Horizon Development - Market Sniper

Market Sniper is an accelerated early customer acquisition program

It allows for maximum and yet sustainable early market penetration in a minimum of time, cost and effort

You are thinking of hiring a sales team before you launch your product? Well, maybe there is something better to do...

Hire a professional market sniper that will not only get you started but whose experience will allow you to perhaps correct a few things on the way to market. Only then, once you have your first strategic customers in hand and a clear development strategy, that you can start to hire your sales team at a much lower cost and risk rate.

Market Sniper basically consists in careful market investigation and the early acquisition of key market nodes that will allow a product/service to enter a market and expand quickly and sustainably from within this market. Instead of massive operations, Market Sniper is using limited resources to relentlessly target the specific early clients that will provide the product early-on with a solid referral system built around the principle of ambassadorship.

Market Sniper is managed by Horizon Development Markets, the market intelligence branch of Horizon Development, a 15 year old market intelligence specialized boutique that focuses on MVP evaluations and putting highly innovative products on the market.

Market Sniper's Key Characteristics

Market Sniper is a favorite of bootstrapped startup companies for running their first market tests and unlocking seed investment. For more experienced companies, it reduces risk on new markets, especially foreign ones, or when launching a newly developed product.

It’s also an accessible program: Its financial cost is mostly tied to its client's success on those new markets. This way, Horizon Development is sharing risks wit its clients. This is why Horizon Development is highly selective about which product can join the program.

Is NOT an accelerator program: We will NOT make access to your equity a condition to access our program. It's all up to you.
Market Sniper is an innovative "hands-on" accelerated customer acquisition program that has been making a name for itself in making a difference for both young bootstrapped startup and Fortune 500 companies.
It allows your company to get access to some of the most experienced "snipers" in various industries and countries.
But it's not just limited to startups: It allows bigger and more experienced companies to also reduce risks in their new markets acquisition, especially foreign ones where they perceived the risk level as being much higher.
It may looks like, but it's not a free program.
It's just that Market Sniper's financial cost is tied to its client's success on those new markets. The cost is also mostly differed to later terms, once revenues are generated.
It's yet the program on the market that allows for the lowest possible financial risk (maybe that explains its popularity... :-) but that yet truly delivers
Horizon Development is thus here taking the same risks as an angel investor and therefore requires some of the same due diligence during the application process.

Key Benefits

Market Sniper allows a young company to scout and acquire their first strategic customers at a limited risk rate
Market Sniper allows a company to scout and acquire new foreign markets beyond its home turf at a limited risk rate
Market Sniper allows a company to lower risks on new market acquisition and to defer costs associated with it.
Market Sniper also allows a company to defer the hiring and training of a sales team of its own until a critical minimum market acquisition target level has been reached
Market Sniper is conducted by experts with an extended network and a successful track record in various industries
Horizon Development takes on all the research, preparation and early action on new markets until target acquisition and target securing.
Horizon Development shares the risk of new market acquisition.
Horizon Market is involved at all levels of the Sales and Marketing process until significant successful sales revenues allow the client company to self-finance a full Sales and Marketing department on its own.
Market Sniper is also often used as a critical gateway for young companies that are seeking early financing from angels, VCs or banks who are expecting to see early sales and market response results before they commit investments.

Available extensions

MVP evaluation
MVP market test
Marketing & sales coordination
Hiring & coaching of sales & marketing teams
Market geographic extensions

Rules of Engagement

Market sniper’s cost is tailored to the plan, the client’s resources, the capacity for future revenues and the time accounted for it.
We ask for a small retainer's fee, just to make sure our clients are as committed as we are
Then your way is our way, as long as it's fair (monthly fee / global fee / success fee / % sales)

Other benefits offered by Market Sniper

Allows a company with a new innovative product to scout and acquire their first strategic customers at a limited risk
Defer the hiring and training of a sales team of its own until a critical minimum market acquisition target level has been reached
Secure and adjust MVPs for a product still in development phase, in order to do the right “market matching”
Market Sniper is also often used as a critical gateway for young companies that are seeking early financing from angels, VCs or banks who are expecting to see early sales and market response results before they commit investments.
Access to a network of hundreds of experts / 1000s of business networks, including chambers of commerce and the prestigious INSEAD and Harvard networks

What do they say about Market Sniper?

Over 40 companies have managed to lock-on their targets and hit them thanks to Market Sniper since 2014!
6 years in operation = €46.4 M generated in sales for our clients
Proud to say all got more than what they had expected!

“Got started in just a few months”

" We asked Horizon Development to research the Scandinavian market to identify opportunities for us there, as it’s a dynamic market for horse racing. I knew Pierre had developed a strong expertise on Scandinavia and a relevant network there. Pierre’s research was more comprehensive than we expected. Despite a limited number of preparatory meetings, he rapidly understood who we were and what we were looking for. Not only his report consisted in extremely valuable research never done before in this field, but Horizon Development also managed to make recommendations and organize meetings for us that allowed us to set foot on this market and to get started in just a few months. This was actionable market intelligence. Should you think about expanding your business abroad, I would recommend Pierre and Horizon Development as they are highly valuable resources. "

Jacques-Henri Eyraud, Owner, Paris-Turf, now CEO, Olympique de Marseilles (France) (Sports Products, B2B, B2C)

”Those guys at Horizon Development know how to look at market opportunities”

" We saved time and money (with Market Sniper) and managed to get in (Norway, Denmark, UK, Germany) not how we thought first, but in an ever better and more lasting way that was indicated to us by Market Sniper's initial research and market scouting. Those guys at Horizon Development know how to look at market opportunities. Our clients are happy about our services and we are progressively building a name for us in this usually very closed segment of the economy. Definitely worth it! Merci Pierre! "

Mattias Sundström, Renko IT AB (Sweden) (IT, software & engineering services, B2B)

“Research essential in making on time business decision”

" I contacted Pierre (Horizon Development) to assist FLYING WHALES in thinking about the various commercial applications in Scandinavian countries for FLYING WHALES’ LCA60T, our next generation 60 tons payload large capacity airship. It was crucial for us to have a clear map early on about whom and where will be our potential clients. Without having any specific background in our industry, Pierre very quickly understood what was at stake. His research was essential in making on time business decisions. He also contributed on our business plan for our first round investments. "

Sebastien Bougon, CEO, Flying Whales (France & Canada) (Airspace, engineering, B2B)

“Extremely valuable in order to get started the right way and save time and money”

" I hired (Horizon Development's Market Sniper) services in 2016 in order to prepare the company for its go-to-market strategy. Pierre quickly gave me entire satisfaction. His solution-driven thinking was able to open new perspectives based on thorough market intelligence that revealed extremely valuable in order to get started the right way and save time and money. He easily connected the Natufia Kitchen Garden to top chefs such as Emmanuel Renaut and our Ambassador Chef Simone Zanoni, to high end kitchen design companies like Bulthaup, SieMatic or Fendi at various geographical locations (France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, UK, Austria, Estonia). "

Gregory Lu, CEO, Natufia Labs (Estonia) (Food, Engineering, Greentech, B2B, B2C)

“Managed to quickly get us in there in a sustainable way”

" We had tried twice by various means to enter the Russian market for OTC Pharma products and failed due to our lack of preparation. Pierre proposed us with the Market Sniper that corresponded better to our objectives, our methods and our budget and managed to quickly get us in there in a sustainable way."

Tomas Andersson, Product Manager, Natumin AB (Sweden) (Pharma, B2B, B2C)

More references available on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/pierreblime

Information, more references & request for a free consultation: marketsniper [at] horizondev.net

Download the Market Sniper brochure 'MarketSniper Facts' with the link below: