30A- Final Reflection

30A- Final Reflection

1. As I read through my posts I can tell I have definitely gotten better at this blogging thing! It was pretty hard to get the hang of at first but it got easier as the semester went on. My moment of dread was definitely filming the elevator pitch. I absolutely hate public speaking. Although no one was around when I did it I still got nervous!
2. I think my most formative experience was coming up with a product and creating a plan for the project from launching it to potentially selling it. I am proud of myself for coming up with a product that I received so much positive feedback. It is very exciting for people to love a prouduct idea you come up with.
3. I definitely think that I have developed an entrepreneurial mindset. I do not see myself as an entrepreneur yet. But with the skills I built in this class maybe one day I will!
4. My recommendation would be to have an open mind and be confident about your skills and what you want to do. If you do not believe in yourself no one will so it is very important to be confident. I think it's important to pick a product that you are passionate about and you could see yourself pursuing in real life.
   

   

29A- Venture Concept No.2

29A- Venture Concept No.2

Opportunity

Little do some know, paper towels was invented in 1907 by Scott Paper Company in Philadelphia, PA. They introduced the concept of paper towels in order to reduce the amount of germs spread after washing your hands. In the early 1930’s they were introduced to be used in the kitchen and have been widely publicly used ever since. It has been estimated that it take approximately 10 seconds to achieve 90% dryness and a hand dryer takes 40 seconds to achieve similar dryness. What about that extra 10% to achieve 100% dryness. This estimation also does not factor in how many pieces of paper you need to use in order to achieve that dryness. From personal experience it could take anywhere from 2-4 pieces to achieve maximum dryness. Although paper towels are convenient, they are not very efficient and pose a significant threat to the environment.

• This provides an opportunity to combat not only the lack of efficiency but also the harm to the environment a paper towel creates.
• Everyone purchases paper towels. Whether it be in your home or for your public business. They are a necessary aspect and are expected to be supplied in a kitchen and/or bathroom.
• Demographic wise- This product could be more geared towards millennials since they are known to be significantly more environmentally cautious as well as impatient. It should also be positioned towards whomever supplies the home with its necessary products as well as business owners.
• This product has 2 key environments in which it would be used in: the home and the business (public restroom)
• It seems important to prioritize the business because this could create a ripple effect in which someone would use the product in a public restroom, enjoy the product and then purchase themselves for their own home.

Innovation

Since its inception, paper towels have grown exponentially. They are used in almost every home and every public business. Its innovation however has somewhat stagnated. Although some have tried to move towards electric hand dryers to combat the environmental issue, it just doesn't try you hands as well. What happens if there is a spill? Or when the electricity goes out? These are all questions that have led me to the idea of my product.

• Whenever I go to a public restroom I am constantly annoyed at the fact that it becomes such a process to do such a little thing like drying my hands. This made me think about why it takes so long and how it could be improved.
• At first I thought this was something that only bothered me. But as I complained to more people about it I found that a majority find this an annoyance as well.
• Therefore, I tried to think of something that would tackle not only the annoyance of drying your hands but also a way it could help save the environment as well.
• I decided to propose a paper towel that is made with a much more absorbent material. This would allow consumers to only use 1 sheet of paper towel to dry their hands rather than about 4-5. Just using 1 sheet of paper towel will significantly reduce waste and kill less trees in the process. Picture when you go to a very fancy restaurant and you go into the bathroom and they have those super thick paper towels. I am aiming to create something similar to that but using a different material other than paper or a combination of paper and another material in order to reduce the paper content.
• In order to make money, I figure that firstly, most of my focus needs to go into perfecting the product and testing it in order to make sure it works. Secondly, I would like to focus on the marketing aspect and figuring out what the consumers wants and how to market this product to the in order to create the most sales possible.
• I would market first and foremost to businesses’. I chose marketing to business’ because I feel as if a consumer goes to a public restroom, uses a paper towel that they like. They may want to purchase it for their own home and word of mouth would continue and sales will increase and so on.
• I have also considered giving business a “free-trial” of this product in order to get the word of mouth sales going and to create that circle of sales.
• I would sell these rolls at about $50 a roll since they would last much longer than its competitor products.

Venture Concept

Consumers will buy my product because it is a simple solution to an everyday annoyance that is efficient and has an added perk: it helps save the environment. In this day in age I think its important for a product to have to benefits: one that is obvious (what it is made for) and a bonus(something consumers were not expecting that makes them feel better about purchasing the product). For examples, many millennials are known to purchase products from another company that are the exact same thing as another for more money just because that company has a sustainable message or the product goes to a good cause.

• I think that it will be pretty difficult to get business’ to switch to this product. Since it is something that is used everyday. A business would have a contract with a supplier already so it may be difficult to penetrate this segment at first.
• My main competitor would be Georgia-Pacific whom I believe is the main supplier of paper towels to large business’. Their weakness would be their lack of efficiency and lack of environmental sustainable product.
• Packaging plays a huge role. I think it will need to look sleek and futuristic. This packaging needs to say that it will be the paper towel of the future and will revolutionize the industry.
• Customer support and customer experience will be very important in order to spread word of mouth. Business location will be irrelevant at the start of the business because we would need to move around a lot regardless.
• I would organize the business as a CEO, a VP of Marketing, VP of Finance, VP of Operations and a VP of sales. We would have about 40-50 employees to start with some working in the factories and others in the headquarters.

My most important resource will be that my product is unique as well as a necessity. I would like to create a very sleek paper towel dispenser for this product. Whats next? In five years this product would be launched and I would be signing my recurring contracts with large business’ domestically. As an entrepreneur I want to make people's everyday lives better. Whether making them easier or just more fun.

Feedback: My feedback was very positive. Those that read my venture concept talked about how it was very nice to understand some of the history to the paper towel industry so they can better understand my product.

How I’ll adapt: I believe that on my product I should make the paper industry known especially about how this paper towel will be saving the environment from deforestation etc.

Assignment 28A- Your Exit Strategy

Assignment 28A- Your Exit Strategy

• Once my business becomes established and I feel that I have made a good amount of money I would most likely sell my business. This business is not something I could see myself doing long term because it is not an area I am very passionate about.
• I have selected this exit strategy because the paper towel industry is not something I am very passionate about. Although I believe I have a good idea and I could make money, I think someone with more passion would use it more effectively.
• I don’t think my exit strategy has impacted much other aspects of my product development because I didn't really think about it until now. It has not influenced how I created my opportunity. It has impacted my growth intentions only in the fact that someone else would be taking care of the growth and I would not have a say in the business any longer.

Assignment 27A- Reading reflection no.3

Assignment 27A- Reading reflection no.3

I chose Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan

• The general theme of the book is about how marketing has drastically changed in the last few decades. We use a different set of tools is this marketing world now. It is important to shift focus to social media and up your online presence.
• This book really connects with my major, which is marketing. It enhances what I have learned in my marketing classes and what I have learned in the marketing industry. It connects to ENT3003 because it shows that marketing is very important aspect to entrepreneurship because without it consumers will not know about your product
• I think a great assignment would be to have students create a social media account for a fake company and design branding and create posts in order to increase awareness of the brand. As well as creating posts that are meaningful and effective for the company.
• My biggest “aha” moment when reading the book would be that as I was reading the book I started to wonder what the next shift in the marketing world would be. Will social media be forever? Probably not. What is going to the be newest innovation in the marketing world and how can marketers stay on top of it? A book seems like a difficult way to stay on top of these things because they become out of date so quickly.

26A - Celebrating Failure

26A - Celebrating Failure

This past summer I lived in Atlanta for my internships and my parents decided it was time I learn to be fiscally responsible. So, I got my first credit card. With a credit card, I understand that it is a big responsibility and you need to keep on top of it. This summer, I made a good amount of money so I had no problem making sure I paid off my bills in full. But, this semester I get paid significantly less than I did this summer and work significantly less. Therefore, I am facing an issue at failing at my fiscal responsibility. I never realized how expensive groceries etc. are when I am being paid minimum wage.

I learned that I have a shopping addiction. Especially online shopping. In order to not shop as much I need to not have my credit card on me and use it only for purchases of necessities ie. groceries, gas. This way I will not be spending money I do not have.

Failure is definitely tough. And I have failed less this semester than previously. I am a strong believer that failure is essential to success. It is hard and there may be tears involved but once you get through it you come out tougher and better. I don’t this class has necessarily had a huge impact on my perspective of failure because I have always been a proponent of it.

25A- What’s Next?

25A- What’s Next?

Existing Market

Whats next:

would like to create a very sleek paper towel dispenser for this product. Whats next? In five years this product would be launched and I would be signing my recurring contracts with large business’ domestically. As an entrepreneur I want to make people's everyday lives better. Whether making them easier or just more fun.

Interviews:

During my interviews with three different customers who are a part of the market I identified they all first responded that they really liked my idea and were interested to see what I would do with it. They agreed that they would like to see something that continued innovation with consumer goods such as paper towels. Like creating a better paper towel dispenser.

Reflection:

After listening to my interviews, It made me realize the importance of consumer research and consumer interactions. I want to now make sure that before launching my product I do heavy consumer research and make sure that the product is tailored to the consumer target

New Market

Different Market:

I am currently mainly targeting B2B because I feel this segment would be a good first target since it will most likely be the most profitable. I would then later like to target B2C because once consumers see this product in public restrooms they will want it in their own home.

Interviews:

After talking to two more people about my new market. We discussed possible different ventures and things that I should think about and possibly get involved with. Something that was different was that only one responded that they really liked my idea and were interested to see what I would do with it and the other was not very interested. We discussed the potential for extending products and they agreed that it would be something that would definitely occur much later on in my business venture

Reflection

This new market will be very important to the success of my business but will occur much later in my business venture. It will not be as easy of a segment to penetrate but will be necessary for the success of my business. This interviews are very helpful in figuring out what the consumer wants and needs in a product.

Assignment 24A- Venture Concept No. 1

Assignment 24A- Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

Little do some know, paper towels was invented in 1907 by Scott Paper Company in Philadelphia, PA. They introduced the concept of paper towels in order to reduce the amount of germs spread after washing your hands. In the early 1930’s they were introduced to be used in the kitchen and have been widely publicly used ever since. It has been estimated that it take approximately 10 seconds to achieve 90% dryness and a hand dryer takes 40 seconds to achieve similar dryness. What about that extra 10% to achieve 100% dryness. This estimation also does not factor in how many pieces of paper you need to use in order to achieve that dryness. From personal experience it could take anywhere from 2-4 pieces to achieve maximum dryness. Although paper towels are convenient, they are not very efficient and pose a significant threat to the environment.

• This provides an opportunity to combat not only the lack of efficiency but also the harm to the environment a paper towel creates.
• Everyone purchases paper towels. Whether it be in your home or for your public business. They are a necessary aspect and are expected to be supplied in a kitchen and/or bathroom.
• Demographic wise- This product could be more geared towards millennials since they are known to be significantly more environmentally cautious as well as impatient. It should also be positioned towards whomever supplies the home with its necessary products as well as business owners.
• This product has 2 key environments in which it would be used in: the home and the business (public restroom)
• It seems important to prioritize the business because this could create a ripple effect in which someone would use the product in a public restroom, enjoy the product and then purchase themselves for their own home.

Innovation

Since its inception, paper towels have grown exponentially. They are used in almost every home and every public business. Its innovation however has somewhat stagnated. Although some have tried to move towards electric hand dryers to combat the environmental issue, it just doesn't try you hands as well. What happens if there is a spill? Or when the electricity goes out? These are all questions that have led me to the idea of my product.

• Whenever I go to a public restroom I am constantly annoyed at the fact that it becomes such a process to do such a little thing like drying my hands. This made me think about why it takes so long and how it could be improved.
• At first I thought this was something that only bothered me. But as I complained to more people about it I found that a majority find this an annoyance as well.
• Therefore, I tried to think of something that would tackle not only the annoyance of drying your hands but also a way it could help save the environment as well.
• I decided to propose a paper towel that is made with a much more absorbent material. This would allow consumers to only use 1 sheet of paper towel to dry their hands rather than about 4-5. Just using 1 sheet of paper towel will significantly reduce waste and kill less trees in the process. Picture when you go to a very fancy restaurant and you go into the bathroom and they have those super thick paper towels. I am aiming to create something similar to that but using a different material other than paper or a combination of paper and another material in order to reduce the paper content.
• In order to make money, I figure that firstly, most of my focus needs to go into perfecting the product and testing it in order to make sure it works. Secondly, I would like to focus on the marketing aspect and figuring out what the consumers wants and how to market this product to the in order to create the most sales possible.
• I would market first and foremost to businesses’. I chose marketing to business’ because I feel as if a consumer goes to a public restroom, uses a paper towel that they like. They may want to purchase it for their own home and word of mouth would continue and sales will increase and so on.
• I have also considered giving business a “free-trial” of this product in order to get the word of mouth sales going and to create that circle of sales.
• I would sell these rolls at about $50 a roll since they would last much longer than its competitor products.

Venture Concept

Consumers will buy my product because it is a simple solution to an everyday annoyance that is efficient and has an added perk: it helps save the environment. In this day in age I think its important for a product to have to benefits: one that is obvious (what it is made for) and a bonus(something consumers were not expecting that makes them feel better about purchasing the product). For examples, many millennials are known to purchase products from another company that are the exact same thing as another for more money just because that company has a sustainable message or the product goes to a good cause.

• I think that it will be pretty difficult to get business’ to switch to this product. Since it is something that is used everyday. A business would have a contract with a supplier already so it may be difficult to penetrate this segment at first.
• My main competitor would be Georgia-Pacific whom I believe is the main supplier of paper towels to large business’. Their weakness would be their lack of efficiency and lack of environmental sustainable product.
• Packaging plays a huge role. I think it will need to look sleek and futuristic. This packaging needs to say that it will be the paper towel of the future and will revolutionize the industry.
• Customer support and customer experience will be very important in order to spread word of mouth. Business location will be irrelevant at the start of the business because we would need to move around a lot regardless.
• I would organize the business as a CEO, a VP of Marketing, VP of Finance, VP of Operations and a VP of sales. We would have about 40-50 employees to start with some working in the factories and others in the headquarters.

My most important resource will be that my product is unique as well as a necessity. I would like to create a very sleek paper towel dispenser for this product. Whats next? In five years this product would be launched and I would be signing my recurring contracts with large business’ domestically. As an entrepreneur I want to make people's everyday lives better. Whether making them easier or just more fun.

Assignment 22A- Elevator Pitch No.3

Assignment 22A- Elevator Pitch No.3

Link: https://youtu.be/KLbU_1zH5F8

The feedback I received in my last elevator speech was very positive! So I only made a few tweaks in my speech in order for it to be more clear. I definitely think my speech is almost memorized at this point!

Assignment 23A- Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

Assignment 23A- Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1.Unique

V- Valuable because it differentiates the product

R- it is rare to be unique these days

I- It can be imitated but may take longer

N- Does not apply

2. Fundraising experience

V- This allows me to build valuable capital

R- not rare
I- This can be imitated
N- This could be substituted but would be more costly

3. Business knowledge

V- valuable because I have a degree in business

R- Not rare
I- Can be imitated because many hold a business degree
N- It cannot be substituted with another degree because it wouldn't be applicable
4. Business experience

V- valuable because has prior knowledge and experience

R- experience can be rare

I- My own personal experience cannot be imitated

N- My own personal experience cannot be substituted

5. Support

V- This is extremely valuable because support can relate to high sales
R- This can be rare for some companies
I- True support can’t exactly be imitated
N- Cannot be substituted

6. Marketing experience

V- valuable in launching the product and continuing to spread the word
R- experience can be rare
I- my own personal experience can’t be imitated
N- my own personal experience cannot be substituted

7. Passion

V- passion is very valuable to a new company's success
R- Passion can sometimes be rare
I- Passion cannot be imitated
N- Passion cannot be substituted

8. Social Capital: business’

V- Very valuable to have other business’ support and backing
R- This can be very rare for a new company
I- This cannot be imitated
N- This cannot be substituted
9. Social capital: prototypical customers

V- It is very valuable to have real-life examples of prototypical customer
R- it is rare to have real-life examples
I- It can be imitated
N- It can be substituted

10. Social capital: UF greek life

V- Creates an extensive network of people
R- Rare because it is a small percentage of UF
I- It cannot be imitated
N- It cannot be substituted

After conducted the VRIN analysis it is sort of difficult to choose which resource would be most valuable. They all seem like a very important factors to making a successful business. I think the aspects of experience would be the most important. I think that my product is pretty rare and it would be very interesting to see what another competitor would do differently.

Assignment 20A - Growing Your Social Capital

Assignment 20A - Growing Your Social Capital

#1 Expert in your industry

1) Who they are and what their background is.

Tina, Marketing Manager

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

She is a domain expert because she is a manager for the domain in which my industry is related. She knows the in’s and out’s of the marketing for the department.

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

She was my manager for my marketing internship this past summer.

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

I talked to her about my class and the product I was creating. She thought the idea was great but agreed that I need to be more clear with who I am marketing to.

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

This person is an expert in her industry and will be able to give me great advice on how to enhance my product based on previous knowledge.

#2 Expert on your market

1) Who they are and what their background is.

Dana, my mother.

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

Market expert because she is within my target market as she is a mother.

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

She is my mother and I called her on the phone since she lives 4 hours away from Gainesville.

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

I explained my product idea to her and she loved it. She agreed that this was a problem that needed a solution.

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

She will help create a product that the market I am targeting would actually want to purchase.

#3  Important supplier to your industry

1) Who they are and what their background is.

Bobby, sales department of a consumer goods company.

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

Supplier expert because he deals with selling supplies to large retailers.

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

Knew him from my internship.

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

We discussed my product and he felt that it was a good idea but I would definately have to focus on how I would create the product and what kind of supply I would need.

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

They will give me sound advice on who are good suppliers to deal with and how to handle them.

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?

This experience will allow me to understand who exactly I need to talk to in order to get something done. This will allow me to more efficiently participate in future networking events. It differed in that this was much more structured than past networking experiences. Usually I just wing it, but I think this is more effective.