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.

Assignment 21A- Reading Reflection No.2

Assignment 21A- Reading Reflection No.2

I chose the book Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirsky

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

The general theme is to use our time much more effectively and to use technology to our advantage rather than a time waster.

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

This book has connected the time management skills aspect of the class with the book. I have learned from both of these the advantages to using your time more effectively in order to get the most out of your day.

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

I would create an exercise that would ask students to alternate days when they are allowed to use technology and days they are not allowed to use it. They would do this for a week and discuss each day and how it went differently, better or worse.

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?

My biggest surprise would have to be that I waste so much of my time using technology for such unnecessary reasons. It helped me to reflect on how I should disconnect more often and instead use technology for specific reasons rather than for fun.

19A- Idea Napkin No.2

19A- Idea Napkin No.2

1. My name is Delaney Koponen. I am a senior marketing major with a minor is retail. I have always been passionate for the marketing industry- discovering why consumers buy certain products and what motivates them to do so. I paired that with my interest in retail. This past summer I worked in Atlanta, GA at Newell Brands as a brand marketing intern. Newell owns popular consumer goods brands like Sharpie, Caphlon, Graco, Paper Mate, Elmer's and many more. I think that this product ties in my passion for discovering what consumers want and making everyday tasks that much more simpler.- nothing has changed here!

2. I am offering both companies and individuals a way to make the hand washing process a little quicker and simpler in public places.  For individuals this will allow to lessen frustration of having to get more than one paper towel from the dispenser or being left with wet hands. For companies this will make customers happier customers.- The same product offering as previously

3. I am offering this product to companies and individuals. These companies would be any business that offers a public restroom. These individuals demographic would mostly contain those who prefer to be cleanly and save the environment. All my customers have in common that they would be using a public restroom at least once if not many more times in their life.- I think that this is very similar but has changed slightly in that I would obviously be targeting business owners to purchase the product but consumers to encourage the product

4. Customers care about this product because it would make their daily lives just a little bit easier. It would not cost individuals using the restroom money but it would cost a small amount of money to those that own the business.- The same

5. I have never used a automatic paper towel dispenser and been satisfied with the amount of paper towel that comes out with the first swipe. This product would be different because it has not been done before.- The same but I forgot to mention its appeal to protecting the environment from unnecessary waste.

I think that all of these elements fit very well together. I think the aspect of my business concept that is weaker is appealing to business’. This is probably the last concern for business’ so I feel they might not take this as a priority to becoming a profitable business.

Feedback memo- I had very positive feedback from my peer reviews. No one really said anything that would negatively impact my product. Therefore, I take this as I am on the right track! This product would definitely require some testing and promotion.

18A - Create a Customer Avatar

18A - Create a Customer Avatar

This is my customer avatar. She is a middle age women, who works hard to support her family. She drives a minivan and takes her two kids to soccer and dance practice. She’s always in a hurry and always on time.

I don’t have a lot in common with the avatar except that I will probably be her one day and this customer would be very similar to my mother. The only coincidence would be is that the avatar I created is exactly what my mom looks like.