expenses.The company’s IPO decision has been closely followed and the IPO itself one of the most anticipated ecommerce IPO’s of the year. The excitement was somewhat overshadowed by the Alibaba Group’s IPO announcement around the same time with the expectation that it will bring in close to $20 billion.At present, the co-founders own 57.8 percent of the shares in the company. After them, the private equity firm GreatHill Partners own 11.4 percent. HarbourVest and Battery Ventures own a little more than 7 percent and 6 percent each. These shareholders will continue to hold B class shares that afford the holder 10 times mor e power to vote than the A class shares that are in the works to be sold in the IPO.CultureThe company has managed to maintain a startup like culture throughout its growth and expansion. Teams are built for speed with open floor plans in offices. This setup is created with the intention of encouraging a collaborative environment and openness. The co-founders, who hold top management positions also do not have their own offices, instead sitting among other employees.The dress code is relaxed with a mix of business casual and flip-flops. Work-life balance is strongly encouraged and advocated. The company has remained focused on the long term with sustained growth and expansion. This is supported by the culture in every way with the company backing its focus on culture with concrete actions and steps such as onsite yoga, daily ticket raffles for concerts, theatre and sports. There are also free snacks and games such as ping pong and foosball inside the office.Glassdoor ranked the compa ny as the 19th best place to work in the United States in 2011 and the 18th best for work-life balance in 2012. BUSINESS MODEL KEY COMPONENTSProduct categoriesThe company sells home products in different ranges and categories. These are:Wayfair.com: The main brand name, this website is the destination for millions of home based furniture, accessories and other products sold by thousands of suppliers.AllModern: This is the Wayfair business that sells home items in original modern designs.Birch Lane: Opposite to AllModern, Birch Lane is focused on classic and timeless furnishing and home accessories.DwellStudio: This online store sells modern furnishings and products that are trendy and fashion forward.Joss Main: This website is based on online flash sales that focus on inspiring home design on a daily basis.USPWayfair’s unique selling proposition has been the sheer volume of items sold through the website. Over 200 separate websites were amalgamated into the Wayfair umbrella. The se were niche sites for individual categories of items such as rugs, crockery etc. each website had a multitude of suppliers offering different items in that category. All this adds up to millions of products on sale.Order FulfillmentThe company operates somewhat differently from other retail giants in how orders are fulfilled. Almost none of the stock is kept in company operated warehouses. Instead, items are shipped directly to the customer through the supplier themselves. Wayfair enables the suppliers to gain shipping discounts by availing its accounts with major shipping companies. What makes this system work is a series of algorithms that fulfill orders with a 98 percent success rate. This technology driven approach is vital given the company’s over 7000 suppliers and a detailed and elaborate supply chain.The system works through communication between suppliers and Wayfair. Information regarding current stock is either uploaded to the server or emailed to the company. The alg orithm mentioned before goes through this data and picks up and potential red flags such a delays etc. it also stores relevant information about the items such as what is in stock and where it is at the moment. The same algorithm calculates shipping time and checks item availability every time a customer browses through a page.Once the order is placed, a software is in place to send notifications to the supplier. The same system decides the best way to ship the item depending on its nature. When the item is sent, the system updates its progress to the Track My Order page for the customer. Wayfair CustomersThe website gets more than 11 million visitors every month. Most of these visitors are women between the ages of 35 and 65. The company has divided these visitors into two groups. The hunters and the gatherers. Hunters include those people who have come looking for something specific. Search engine optimization is what draws them to the website often as they search for a particular item. Typically, these people are on the lookout for the best price for their chosen product and Wayfair is just one stop in their search. They may spend about five minutes on the website.Gatherers on the other hand are basically window shopping. These people will spend anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours on the site, going through categories and products. They may be less driven by specific brands.LEARNING FROM WAYFAIR’S SUCCESSKey Drivers for Sustainable Retail SuccessOne of the founders of Wayfair, Niraj Shah, shares his key drivers for sustainable, long term success in the world of online retailing. These are:Create a company that welcomes change: Shah emphasizes the importance of recognizing excellence among employees and promoting and rewarding based on merit. He also stresses the importance of bringing people together at work, making work rewarding, fun and interesting and getting people excited about the work. Shah says, “Hire smart people and let them use their b rain. Reward a smart risk taking, even when it fails, and encourage experimentation.”Make decisions with the end game in mind: According to Shah, “Know when to stick with your guns and when to adapt.” He underscores this statement with the example his company set when 200 plus stores were consolidated within one new name and a new, more memorable brand was created. The company lost traffic initially, which made the decision seem like a bad one in the short run since customer traffic is the force that drives the online business. Eventually though, the customers returned and the risky, yet strategic decision paid off.Always have a plan for what comes next: Some part of profits and time should always be invested into generating new ideas and strategic growth plans. An important aspect of this is to listen to the customers and really hear what they are saying. This focus on changing customer needs and trends is the best indicator of where the company needs to focus on next and wha t areas have opportunities that can be capitalized.Spend Efficiently: As the business expands, so do expenses. The key here is to make every attempt to keep these expenses under control while still continuing to drive growth. There should always be quick decisions and quick actions when change is needed, but every one of these decisions and actions should be justified by their return on investment.Celebrate Wins: Shah feels that it is necessary to take a minute to celebrate any wins as a company before moving on to the next task or goal. This is vital for employee engagement, morale and overall investment in the company.Be Tenacious: One of the Wayfair values is “we are never done.” This is focused on tenacity and that while something may be done well, it can be done even better.Build a Strong, Transparent Culture: The co-founders had a clear vision of what the company would look like in terms of culture. They wanted to create a culture based on transparency, access to informati on and open collaboration. There was a clear understanding that there should be no physical or virtual walls between people which block communication and foster individual thinking.Hire Smartly: There needs to be a clear understanding of what is important when hiring a new person. Someone with excellent skills in a specific area may not display many of the core values that would help them fit into the collaborative culture of the company. At Wayfair, the human traits such as team orientation, an innate brightness, and a collaborative and friendly approach are always prioritized over the skills.Employee ExperiencesLauren Arkema,  WayfairThe employees that are part of startups have unique insight into what goes on in the company and what drives them to through the journey. Lauren is part of Wayfair’s team and feels that the entrepreneurial spirit remains evident and contagious till this day. As the company values goes, we are never done and with expansions and growth, the company co ntinues to channel innovation and a startup mentality.Arkema mentions that responsibilities keep evolving over time and she has moved from adding products to microsites and answering customer calls to managing two different teams. She also travels for work and manages trade show booths meant for interior designers, contractors and architects.She feels that the key to this success has been that despite becoming an established corporate company and a more well recognized household name, the employees still feel the company is a startup where ideas are welcomed and encouraged from everyone and anyone’s suggestion can have an immediate impact.

Wayfair

Wayfair WHAT IS WAYFAIR?The CompanyWayfair Inc, formerly known as CSN Stores, is a multinational ecommerce website. The US based company has headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts as well as warehouse and corporate offices in various locations in the United States as well as in Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom and Germany.The company began in 2002 as CSN Stores that sold limited furniture such as stereo racks and stands. Over the next few years, the site grew to become the largest online destination for home items such as furnishing as well as luggage, toys and pet related products. The site expanded from a single website to over 250 individual sites that sell a variety of items.Nearly ten years after the site was founded, the creators took the step to move all the sites to one destination and renamed it as Wayfair. This was in 2011 and by 2012 the annual revenue crossed $600 million with the site offering millions of products in different categories, styles and prices. As of 2013, the comp any features more than 7000 suppliers that offer over 7 million products through five distinct brands: Wayfair.com, AllModern, Birch Lane, DwellStudio and Joss Main.HistoryThe initial version of the Wayfair was created by two entrepreneurs, Niraj Shah and Steve Conine in 2002. The operation as a two person enterprise in Conine’s home in Boston. Both founders had degrees from Cornell University and had already had experience running two companies, Simplify Mobile and iXL.The website was named CSN Stores which was nothing more than a combination of their initials. The initial website was called rackandstands.com selling media stands and furniture for storage. In the following year, other items were added to the portfolio of products including patio and garden supplies. The websites grew from three employees to a dozen. The company continued to grow over the next two years with items such as home décor, office furniture, kitchen and dining furniture, home improvement goods, bed and bath products, luggage and lighting added to the catalogue.In 2006, the company made its first $1 million in sales. Over the next four years, the pace of growth continued both within the United States and outside. Overseas expansion began with shipping to Canada, selling in the United Kingdom and an office location in London. International expansion continued with Australia and Germany.In 2008, the company was named the fastest growing ecommerce company in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal and the fourth fastest overall. By 2010 the company had grown enough to move to a 10 floor office space and by 2011, over 200 online shops were covered under the CSN Stores umbrella. These shops were predominately niche stores that catered to specific interests or products such as cookware.com, strollers.com etc.At this point, Shah and Conine realized the need to unify into a single site and create a more focused entity. CSN was rebranded and launched as Wayfair in 2011 after a $165 mi llion fundraising. The investment into the new brand and its expansion efforts came from four investment firms, Battery Ventures, Great Hill Partners, HarbourVest Partners and Spark Capital. All of the CSN Store websites were consolidated except Joss Main and AllModern. Wayfair acquired Wayfair supply, catering to business, government and institutional customers and DwellStudio, a New York City based design house and retailer.At present, Wayfair remains the largest online retailer for home products in the United States. Revenue has continued to increase from $380 million in 2010, to over $500 million in 2011 and close to $1 billion in 2013. The founders remain with the company with Niraj Shah as the Chief Executive Officer and Steve Conine as both the Chief Technology Officer and the Chairman.IPOThe company announced its intention to attempt to raise $350 million in an IPO in August 2014. The company also revealed mounting losses in the face of huge expenses. Though revenues have c ontinued to grow, this has been accompanied by a concurrent increase in operating expenses.The company’s IPO decision has been closely followed and the IPO itself one of the most anticipated ecommerce IPO’s of the year. The excitement was somewhat overshadowed by the Alibaba Group’s IPO announcement around the same time with the expectation that it will bring in close to $20 billion.At present, the co-founders own 57.8 percent of the shares in the company. After them, the private equity firm GreatHill Partners own 11.4 percent. HarbourVest and Battery Ventures own a little more than 7 percent and 6 percent each. These shareholders will continue to hold B class shares that afford the holder 10 times more power to vote than the A class shares that are in the works to be sold in the IPO.CultureThe company has managed to maintain a startup like culture throughout its growth and expansion. Teams are built for speed with open floor plans in offices. This setup is created with the in tention of encouraging a collaborative environment and openness. The co-founders, who hold top management positions also do not have their own offices, instead sitting among other employees.The dress code is relaxed with a mix of business casual and flip-flops. Work-life balance is strongly encouraged and advocated. The company has remained focused on the long term with sustained growth and expansion. This is supported by the culture in every way with the company backing its focus on culture with concrete actions and steps such as onsite yoga, daily ticket raffles for concerts, theatre and sports. There are also free snacks and games such as ping pong and foosball inside the office.Glassdoor ranked the company as the 19th best place to work in the United States in 2011 and the 18th best for work-life balance in 2012. BUSINESS MODEL KEY COMPONENTSProduct categoriesThe company sells home products in different ranges and categories. These are:Wayfair.com: The main brand name, this web site is the destination for millions of home based furniture, accessories and other products sold by thousands of suppliers.AllModern: This is the Wayfair business that sells home items in original modern designs.Birch Lane: Opposite to AllModern, Birch Lane is focused on classic and timeless furnishing and home accessories.DwellStudio: This online store sells modern furnishings and products that are trendy and fashion forward.Joss Main: This website is based on online flash sales that focus on inspiring home design on a daily basis.USPWayfair’s unique selling proposition has been the sheer volume of items sold through the website. Over 200 separate websites were amalgamated into the Wayfair umbrella. These were niche sites for individual categories of items such as rugs, crockery etc. each website had a multitude of suppliers offering different items in that category. All this adds up to millions of products on sale.Order FulfillmentThe company operates somewhat differently from other retail giants in how orders are fulfilled. Almost none of the stock is kept in company operated warehouses. Instead, items are shipped directly to the customer through the supplier themselves. Wayfair enables the suppliers to gain shipping discounts by availing its accounts with major shipping companies. What makes this system work is a series of algorithms that fulfill orders with a 98 percent success rate. This technology driven approach is vital given the company’s over 7000 suppliers and a detailed and elaborate supply chain.The system works through communication between suppliers and Wayfair. Information regarding current stock is either uploaded to the server or emailed to the company. The algorithm mentioned before goes through this data and picks up and potential red flags such a delays etc. it also stores relevant information about the items such as what is in stock and where it is at the moment. The same algorithm calculates shipping time and checks item availabil ity every time a customer browses through a page.Once the order is placed, a software is in place to send notifications to the supplier. The same system decides the best way to ship the item depending on its nature. When the item is sent, the system updates its progress to the Track My Order page for the customer. Wayfair CustomersThe website gets more than 11 million visitors every month. Most of these visitors are women between the ages of 35 and 65. The company has divided these visitors into two groups. The hunters and the gatherers. Hunters include those people who have come looking for something specific. Search engine optimization is what draws them to the website often as they search for a particular item. Typically, these people are on the lookout for the best price for their chosen product and Wayfair is just one stop in their search. They may spend about five minutes on the website.Gatherers on the other hand are basically window shopping. These people will spend anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours on the site, going through categories and products. They may be less driven by specific brands.LEARNING FROM WAYFAIR’S SUCCESS © Wikimedia commons | WayfairFormerly known as CSN Stores, Wayfair is an online retail giant dealing in home products, furniture and accessories. In this article, we will look at 1) what is Wayfair?, 2) business model and key components, and 3) learning from Wayfair’s success.WHAT IS WAYFAIR?The CompanyWayfair Inc, formerly known as CSN Stores, is a multinational ecommerce website. The US based company has headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts as well as warehouse and corporate offices in various locations in the United States as well as in Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom and Germany.The company began in 2002 as CSN Stores that sold limited furniture such as stereo racks and stands. Over the next few years, the site grew to become the largest online destination for home items such as furnishing as well as luggage, toys and pet related products. The site expanded from a single website to over 250 individual sites that sell a variety of items.Nearly ten years after the site was f ounded, the creators took the step to move all the sites to one destination and renamed it as Wayfair. This was in 2011 and by 2012 the annual revenue crossed $600 million with the site offering millions of products in different categories, styles and prices. As of 2013, the company features more than 7000 suppliers that offer over 7 million products through five distinct brands: Wayfair.com, AllModern, Birch Lane, DwellStudio and Joss Main.HistoryThe initial version of the Wayfair was created by two entrepreneurs, Niraj Shah and Steve Conine in 2002. The operation as a two person enterprise in Conine’s home in Boston. Both founders had degrees from Cornell University and had already had experience running two companies, Simplify Mobile and iXL.The website was named CSN Stores which was nothing more than a combination of their initials. The initial website was called rackandstands.com selling media stands and furniture for storage. In the following year, other items were added to the portfolio of products including patio and garden supplies. The websites grew from three employees to a dozen. The company continued to grow over the next two years with items such as home décor, office furniture, kitchen and dining furniture, home improvement goods, bed and bath products, luggage and lighting added to the catalogue.In 2006, the company made its first $1 million in sales. Over the next four years, the pace of growth continued both within the United States and outside. Overseas expansion began with shipping to Canada, selling in the United Kingdom and an office location in London. International expansion continued with Australia and Germany.In 2008, the company was named the fastest growing ecommerce company in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal and the fourth fastest overall. By 2010 the company had grown enough to move to a 10 floor office space and by 2011, over 200 online shops were covered under the CSN Stores umbrella. These shops were predominat ely niche stores that catered to specific interests or products such as cookware.com, strollers.com etc.At this point, Shah and Conine realized the need to unify into a single site and create a more focused entity. CSN was rebranded and launched as Wayfair in 2011 after a $165 million fundraising. The investment into the new brand and its expansion efforts came from four investment firms, Battery Ventures, Great Hill Partners, HarbourVest Partners and Spark Capital. All of the CSN Store websites were consolidated except Joss Main and AllModern. Wayfair acquired Wayfair supply, catering to business, government and institutional customers and DwellStudio, a New York City based design house and retailer.At present, Wayfair remains the largest online retailer for home products in the United States. Revenue has continued to increase from $380 million in 2010, to over $500 million in 2011 and close to $1 billion in 2013. The founders remain with the company with Niraj Shah as the Chief E xecutive Officer and Steve Conine as both the Chief Technology Officer and the Chairman.IPOThe company announced its intention to attempt to raise $350 million in an IPO in August 2014. The company also revealed mounting losses in the face of huge expenses. Though revenues have continued to grow, this has been accompanied by a concurrent increase in operating expenses.The company’s IPO decision has been closely followed and the IPO itself one of the most anticipated ecommerce IPO’s of the year. The excitement was somewhat overshadowed by the Alibaba Group’s IPO announcement around the same time with the expectation that it will bring in close to $20 billion.At present, the co-founders own 57.8 percent of the shares in the company. After them, the private equity firm GreatHill Partners own 11.4 percent. HarbourVest and Battery Ventures own a little more than 7 percent and 6 percent each. These shareholders will continue to hold B class shares that afford the holder 10 times mor e power to vote than the A class shares that are in the works to be sold in the IPO.CultureThe company has managed to maintain a startup like culture throughout its growth and expansion. Teams are built for speed with open floor plans in offices. This setup is created with the intention of encouraging a collaborative environment and openness. The co-founders, who hold top management positions also do not have their own offices, instead sitting among other employees.The dress code is relaxed with a mix of business casual and flip-flops. Work-life balance is strongly encouraged and advocated. The company has remained focused on the long term with sustained growth and expansion. This is supported by the culture in every way with the company backing its focus on culture with concrete actions and steps such as onsite yoga, daily ticket raffles for concerts, theatre and sports. There are also free snacks and games such as ping pong and foosball inside the office.Glassdoor ranked the compa ny as the 19th best place to work in the United States in 2011 and the 18th best for work-life balance in 2012. BUSINESS MODEL KEY COMPONENTSProduct categoriesThe company sells home products in different ranges and categories. These are:Wayfair.com: The main brand name, this website is the destination for millions of home based furniture, accessories and other products sold by thousands of suppliers.AllModern: This is the Wayfair business that sells home items in original modern designs.Birch Lane: Opposite to AllModern, Birch Lane is focused on classic and timeless furnishing and home accessories.DwellStudio: This online store sells modern furnishings and products that are trendy and fashion forward.Joss Main: This website is based on online flash sales that focus on inspiring home design on a daily basis.USPWayfair’s unique selling proposition has been the sheer volume of items sold through the website. Over 200 separate websites were amalgamated into the Wayfair umbrella. The se were niche sites for individual categories of items such as rugs, crockery etc. each website had a multitude of suppliers offering different items in that category. All this adds up to millions of products on sale.Order FulfillmentThe company operates somewhat differently from other retail giants in how orders are fulfilled. Almost none of the stock is kept in company operated warehouses. Instead, items are shipped directly to the customer through the supplier themselves. Wayfair enables the suppliers to gain shipping discounts by availing its accounts with major shipping companies. What makes this system work is a series of algorithms that fulfill orders with a 98 percent success rate. This technology driven approach is vital given the company’s over 7000 suppliers and a detailed and elaborate supply chain.The system works through communication between suppliers and Wayfair. Information regarding current stock is either uploaded to the server or emailed to the company. The alg orithm mentioned before goes through this data and picks up and potential red flags such a delays etc. it also stores relevant information about the items such as what is in stock and where it is at the moment. The same algorithm calculates shipping time and checks item availability every time a customer browses through a page.Once the order is placed, a software is in place to send notifications to the supplier. The same system decides the best way to ship the item depending on its nature. When the item is sent, the system updates its progress to the Track My Order page for the customer. Wayfair CustomersThe website gets more than 11 million visitors every month. Most of these visitors are women between the ages of 35 and 65. The company has divided these visitors into two groups. The hunters and the gatherers. Hunters include those people who have come looking for something specific. Search engine optimization is what draws them to the website often as they search for a particular item. Typically, these people are on the lookout for the best price for their chosen product and Wayfair is just one stop in their search. They may spend about five minutes on the website.Gatherers on the other hand are basically window shopping. These people will spend anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours on the site, going through categories and products. They may be less driven by specific brands.LEARNING FROM WAYFAIR’S SUCCESSKey Drivers for Sustainable Retail SuccessOne of the founders of Wayfair, Niraj Shah, shares his key drivers for sustainable, long term success in the world of online retailing. These are:Create a company that welcomes change: Shah emphasizes the importance of recognizing excellence among employees and promoting and rewarding based on merit. He also stresses the importance of bringing people together at work, making work rewarding, fun and interesting and getting people excited about the work. Shah says, “Hire smart people and let them use their b rain. Reward a smart risk taking, even when it fails, and encourage experimentation.”Make decisions with the end game in mind: According to Shah, “Know when to stick with your guns and when to adapt.” He underscores this statement with the example his company set when 200 plus stores were consolidated within one new name and a new, more memorable brand was created. The company lost traffic initially, which made the decision seem like a bad one in the short run since customer traffic is the force that drives the online business. Eventually though, the customers returned and the risky, yet strategic decision paid off.Always have a plan for what comes next: Some part of profits and time should always be invested into generating new ideas and strategic growth plans. An important aspect of this is to listen to the customers and really hear what they are saying. This focus on changing customer needs and trends is the best indicator of where the company needs to focus on next and wha t areas have opportunities that can be capitalized.Spend Efficiently: As the business expands, so do expenses. The key here is to make every attempt to keep these expenses under control while still continuing to drive growth. There should always be quick decisions and quick actions when change is needed, but every one of these decisions and actions should be justified by their return on investment.Celebrate Wins: Shah feels that it is necessary to take a minute to celebrate any wins as a company before moving on to the next task or goal. This is vital for employee engagement, morale and overall investment in the company.Be Tenacious: One of the Wayfair values is “we are never done.” This is focused on tenacity and that while something may be done well, it can be done even better.Build a Strong, Transparent Culture: The co-founders had a clear vision of what the company would look like in terms of culture. They wanted to create a culture based on transparency, access to informati on and open collaboration. There was a clear understanding that there should be no physical or virtual walls between people which block communication and foster individual thinking.Hire Smartly: There needs to be a clear understanding of what is important when hiring a new person. Someone with excellent skills in a specific area may not display many of the core values that would help them fit into the collaborative culture of the company. At Wayfair, the human traits such as team orientation, an innate brightness, and a collaborative and friendly approach are always prioritized over the skills.Employee ExperiencesLauren Arkema,  WayfairThe employees that are part of startups have unique insight into what goes on in the company and what drives them to through the journey. Lauren is part of Wayfair’s team and feels that the entrepreneurial spirit remains evident and contagious till this day. As the company values goes, we are never done and with expansions and growth, the company co ntinues to channel innovation and a startup mentality.Arkema mentions that responsibilities keep evolving over time and she has moved from adding products to microsites and answering customer calls to managing two different teams. She also travels for work and manages trade show booths meant for interior designers, contractors and architects.She feels that the key to this success has been that despite becoming an established corporate company and a more well recognized household name, the employees still feel the company is a startup where ideas are welcomed and encouraged from everyone and anyone’s suggestion can have an immediate impact.