Urban Axes: First Mover in US Experiential Entertainment

Urban Axes introduced the Canadian indoor sport of axe throwing to the US market, beginning with one location in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2016. Although Urban Axes was started as a “side hustle” by four friends with corporate jobs, it soon became apparent that the concept could be both popular and profitable. The partners quickly decided to become fully involved in the business to maximize its potential. This case features a woman protagonist as chief financial officer and the originator of the business plan. It is a novel, contemporary example of the first-mover principle, highlighting the risks and rewards of creating a new line of business in a competitive and volatile industry—in this case, the indoor or experiential entertainment industry.

This case is suitable for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses on strategic management, ideally in the latter part of the semester when growth and diversification concepts are addressed. The case provides the opportunity to practice concepts already covered (e.g., Porter’s Five Forces, GDPEST, VRIO, and generic strategy) while introducing first-mover elements and the many factors shaping the strategic decisions around growth. After working through the case analysis and making strategic recommendations, students should be able to do the following: <ul><li>Understand the pros and cons of being a first mover.</li><li>Explore how to identify market opportunity in a new field by examining global, demographic, political and legal, economic, socio-cultural, and technological factors and by using Porter’s five-forces framework.</li><li>Understand the impact of generic strategy on market positioning.</li><li>Analyze the value, rareness, imitability, and organization of a firm’s resources to identify competitive advantage.</li><li>Recognize the challenges of responding to competition.</li><li>Determine the options for expansion: a franchise model, a wholly owned subsidiary, geographic saturation, national distribution, or mergers or acquisitions.</li><li>Weigh the opportunity costs and potential for sustained competitive advantage to determine the optimum growth option.</li></ul>

• First Mover
• Women Leaders, Entrepreneur