30A- Final Reflection

30A- Final Reflection

I think that this whole process was a very interesting thing to do. It definitely caused me to step out of my comfort zone by talking to these different people and I made a lot of connections that, even if I don't necessarily use for this specific product, I could use later in life for different reasons. I think the thing I found most interesting after looking over all of my posts from the past semester is who the audience of my product shifted throughout the whole class. I started out thinking that I should have it be to college students yet in the end I changed it to being towards the managers of these bars and clubs. I think in the long run if I was able to put more time and effort into the project I think that it could actually take off and become something that could be useful. The only thing I would say about the class is to make sure you are always on top of your assignments. It could cause you to fall behind because you do not really remember the assignments since they are due on Friday and then the reviews on Monday nights. So as long as you are on top of your stuff then you will be fine and enjoy the class.

29A- Venture Concept No.2

29A- Venture Concept No.2

Opportunity.

The opportunity I saw is that bars and clubs frequented by college students or made to handle large, hyper, rowdy crowds all at once have an increased risk due to over intoxication which causes loss of inherent ability where seemingly small spills or ice on the floor could cause a bigger injury than if someone was sober. By putting the plastic covering over the opening of the cup it could significantly reduce that liability and risk that the bar/club managers have.

·         What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?

o   I don’t think that there have been too many changes extremely recently that has caused this opportunity to arise. I think that there is a new rise around being more rambunctious and care a little less about your surroundings when people do go out which makes spilling and dropped drinks a lot more common. There is a theme of going out to simply drink to get drunk which causes you to become clumsier and more of a liability.

·         How is this market defined geographically and demographically?

o   The market is defined geographically as mainly downtown cities, college campuses, or college towns that have a higher number of people per square foot of building than other places. The demographic would be focused more towards a younger crowd because they are mainly the ones that are going out more to these places so it would be focused on these bar and club owners who live in these areas.

·         How are customers currently satisfying this need?  And how loyal are they to whatever they use now? 

o   I don’t think most places are satisfying this need at this time because I think that most don’t realize that there is a need there to be filled, which means that they would be all the more open to improvement.

·         How big is this opportunity?

o   I think that this has a lot of potential due to how many high capacity clubs and bars there are just from being in a college town but if you were able to expand this same concept to a national spectrum and then a global one, a lot of opportunities open up for you.

·         How long will the “window of opportunity” be open?

o   I think the window will be open for a long time because of the fact that many people do not see the need flat out yet which means that there is not another product out there that is satisfying this need, yet once there is wind of this product I feel as though others will find adaptations and different ways to incorporate it to their business model so you should take full advantage while you can.

Innovation.

My innovation is an adaptation to an already made product. My product is a plastic film that goes across the top of a cup that is sized specifically for the cups used at bars and clubs when serving mixed drinks. The product has a main function of serving as a barrier for liquid and ice spills if someone were to tip their cup to far one way or the other. This allows for there to be less liquid and ice on the floor due to someone dropping their cup. This is beneficial for the bar and club owners because there is a lot of liability that comes with owning a business like that and the risk that someone who is intoxicated, which means they have less motor skills than usual, slipping due to a wet floor is a big cost that the business has to take out in insurance. There are other excess benefits that come along with the product as well. Customers will like the establishment that much more because it does not have a sticky and gross floor as well as saving them for the potential of ruining the clothes that they wear out due to someone spilling a drink. It also saves time in the cleanup process for employees at the end of the night because of the significantly less amount of drinks that have been spilt on the floor, which saves time and money in the long run. I would be selling the film that goes around the cup in a bulk amount because I am not selling them to individual people, I am selling them to whole businesses. The price would very since there could be discounts based on how much at a time someone would be buying, but if you break it down to individual seals then it would be close to $.01-.05 per lid.

Venture Concept.

·         What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product?  How hard will it be to get them to switch? 

o   Customers aren’t using a product right now that is taking care of this need so making the switch would be because they see an opportunity for improvement and more ease of labor. Getting a handle of putting on the lids for the bartenders might be an adjustment but not a hard one to make by far.

·         Who are the competitors?  What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities? 

o   Right now there are not any competitors which makes it almost harder to market sometimes because since people have not really realized this need they are hesitant to make an unnecessary switch but at the same time people will see that a trial period is also a possibility.

·         What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining your business concept?

o   The biggest part I would say would be customer experience because that would gain the first customers in the field and retain them for the longest periods and hopefully make it a regular thing where these lids would be used all the time. But it would be that initial customer experience that would be the win it or lose it scenario.  

·         How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture?  

o   We would have to have some sort of machine and machine workers in order to produce to actual product as well as a good customer service and assistance line because our customers are the ones that are keeping us in business. We would also initially need an extraordinary sales team because they would be the ones that would allow us to make our initial footprint into these businesses. It wouldn’t necessarily need to be a big group but a competent one.

The three minor elements

I think the most important resource to start off with is human capital because it would be the networking that would get our business in the running with other companies. I think the thing that is next for our venture is getting our name out there and becoming more popular with other companies because this is a whole new idea, people will have no idea we exist. In five years I would like to see the product in regular use in a couple bars/clubs within a specific area. In a decade I could see adaptations being made where you could customize the lid with maybe college teams or city designs on the lid and expand from there.

People thought it was a good idea in the past and gave a lot of positive feedback on the whole concept. They thought it was a good idea incorporating it into the bar scene. I don't think that my venture concept has changed too much since originally making the idea. I think I have stuck to my plan pretty well and have just gotten a lot of information that will help me out in the end. 

28A- Your Exit Strategy

28A- Your Exit Strategy

I think my exit strategy is to sell my plan once I get out of college and then use that to start myself off, pay off any school I need to, and create a life for myself. I do not see this as something that I want to do for the rest of my life. I have other aspirations but I think that this would allow me to get a better head start to this other things that I hope to accomplish. It is something that I can see growing really fast in the next couple of years and if I could make money off of it now so that I can be comfortable when I get out of college and have some experience owning and coming up with a business it would set me up well. I think I looked at many of the things as short term because I always knew that I was not going to be in the business long. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t make any meaningful connections, its just that I thought of it as more of a short time experience.

27A- Reading Reflection No. 3

27A- Reading Reflection No. 3

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

a.    It is a memoir about the cartoonist who created Dilbert and how he dealt with losses after losses and how he changed his mindset to make it so that he wins big in the long run.

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

a.    There are going to be times when you have ideas that you think are going to work and go extremely well and then someone knocks them down or they just don’t work out. You can’t get down because of this. You need to find ways in your head to make it, so you do not see these things as necessarily failures or losses but see them as learning points and ways to change your outlook on things.

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

a.    Maybe have everyone talk about a time they have failed and almost do something like the assignment 26 because it corresponds really well with this book. Maybe have people think of losses as different ways. Have someone come in and talk about the brain’s viewpoint on failure and a way to change that into seeing it as a positive and not a negative.

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?

a.    He wrote about how you shouldn’t find your passion you should find your energy. That was something that really surprised me because it was an odd way to look at something like that but the more I thought about it the more I related to it and saw where his logic was. It made sense to find something that energized you and build your life and work around that because that is going to keep you going and keep you from being down.

26A- Celebrating Failure

26A- Celebrating Failure

This past semester I applied for the Masters of Science in Finance Combined degree program at UF. I had been in the feeder program for this combined degree for all of my freshman year as well as the first semester of my sophomore. The lady who directed the program and I never really saw eye to eye. I really put a lot of time and effort into learning the program, networking with people already in the program, and time commitment to meetings, presentations, and research on my own. I was really looking forward to this opportunity as I saw that great things could come out of it and I was already very passionate about finance. Yet the interview came and went and the lady who ran the program was the lady who was interviewing me and I did not receive an offer to join the program. At that point in time I was devastated. I had put so much time into getting to where I was and I saw that as the only way I was going to excel and get into a secure job, with a good company. Yet I had time to sit and think and I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I wanted to find what that reason was. Within finance I wanted to get into the equity research side of the subject. It is very data and analytics heavy and was not mentioned too much in the MSF program. I looked into the combined program for Information Systems and saw that they had a Business Analytics track that I could follow and I talked to some people and was accepted into the program. I think that it will be better for me in what I want to do than what I would have done in MSF. Failure is embarrassing but you can't see the whole picture to your puzzle and hindsight is 20/20. Looking back I do not think I would've enjoyed my time in the MSF program and I'm excited for what is to come.

24A- Venture Concept No.1

24A- Venture Concept No.1

Opportunity.

The opportunity I saw is that bars and clubs frequented by college students or made to handle large, hyper, rowdy crowds all at once have an increased risk due to over intoxication which causes loss of inherent ability where seemingly small spills or ice on the floor could cause a bigger injury than if someone was sober. By putting the plastic covering over the opening of the cup it could significantly reduce that liability and risk that the bar/club managers have.

·         What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?

o   I don’t think that there have been too many changes extremely recently that has caused this opportunity to arise. I think that there is a new rise around being more rambunctious and care a little less about your surroundings when people do go out which makes spilling and dropped drinks a lot more common. There is a theme of going out to simply drink to get drunk which causes you to become clumsier and more of a liability.

·         How is this market defined geographically and demographically?

o   The market is defined geographically as mainly downtown cities, college campuses, or college towns that have a higher number of people per square foot of building than other places. The demographic would be focused more towards a younger crowd because they are mainly the ones that are going out more to these places so it would be focused on these bar and club owners who live in these areas.

·         How are customers currently satisfying this need?  And how loyal are they to whatever they use now? 

o   I don’t think most places are satisfying this need at this time because I think that most don’t realize that there is a need there to be filled, which means that they would be all the more open to improvement.

·         How big is this opportunity?

o   I think that this has a lot of potential due to how many high capacity clubs and bars there are just from being in a college town but if you were able to expand this same concept to a national spectrum and then a global one, a lot of opportunities open up for you.

·         How long will the “window of opportunity” be open?

o   I think the window will be open for a long time because of the fact that many people do not see the need flat out yet which means that there is not another product out there that is satisfying this need, yet once there is wind of this product I feel as though others will find adaptations and different ways to incorporate it to their business model so you should take full advantage while you can.

Innovation.

My innovation is an adaptation to an already made product. My product is a plastic film that goes across the top of a cup that is sized specifically for the cups used at bars and clubs when serving mixed drinks. The product has a main function of serving as a barrier for liquid and ice spills if someone were to tip their cup to far one way or the other. This allows for there to be less liquid and ice on the floor due to someone dropping their cup. This is beneficial for the bar and club owners because there is a lot of liability that comes with owning a business like that and the risk that someone who is intoxicated, which means they have less motor skills than usual, slipping due to a wet floor is a big cost that the business has to take out in insurance. There are other excess benefits that come along with the product as well. Customers will like the establishment that much more because it does not have a sticky and gross floor as well as saving them for the potential of ruining the clothes that they wear out due to someone spilling a drink. It also saves time in the cleanup process for employees at the end of the night because of the significantly less amount of drinks that have been spilt on the floor, which saves time and money in the long run. I would be selling the film that goes around the cup in a bulk amount because I am not selling them to individual people, I am selling them to whole businesses. The price would very since there could be discounts based on how much at a time someone would be buying, but if you break it down to individual seals then it would be close to $.01-.05 per lid.

Venture Concept.

·         What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product?  How hard will it be to get them to switch? 

o   Customers aren’t using a product right now that is taking care of this need so making the switch would be because they see an opportunity for improvement and more ease of labor. Getting a handle of putting on the lids for the bartenders might be an adjustment but not a hard one to make by far.

·         Who are the competitors?  What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities? 

o   Right now there are not any competitors which makes it almost harder to market sometimes because since people have not really realized this need they are hesitant to make an unnecessary switch but at the same time people will see that a trial period is also a possibility.

·         What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining your business concept?

o   The biggest part I would say would be customer experience because that would gain the first customers in the field and retain them for the longest periods and hopefully make it a regular thing where these lids would be used all the time. But it would be that initial customer experience that would be the win it or lose it scenario.  

·         How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture?  

o   We would have to have some sort of machine and machine workers in order to produce to actual product as well as a good customer service and assistance line because our customers are the ones that are keeping us in business. We would also initially need an extraordinary sales team because they would be the ones that would allow us to make our initial footprint into these businesses. It wouldn’t necessarily need to be a big group but a competent one.

The three minor elements

I think the most important resource to start off with is human capital because it would be the networking that would get our business in the running with other companies. I think the thing that is next for our venture is getting our name out there and becoming more popular with other companies because this is a whole new idea, people will have no idea we exist. In five years I would like to see the product in regular use in a couple bars/clubs within a specific area. In a decade I could see adaptations being made where you could customize the lid with maybe college teams or city designs on the lid and expand from there.

25A- What's Next?

 25A- What's Next?

Existing Market. 

After talking to different customers, I was able to get a clear sense of what I should start to work on and be able to advertise better as well as what I already have a good niche in and to turn my focus to other areas. Most of the customers agreed that the idea itself was captivating enough that it would be able to grab the attention of different groups of people. They said that they would think that most people would be interested enough to at least see it play out in their business for a week or two at a time to see if the benefits are actually there. They also were in consensus that since the product is so simple, being that it is just a plastic covering there is not much more in the realm of new product development that can be done, which I agree with. It is the simplicity of the product and the service that it provides that makes the product unique and useful, not the gadget and gizmos that could be added on top of it.

What they did tell me that I should focus on now is the numbers of it all. Break down how much it could save versus how much it might now cost in straws. Compare that with how much time will be saved, and therefore money will be saved, based off of end of the night cleaning. Make the product more marketable through actual facts and figures and that would put me in a good place. I think that was exactly where I was wanting to go with it, so all is well.

New Market.

I think the market that is radically different than the one I am going after now, is the one that I initially sought to go after which is the students, young people going to these bars and clubs in the first place. While they would be the ones benefitting off of the product, I changed my way of marketing it to the managers of the clubs instead of the students because it seemed more feasible, but since it is really the club-goers’ input that would make these managers and the product the most successful it seems apt that I would interview them for their thoughts.

It was interesting hearing what my peers, the people who would be benefitting from this product and who I now had to market to, had to say about how I could adapt it and make it marketable to an individual. They came up with different ideas like making a cap that is reusable, almost like a reusable lid. What they liked most about the product is that it sounds like it could be made in an environmentally friendly way. That is probably what surprised me most. They were definitely fascinated and liked the idea of not being spilt on. They also said that they could be willing to purchase the product if it was sold individually at these specific places that they go out to. They pointed out that it would be hard to sell individually because if only a couple people had it while, yes it would keep them from pouring on themselves, it would not keep others from pouring their drinks and them; they followed that by saying that they thought that is why, me marketing it to the managers of these places and having it as something that everyone has is a great idea.

23A- Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

	Valuable	Rare	Inimitable	Non-substitutable
Impulse Nutrition Manager	I think this will become a valuable resource because they deal directly with a similar product.	It is a rare relationship in my opinion because being on a first name basis with someone who is in the game is very helpful.	This is where it falls short because others could easily become close with the manager.	From my talks with him, it made it seem like this was going to be a very beneficial relationship for the both of us, which gives me hope.
Gilt NightClub Manager	I do not know how valuable this will be because he is a very busy man and hard to get in contact with but still good to have as a contact.	I think it is rare because he really does have such a busy schedule which makes it all the more impressive that I was able to talk to him.	This is potentially inimitable, but I think it would be harder than others because he is a hard man to get in touch with.	There are other resources that could provide similar information or help but similar does not mean same and everyone has their own opinions and input.
Uniqueness of Venture	This is probably the most valuable about my product because people have not thought about using my product in this environment before.	I think you really have to be able to think outside of the box, which not everyone has the capability of doing which makes it more rare than other things.	This is inimitable, but it is such a niche idea that I think that you have to be in a certain demographic to see this opportunity.	There are not other resources that provide the same benefits because this is what sets me apart in my venture. This is what sets me apart, so I think that this is the most substantial.
Lack of Competitors	I think this goes along with the uniqueness because no competitors become extremely valuable if this idea actually comes to fruition.	It is very rare that you are in a position where you do not have any competitors at the moment and that is when you should take full advantage of the opportunity.	This is inimitable because once someone has the idea and then other people catch wind of either the idea in general or of specifically its success, people copy it.	There is nothing like this that can give you the same benefits because there is no other opportunity like this in the business field.
Communication Skills	I think this is a very valuable skill to have because it will get you places and allow you to make contacts that just a good idea might not be able to do.	This is rare. I think that many people have great ideas yet do not know how to express them/the idea and that is where their downfall is.	Although it is rare there are many people that do have this quality which means as much as this helps it should not be my only asset.	It really will bring benefits, I believe, that would be unattainable with simply
Fundraising Experience	I think this is valuable because without money you could not get anything done to begin with.	I don’t think this is extremely rare, many people are in a position where they had to raise money for some experience.	This is probably one of the most imitable characteristics that I have because it really only takes some sales skills.	You need money to do anything, so it does have benefits but if you are able to sell your product idea to the right people you do not necessarily need the experience.
JJ’s Tavern Relations	It is valuable because it is someone who is right here in my area.	The manager is a facey guy so I do not know how rare this is, but it is better than nothing.	This is imitable but I do not know in what capacity because you do need to know certain people in order to attain this contact.	Again there are things that could give me similar benefits but similar is not equivalent to same and everyone has valid inputs.
Retail Distributor Relations	Having the contact with an actual retailer who works with a similar product is very valuable in that it will allow me to have information from someone who deals with this every day.	I think it is rare because the man who gave me this contact does not give out his contacts easily and you have to gain respect.	It is imitable but I think that it would be really difficult to imitate because of the process to get there.	I think I will be able to get some great inside information from this distributor that I would not be able to get from anyone else because they do not always just give all information out to the public on operations.
Gainesville Location Capital	I think it is valuable because Gainesville is the kind of area that I would be looking to market to.	There are many people who live in college towns or big cities so it is not the most rare thing.	Again this is easy to accomplish because you can relocate to wherever you want to so someone could easily do this.	I think it brings a lot of added benefits because it is in an area where I am trying to advertise my product.
Moral Support from Peers	This is valuable because the product in the long run would be benefitting my peer so their input and support is great.	It is rare sometimes to have moral support and to be in the demographic that your product would be helping.	People feed off of support and that is what friends are for so this is something that can be replicated.	I think it brings benefits because they can give me input from a different perspective as well as support which is amazing.

·         After conducting the VRIN analysis, determine what your top resource is. Explain why it's more important to your venture than all of the other resources.

I think the top resource is the fact that I am thinking outside of the box. The Uniqueness of my Venture is my top resource because it has the most going for me and brings me the most benefits. It would be the best things that I have going, until someone imitates it but by the time that happens hopefully, I would have a set group of customers. It is also such a niche market I think it would take awhile to get to that point of imitation.