23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1.     Silent capabilities

·       This is valuable for my venture since many individuals have an unmet need for quieter microwaves.

·       This knowledge is rare, because not everyone has realized this need.

·       This resource is inimitable, but it will be the first.

·       This idea is poorly substitutable as microwave users would be forced to watch the heating and open the door before time finishes.

2.     Patterns and designs

·       This is valuable for my venture since many individuals, especially younger ones with a new for silent microwaves, want more personalized or accessorized designs.

·       This knowledge is not rare but the amount of colorful microwaves is limited.

·       This resource is inimitable, but our array of options will be especially attractive.

·       This idea is substitutable but we will aim for a partnership in order to have a mass production and be competitive in market.

3.     My creativity and innovation

·       This is valuable for my venture since entrepreneurs need to have skills such as these to succeed

·       This knowledge is somewhat rare, because not everyone can access these skills

·       This resource is somewhat inimitable, but true creativity and innovation is difficult to replicate to a high degree

·       This idea is poorly substitutable as seen by the fact that it has not been invented yet.

4.     Access to investors

·       This is valuable for my venture since financial capital is often necessary to achieve goals.

·       This knowledge is rare, because of the unequal distribution of wealth in America

·       This resource is inimitable, but the combination is rare.

·       This idea is substitutable with other rich people.

5.     A partnership with a strong brand

·       This is valuable for my venture since it keeps us competitive with developments and the market.

·       This knowledge is rare, because less than a dozen brands have control over the microwave market.

·       This resource is inimitable, but limited.

·       This idea is poorly substitutable as microwave companies continuously create the same product.

6.     Interviews with young adults that indicate a demand

·       This is valuable for my venture since it keeps us competitive with developments and the market.

·       This knowledge is rare, because less than a dozen brands have control over the microwave market.

·       This resource is inimitable, but limited.

·       This idea is poorly substitutable as microwave companies continuously create the same product.

7.     I am my own consumer

·       This is valuable for my venture since it means I understand the mind of the consumer.

·       This knowledge is not rare, because many Americans use the microwave.

·       This resource is inimitable.

·       This idea is poorly substitutable because you cannot always be a consumer.

8.     My communication skills

·       This is valuable for my venture since it allows me to make connections and talk to other consumers.

·       This knowledge is somewhat rare.

·       This resource is inimitable, in some ways but not completely.

·       This idea is poorly substitutable.

9.     I have my UF teachers to guide me

·       This is valuable for my venture since the knowledgeable professors at UF can guide me.

·       This knowledge is rare, because not everyone has so many people to guide them.

·       This resource is non-inimitable.

·       This idea is poorly substitutable as their experience is not comparable.

10.     My drive to succeed

·       This is valuable for my venture since it keeps us competitive as I push to excel.

·       This knowledge is not rare but certainly necessary.

·       This resource is inimitable.

·       This idea is somewhat substitutable as some people push themselves further.

While there are a lot of good qualities that will help with my endeavors, my first, the innovation of a microwave with silent features is my most important which fits into VRIN the most. This resource is one that has not been done before and with a variety of colors and styles, other manufactures won’t be able to compete with our features and variety.

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

1) The pitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUJyJYJBwy4&feature=youtu.be

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch.

I was both pleased and surprised to hear from Zoe that my speech sounded both practiced and personable. The criticism of my pitch was that I spoke too fast and I sounded out of breath which was evident as I re-watched.

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

I made a point to keep my "practiced" and "personal" persona while also slowing down. Because of this, I keep down on my words to empathize my more important points. This allowed me to talk at a slower pace while finishing around the 90 second mark.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

Dweck introduces the various types of mindsets: our personal mindset, the mindset of people around us, and the mindset relationships. She goes on to explain the differences of a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. The theme of these two mindsets make the difference of our experiences with relationships, groups, and other aspects of life.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

Being an entrepreneur is all about your mindset. We've learned in class that many people have good ideas, but they need to be marketable ideas and the creators must have the drive to make it happen. People need to put in the time, effort, and energy, and they certainly cannot give up at the first sight of challenges.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

I think the exercise would have to be an introspective writing assignment. Students should name an instance where they have had the growth mindset; when have they persevered in a challenging time or when have they learned from their mistakes to grow as an individual?

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

One part of the reading that really got me thinking was the part about children solving puzzles and seeing obstacles and difficulties as learning opportunities rather than failures. It made me think about what changes as people grow older. My thought is that our deeply flawed education system focuses on getting questions right on a test rather than actually learning and processing information.

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

1) Who they are and what their background is.

a) Alan Perera is a stock market analyst in Miami, FL

b) Ed Gonzalez is the manager at an electronics and furniture store

c) Shane Hatheway was an app developer who designed Mary Kay's application and then retired

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

a) Alan is a casual investor who I pitched my idea to to gain his insight in the industry and as an individual investor.

b) Ed is a supplier as he has interacted and assisted consumers for over 20 years.

c) Shane is someone who created a project and successfully sold it.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

a) My grandmother works at a law office and he is in the office next door so she connected me.

b) My grandfather became besties with him after buying a couch from him and now they drink and travel together.

c) Shane is my ex-stepdad's brother and I have met him before but only in passing. 

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

a) Currently, we are in different cities so we only spoke over the phone, but we spoke about meeting over coffee in the future.

b) Once again, the distance meant we could only speak on the phone but in the future we talked about my family having dinner with his.

c) Speaking on the phone, we connected about his daughter who I babysat when I was younger and also about his experiences as a developer.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

a) Alan is a potential investor and could possibly introduce me to more investors. He gave me some good ideas on how I could market this design to a larger company and sell it after making a prototype.

b) Ed talked to me about what consumers want and how they acquire it. He gave me really good insight to the industry itself.

c) Shane spoke to me about the process of creating his product, patenting it, and then selling it. It was a stressful process at the time, but now he has really benefited from it as a stay-at-home dad who spends time with his family.

Finally: Reflect. This experience requires you to do a little 'targeted networking.' How will this experience shape how you participate in any future networking events? Did this experience differ from your networking experiences in the past? How?

My networking in the past has been more personal as I connect with work with people. Usually, I build rapport and work with others but in this situation I simply started talking and asking them for advice.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

I am someone very passionate about human rights and international politics. I want to go into foreign affairs to promote a humanitarian agenda for U.S. policy. Because of this, I would sell my business concept so I could focus on my work and use the money to travel and study the world.

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

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. My microwave has silent capabilities giving users the options to be silent.

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

The majority of users would have roommates including those living in large cities or those in college. The demographic would be fairly young because of these living conditions. Another set of people would be those who have a personal preference of not hearing loud noises.

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

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.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

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.

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 

Because my demographic involves those with roommates, often times this means they have less money to spare as part of the younger demographic (who have already been burdened with a bad economy, astronomical student loans, and poor wages). To gain traction, the price of my microwave would have to be attractive and possibly the microwave itself might need a variety of styles to even it apart even further from its competition. Often times, young people moving in to these new places, need new devices like a microwave so there would be a market.

Evaluation: Tragically, I did not get any feedback to correct on my Idea Napkin. So for this assignment, I read over my assignment and tweaked it according to other feedback I received. Specifically, I added more information about the look of my microwave. Previously I spoke to having a modern look but over time I realized some new styles might be nice to attract young people who want a refreshing and complimentary look.

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

My target audience is people with roommates, specifically younger people in big cities!

In this picture, I am with my friends, two of which were my roommates and the other girls also happened to be roommates too. Unfortunately, two of my roommates had VERY different living styles and this led to a lot of conflicts. Our living spaces were very small and this caused a lot of friction with people cooking, leaving messes, and of course, noise.

In this picture, I am with my roommates from my internship in Washington, D.C. There was no drama (thank goodness), but there was very different sleeping schedules that meant a lot of delays as we tip toed around each other. We had work to do and places to be so this was an unnecessary stressors with our loud, obnoxious microwaves.

My customers are one thing but a variety of people with different backgrounds. They will lean towards being younger because of young adults needing cheaper living accommodations but older adults can also benefit from this as they live with children or significant others. Some people, in general, just dislike the noise the microwave makes so they would be interested in this product as well. The great thing about this product is that a variety of people can benefit from it and would purchase it.

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

1) The pitch. Same as last time, about 90-seconds long. No Web cams. No sitting. Be dynamic! Upload the video to YouTube (as you do with all of your videos) and post the link.

https://youtu.be/0CynxYsiemM

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. Describe what stood out to you as important, what feedback surprised you the most, what feedback you think was outright wrong or silly, what feedback you thought was most useful and insightful. 

My feedback was mostly positive which was very nice to hear. Millie said that my ending sounded cut short which was true. I felt like I was talking too much and did not have time left to close my presentation.

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

This time I made sure to close my presentation with my ending statement and sign off in order to have a consistent form.