30A Final Reflection

1. Looking back on the assignments in this class, one thing that stands out to me is my elevator pitch progress. It is actually amazing to see the actual physical improvements that I made from attempt tot attempt.
2. The most formative experience that I am going to take away from this class is stepping outside my comfort zone and trying new things. Whether this is memorizing a script, reaching out to new people to establish social networking connections, or simply interviewing random people.
3. Although I do not necessarily plan to become an entrepreneur, I have definitely develop an entrepreneurial mindset. I know how an entrepreneur thinks and I can analyze everyday business decisions from the viewpoint of an entrepreneur.
4. My biggest recommendation is to watch the lectures and stay focused. Staying focused will help you make a plan to turn in all assignments on time. The lectures are fun, educational. and will help you do better on the cupcakes in the long run.

28A Your Exit Strategy

1.     I intend to sell the company within a short time frame like 5 years. Although I can see myself embarking on multiple entrepreneurship ventures, I definitely don’t want this project to be my entire life. Selling the company will give me good experience and some capital to start a new, improved venture.

2.     As previously stated, I chose this option so that I can have some variety in my life. Obviously if the company is projected to skyrocket I wouldn’t sell it, but once we reach a peak, it likely makes the most fiscal sense to sell and move on.

3.     This exit strategy has definitely influenced past decisions in the class for this specific venture. To begin with, I stated that I would focus on business to consumer selling because I never thought the company would get large enough to the point where it would have enough inventory or desire to sell to an entire business. However, I am sure there were other cases where knowing the company was not long-term had an impact.

27A Reading Reflection No. 3

1.     Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan - The main theme of the book and message it is promoting is stressing the importance of marketing and the rapidly increasing usage of online marketing. Due to various qualities, social media makes it cheaper to reach even more people than ever before.

2.     The book connected to the class because it stressed the importance of marketing and not only developing a good product but also knowing how to sell and profit off of it. Also, just as this class has talked about ways that modern technology has changed entrepreneurship, so has this book.

3.     The assignment would simply be to create a fake social media account that advertises your product. Make sure everyone knows that it is only for an assignment, but see how many followers you can get.

4.     My biggest aha moment of the book was how online marketing has helped small companies. Because it doesn’t cost anything to send out a tweet or make an instagram post, small companies, with proper marketing, can reach just as many people as big companies for a fraction of the cost.

26A Celebrating Failure

1.     One time I experienced failure was when I applied for a tutoring job at one of the tutoring centers at UF. Although the reason I did not receive the position was because it was a rolling application that was filled a month prior and thus not available, it still felt bad. I am yet to try to find a similar position to apply for, but I do not plan on letting this one instance of failure prevent me from doing so again. The worst part was that I technically didn’t do anything wrong so there was not much to learn from.

2.     The main lesson I learned was when you find out you want something, not to wait to get it. I knew about the opportunity for a while, but I delayed my application, and it ended up preventing me from getting the position.

3.     I think failure is important because it is both humbling and educational. Not only can failure serve as a check on overconfident egos, but it also helps us to improve. It is impossible to avoid failure, so we all need to become accustomed to it at some point. Too much failure is not ideal, but taking it in small doses might seem negative in the short-term, but will be positive in the long-term.

24A Venture Concept No. 1 - Fresh Breath Candies

            In today’s world, people are always on the go and have very busy lives. Thus, the need and opportunity that I have identified is that people need a mobile, on-the-go solution for their personal hygiene, specifically dental hygiene. The people who have this need are mainly college-age students because they are not only balancing professional lives, but also academic and volunteering time commitments. College students are also notorious for not taking the greatest care of themselves so it would make sense that they need a dental hygiene solution. Thus, overall, the nature of their need arises out of their crazy, busy schedules. The outside forces creating this need are the pressures on college students to be competitive. This means that the basic day can consist of a job interview, class, volunteering activity, and possibly even work for a normal job. College students have so much pressure on them that not only do they need to improve their hygiene, but that they can sometimes forget to do it themselves. The market can be defined all across the nation, with college campuses everywhere. However, to begin with, the target market will originally consist of University of Florida students. Customers are currently satisfying this need by simply brushing their teeth twice a day. They are moderately loyal to this, but only because they may not be aware of a better option. This opportunity is not too big because it is very niche and only serves one purpose, although this purpose can apply to a multitude of scenarios. The window of opportunity is large because the trend of college students being both irresponsible with their hygiene and busy is not new and will continue for a while.

            The innovation is a candy capsule that releases a fluid that both cleans teeth and freshens breath. Essentially, the way it works is that the person eats the candy, which will look like a regular mint, but come in special packaging. This is to avoid people from thinking this product is just a regular old mint. The product will come in a variety of flavors that test marketing should help with including but not limited to: peppermint, chocolate, strawberry, and blueberry. Once the person eats the product, it will either release or dissolve into the cleaning fluid. A couple gargles and then the fluid will be safe to swallow. In a matter of seconds, you have had both a tasty treat and an easy way to freshen up your hygiene. The capsules will come in packs of 15-20 for approximately $5.99. Because this product is relatively inexpensive, it will key to make sure we have good customer relation management. After all, it is way cheaper to retain a customer than find a new one. If the first experience a customer has is a positive one, then they are more likely to repeat buy and then the company will turn a profit.

            The innovation solves the opportunity that was previously defined because of how easy to use the product is. While it is inconvenient to carry around a toothbrush and toothpaste wherever you go, and this can be an awkward activity to have to carry out in a social setting, this candy capsule is small, portable, and easy to conceal. Thus, it is efficient, cheap, and overall easy to use. It is a better solution to an old problem. Customers will switch to this new product because it is more effective than a mint and easier than brushing teeth in the middle of the day. It will be relatively hard to get them to switch because they may not be aware of the need in the first place. There might not be direct competitors, but in the overall dental hygiene industry, the competitors include Colgate and Crest. Their weaknesses are that they do not have a way for people to clean their teeth unless they are in the comfort of their own home and bathroom. In addition, many people have electric toothbrushes anyway, so they cannot be traveled with everyone one needs to go across an entire day. Packaging and price will be important. The packaging will need to be special enough that it distinguishes our products from things it might look similar to, most notably cough drops and breath mints. The price will be important because this item isn’t a pure necessity, so it will need to be cheap enough that people still want to buy it. I think I would need a couple employees per department in order to start the business on a small scale. This includes finance, research and development, manufacturing, and sales/marketing.

            My most important resources will be both my network of contacts and my personal human capital skills. Having contacts in various pharmacies in Gainesville, uniquely puts me in a position to advertise and market the product in its immediate target market. In addition, I am dedicated, driven, bright, and relatable. These skills will definitely help in producing and marketing the innovation. The next thing for this venture will be its initial tests and making a prototype that finds a balance between taste and effectiveness in the area of health. In five years, I’d like to making a steady profit and creating new ways to not only improve the product but maybe be looking into other innovations that are related to it. In other words, I just hope to have moderate success. This means steady growth from year to year. While I hope the financial books show this, other signs of success will be an increased amount of employees and availability of the product in an increasing number of locations.

           

25A What’s Next?

Existing

1. I think the next thing within the existing market is really hitting on marketing and advertising. I have a good idea of what people want and do not. Now I need to tell them that what they want is readily available.
2. I think what customers in this market want is just to be able to get the product. Specifically, at UF, this means placing in it places near campus like POD markets, Publix, maybe put it in the vending machine in the libraries, and local pharmacies. This way people will know it is available.
3. To grow my market, I want to first make the product available all over UF’s campus. Next, word of mouth will lead friends from different college campuses to talk about the product. Eventually students from UGA, UCF, FSU, and more will find out about the product and want a similar solution.

In the end, the market will begin growing in terms of college campus coverage all over the country. Right now, the market might only be college students at UF, but eventually it will grow to other schools as well.

New Market

1.     While I was previously targeting B2C, I will now target B2B, helping businesses give their employees (likely middle-age adults) a way to improve their hygiene before working or heading into important meetings.

2.     This will be helpful to any business that often has employees going into meetings during the day. With many meetings, a way to improve dental hygiene will make such meetings more enjoyable for everyone involved.

3.     While I can’t really interview anyone, I think that customers in this market of businesses would like to have the assurance that something as easily controlled as dental hygiene is not ruining their business meetings.

4.     This market might be attractive, but I do not think it is as attractive as most B2C markets because the product is mainly for personal use and does not seem like something that a business would think it needed to supply to its own employees.

On the other hand, if I were actually able to interview people from this market, I would think that it is possible that some upper echelon companies would be okay with providing these products for their own employees. Overall, I think that I will stick to B2C markets, but I will not ignore future possibilities of approaching a larger B2B market.

23A Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1. Capabilities -  I am very involved on campus and can reach out to various large groups to promote the product - Not imitable because the groups I belong to cannot necessarily be reached by everyone else.
2. Human capital - well-trained employees - Many companies have well-trained employees so it might not be rare but it is valuable.
3. Social Capital - I have made contact with people who work in the industry, including a Walgreens manufacturer - Valuable because it puts me one step ahead of others with similar products.
4. Capabilities/Human Capital - I am very intelligent and committed to my ideas - This is valuable because it will keep the company and employees on course.
5. Financial Capital - The product is not revolutionary so it will not be expensive to research or develop - This is rare because many startups can be very costly.
6. Financial Capital - I have saved up money and have made previous smart investments so I do not need a lot of other investors initially - This is valuable because it will let me keep most of the profits to myself.
7. Financial Capital - UF has various investment groups and clubs that might be willing to hear my pitch and give constructive criticism - This is valuable advice and is rare in the sense that not every student has similar options.
8. Human Capital - One of my core competencies is being able to explain complex things in an easy way - This is valuable and rare because it will help with both marketing and delivering elevator pitches.
9. Social Capital - My uncle is a dental surgeon and has given me excellent advice on what the product should include - This is valuable because it will help on the research/product development side of my business.
10. Social Capital - One of my close friends is a dental student at a top university and has given me advice on how to market such products to young people - This is very valuable and non-substitutable because of our uniquely close relationship, not everyone has access to this person’s opinions.

My top resources are my vast network of people with unique expertise and my dedication to providing my best effort, energy, and intelligence.

22A Elevator Pitch No. 3

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLSvP-EbQrM&feature=youtu.be
2. A lot of the feedback I got on my second elevator pitch was positive. I was applauded for my eye contact as well as ideas and content. I was told that the improvements I sought to make in my second pitch definitely made a difference and that I should be happy with the overall product. The only improvement that was suggested to me was to take out my name and university at the beginning of the pitch because, as it was taught, nobody really cares about what our name is and it takes away from the time and hook.
3. Based on my feedback, I did not make many changes. I maintained my clothing/appearance and did not change my camera or camera angle. However, I made a small content/script change. I took out my name and personal introduction and simply replaced it with the hook I had been using all along. This way, I would be able to grab the reader's attention right from the beginning and not lose it until after the pitch was made. I thought all these changes were very constructive and I am satisfied with this product. Although it is the last pitch of this course, I know that as I show it to others and refine it further, it will get even better.

21A Reading Reflection No. 2

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

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

The general theme is that success is not dependent on skill or luck, but rather every person is capable of success, it just depends on your mindset and how you view your own skills and abilities.

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

In this class, we talk a lot about refining our skills and how to make connections. This novel expands on those ideas by telling you, once you believe you have obtained these skills, how to view them in a broader context. If you believe you can do something, or that you can learn to do something, you have a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset, which means you can succeed.

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

My assignment for this class based on this book would be to have each student make a graphic organizer or flow chart that shows their growth mindset. Essentially, each student would creatively list all of their skills and abilities, define them, show how they relate, explain how they might develop, and explain how they exemplify a growth mindset.

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?

I was most surprised by the impact that teachers have from an early age. I don't really remember a lot of my elementary school teachers, but according to the book, these figures can have a significant influence on your mindset and how you evaluate yourself.