Porter's five forces, DreamFolks edition

#PortersFiveForces at Play – #DreamFolks Edition!
DreamFolks carved out a niche in India’s #airport lounge ecosystem, connecting banks and fragmented lounge service providers to offer a seamless experience for premium customers.

But winds have shifted.
In recent years, airport privatization has transformed the landscape. With major airports now in the hands of just a few private players, the market has moved into a duopoly zone.
Unlike public operators, these private giants are profit-driven, making airport lounges a lucrative opportunity to control directly.
The result?
"Supplier Bargaining Power" surged, threatening the Lounge aggregator business model, and Dreamfolks suffered!
Public reports suggest banks like ICICI and Axis Bank have already moved some of their business away from DreamFolks and directly tied up with the Airports.

This brought back memories of my #MBA days.
I once had a business plan, we used to call it #BioCem, that won multiple awards across competitions (with over a million in prize money!).
Everything was perfect until the execution began!
Our customer? A massive player, and obviously, their term sheet was brutal!
Porter’s "Bargaining Power of Buyers" hit us hard, so hard, we had to walk away.

Michael Porter published this framework in 1979. And yet, even in 2025, it continues to reveal business realities with crystal clarity.
It's always good to see some bookish theories applied in real-life scenarios!