30A – Final Reflection

1) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

So the same week we were learning about pricing, my mom began selling fabric online. At first, she was just making masks for our family and friends, but she had extra and began selling pieces online. She came to me that particular week because someone was making her offers and she accepted them, not realizing that she would not be making a profit. So I sat down with her and crunched the numbers and I made her take off the offer button. I told her to sell her product for its worth because she is supplying something in high demand. Right now, she is very successful with her small business as I begin my own with earring making.

2) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I definitely think I have the entrepreneurial mindset and spirit that I did not at the beginning of this course. Quarantine made me take up the hobby of earring making and it quickly became a business as friends and friends of friends wanted pairs of earrings. Despite the rapid change, I was ready and knew what to do because of this class.

3) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

I don't think that everyone who takes this course will become a business owner or CEO of a fortune 500 CEO, but I think the information we learn in this class can be applied in a variety of careers and skill sets if students are willing to think outside the box. Be willing to apply what you learn here to outside the business world and classroom.

My earrings: Gold coins with beads, Emma with pearls, and classical portraits relating to the Trojan War (the Anger of Achilles and the Judgment of Paris).

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

Current microwaves on the market are loud in every way: when you open the door, when you press the buttons, and especially when the timer is finished. This the modern world, microwaves are falling behind terms of user support. More and more young adults, either during college or after, are gaining more and more roommates as they more to bigger cities with smaller spaces.

Because roommates share a living space, they also adjust to accommodate each other. This is difficult when they have different systems and sleeping schedules. Morning and evenings can be tricky if roommates sleep at different hours and this difficulty means that one may have to be quiet when accomplishing tasks. Microwaving a meal without waking your roommate is an almost impossible task if your quarters are close (unless they sleep like a brick). Likewise, a roommate who is using the microwave while you sleep is bothersome when they wake you. This is a common problem on both sides that many young adults would like to solve.

Microwaves are obnoxiously loud, and in some cases, there is a reason like a beeping to call out. But more often than not, its unnecessary as you wait in the kitchen. Our microwave will have the capability of beeping and staying silent-- a feature that will be revolutionary.

Many young adults are moving into their own places, and as such, need new household appliances for their new accommodations. To remain competitive, we will have reasonable and average prices to compete with other brands. Microwaves are as low as about $40 but can reach prices well over $100. As such, it would be important to stay within that range at approximately $60.

We will hold a partnership with an already established brand in order to keep manufacturing costs low, have an established consumer base, and reduce necessary investments.

The three minor elements
First, describe what you think your most important resource will be. A partnership with an established brand will make it difficult for other up and coming microwave innovations to catch up with my product.

Second, what’s next for the venture? Who wouldn't love a matching oven to go with their stylish microwave?

Third, what’s next for you? I will sell my vision to the highest bidder and travel the world with my money. After turning that money into more money in the stock market, I will have the capital to force politicians to make good choices for once.

Provide a summary of the feedback you received from your previous venture concept description. Most of my feedback was positive as my peers congratulated me for my innovative idea and my plan of a partnership. One of the good questions poised to me is how will I make my oven distinctive in the way I did for my microwave so I began thinking.

Describe how you changed your venture concept, based on what you learned from the feedback. Based on the feedback I got about my oven, I decided to make it stand out in two ways: 1) Stylish designs that will match and complement the microwaves and 2) a beeping noise that let's users know that something is in the oven when they set it to preheat. I personally know many people, including myself who have turned the oven on when cooking materials are already inside. 

28A – Your Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

I have the full intention of selling my business.

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

Personally, entrepreneurship is not the path for me. I'm really passionate about foreign relations and would actually love to work for the Council on Foreign Affairs in order to research current foreign policy and redesign future policy.

3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

It has made me realize that entrepreneurship is not the path for me. You really have to target a demographic and fit your product to them. Personally, I would rather focus on a different kind of research. I will say that my research on a silent microwave has greatly impacted my thought process on how I can conduct future interviews in foreign affairs. 

27A- Reading Reflection no.3

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most? I was surprised by all the people that Coco Chanel knew as an acquaintance, friend, or something more. Even more surprising what that one of her "friends" was a Nazi general that she colluded with and the author did not condemn her for it. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I find it really impressive how Chanel was able to come out of poverty. Especially for a woman at the time, that was especially difficult.
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? The fact that she was a Nazi spy. Honestly, because of that, she had it too good.
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? Not enough. After WW2, the French government started to question her about her relationships with German officials. Unfortuately, Churchill intervene and she was able to keep her power and money without any consequences.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? Chanel is a skillful networker. She was able to use her womanly charms to have power and wealth before, during, and after WW2 as she worked with powerful people in the French and German government.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. I felt like the author tried to list everyone that Coco slept with and all the names got confusing. I was frankly more interested in her entrepreneurship and the author did not talk about that as much until the end when Coco was older.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

• Why would be a Nazi sympathizer if you have Jewish friends who have helped you finance your operations? Isn't that hypocritical?
• What is your most proud accomplishment? The thing that haunts you the most?

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? Chanel definitely believes in hard work but we definitely have different visions on how to reach success. I would not sleep with men for success especially the married ones or the Nazis. I also wouldn't look away from Nazi occupation to ensure my own success.

26A – Celebrating Failure

I absolutely have to begin this assignment by saying that Thomas Edison is a pompous jerk and did not invent anything. Rather he underpaid workers like Nikola Tesla to invent things and then took the credit for it. He put the advancement of American technology behind in an effort to pursue his own greed by blocking Tesla from selling his inventions that eventually inspired Wi-Fi, sonar detection, and so much more.

Secondly, this summer, I made it a priority to finish moving in to my apartment and organizing EVERYTHING. That has been slightly difficult as I keep rearranging my closet and keeping up with my other responsibilities. Today, the legs for my desk finally arrived so I could put it together but I was so exhausted after studying and taking the cupcake. But it feels like there's an excuse every day. Last week, I was helping my friend Brynn move out and this week I'm helping my friend move out of Tallahassee. But today I have decided to get ahead of my homework by doing this blog post early so that tomorrow I can focus on my room and the next day I can drive to Tallahassee!

Quite honestly, failure is not something I can across often. I am headstrong, iron-willed and tenacious, and I do everything I can do prevent failure. Even the failure to finish my room before Summer B started, just means I have to set a new goal until I can succeed. I guess thinking of the emotional aspect, I would not handle failure well because I have not experienced it often. The thought of failure in the grand scheme, like life or a career, is absolutely terrifying for me.

25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market.

Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next in terms of products and services for your venture.

My microwave will be available in person by retailers like BrandsMart, Walmart, and others, so that consumers can compare and purchase.

Step 2: Interview three customers who are already part of the market you have identified, and ask them what they believe is next for a venture like yours. Describe to them your business, and simply ask "What should we be doing that we aren't planning to do?" Next, ask them about your ideas of what customers might want next.

My first interviewee stated that using Amazon Prime would be a good idea since it's easy for people to pick styles and compare even more prices. The following interviewee reflected on my idea and then the Amazon Prime one. They stated that online shopping is very useful to a lot of people but that they do not use Amazon Prime because of their poor working conditions. They recommended online shopping through the previously mentioned vendors of Walmart. The third interviewee stated that if the marketing was done right, they would go specifically to the website or business selling our product to get it.

Step 3: Based on your own expectations and the feedback you received from customers, set a path for the future. In two to three paragraphs, describe what makes the most sense for your venture in terms of growing in your existing market.

I believe the marketing is going to be extremely important. Young adults are introduced to so many medias and outlets, and when they see a useful product like a microwave with silent capabilities, they will have the desire to purchase it. Especially since my interviews showed that my product met a need that was unknown.

That being said, online purchasing would make it easier for many younger consumers who regularly shop online. With the right marketing, we would not to use the unethical Amazon to reach consumers. Through our vendors or own website, we could sell our microwave for reasonable prices.


New Market.

Step 1: Identify a radically different market from what you're currently planning to target. If you're currently targeting B2B, think about going after a B2C market. If you're currently targeting an affluent part of society, think about targeting a very poor part of society.

A microwave that is even louder! Reaching for an older demographic.

Step 2: Once you have identified a radically different market, describe how you think your venture concept might be able to create value for people in that market. You may have to get creative with this -- that's OK -- and perfectly welcome!

As people get older, hearing seems to be one of the first things to go. While your food is microwaving, you might want to perform other tasks but are left unable to because you cannot hear the ding of your food from the next room over.

Step 3: Interview two people from this new market. Again, describe to each interviewee what your concept is. Then, ask them how they think your business might be help to meet customers like them. What kinds of adaptations to the product/service mix do they think you should make to be successful in this new market?

My first interviewee has absolutely no use for this product because their hearing works just fine. The second one said that they might use a product. They would recommend having a volume dial to control how loud the beep is for specific instances.

Step 4:  Reflect, in two to three paragraphs, on what you learned about this new market. What surprised you the most? Were any of your expectations/assumptions correct? Does this new market, on second thought, appear to be as attractive as your existing market? And so on.

I believe I can safety say that the demand for this market is limited. Many older adults already have microwaves and would not want to purchase one because of their worsening hearing unless completely necessary.

That being said, the volume dial is an excellent idea so that consumers can easily adjust the volume on their microwave. Sometimes silent is good, but sometimes you want a normal or loud beep to let you know when it's done.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Current microwaves on the market are loud in every way: when you open the door, when you press the buttons, and especially when the timer is finished. This the modern world, microwaves are falling behind terms of user support. More and more young adults, either during college or after, are gaining more and more roommates as they more to bigger cities with smaller spaces.

Because roommates share a living space, they also adjust to accommodate each other. This is difficult when they have different systems and sleeping schedules. Morning and evenings can be tricky if roommates sleep at different hours and this difficulty means that one may have to be quiet when accomplishing tasks. Microwaving a meal without waking your roommate is an almost impossible task if your quarters are close (unless they sleep like a brick). Likewise, a roommate who is using the microwave while you sleep is bothersome when they wake you. This is a common problem on both sides that many young adults would like to solve.

Microwaves are obnoxiously loud, and in some cases, there is a reason like a beeping to call out. But more often than not, its unnecessary as you wait in the kitchen. Our microwave will have the capability of beeping and staying silent-- a feature that will be revolutionary.

Many young adults are moving into their own places, and as such, need new household appliances for their new accommodations. To remain competitive, we will have reasonable and average prices to compete with other brands. Microwaves are as low as about $40 but can reach prices well over $100. As such, it would be important to stay within that range at approximately $60.

We will hold a partnership with an already established brand in order to keep manufacturing costs low, have an established consumer base, and reduce necessary investments.

The three minor elements
First, describe what you think your most important resource will be. A partnership with an established brand will make it difficult for other up and coming microwave innovations to catch up with my product.

Second, what’s next for the venture? Who wouldn't love a matching oven to go with their stylish microwave?

Third, what’s next for you? I will sell my vision to the highest bidder and travel the world with my money. After turning that money into more money in the stock market, I will have the capital to force politicians to make good choices for once.