Mentora Health

: a study on the value proposition, customer segments, and revenue model of a new business opportunity in the oncological field

Abstract

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide. On a global scale, one in six deaths was caused by cancer in 2018 [86]. Even though research suggests that a variety of complementary treatments may substantially increase cancer patients’ quality of life as well as recovery and even decrease mortality, cancer care is commonly focused on clinical treatment solely. Therefore, the startup Mentora Health made it their mission to approach cancer care more holistically and identified a new business opportunity: an online B2C marketplace that connects cancer patients with professionals specialized in complementary cancer care. This paper aims to explore the market environment as well as define how the company can create, deliver, and capture value with such a platform. Secondary data was hence used to estimate the market size, identify competitors, and conduct an industry analysis. In-depth customer interviews with complementary cancer care professionals as supply-side and cancer patients as demand-side of the marketplace were conducted to explore both customer segments regarding their jobs-to-be-done, pains, and gains to subsequently derive a value proposition for both sides of the marketplace. Moreover, the interviews were used to reveal their willingness to pay. Finally, benchmarking and insights from the customer interviews helped obtain a new value curve for the marketplaces and identify a commission-based model as a potential revenue model with a supply-side commission rate between 11% and 20,5%.

Date of Award	30 Apr 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	João Cotter Salvado (Supervisor)