30A - Final Reflection

My most formative experience is just completing the class. When I first read the syllabus and saw all of the assignments it was daunting. I did not think I was going to be able to complete the class. But here I am, writing my last blog post for this class. I think doing all of the assignments was the most formative for me. I am most joyous and proud of just completing the class. I knew it was possible, but in the beginning, it seemed like a mountain of work. But now, it is mountain chipped away into a tiny hill.

I do see myself having an entrepreneurial mindset now. I see problems and opportunities more easily and frequently now more than ever.

I recommend setting a strict schedule and to not procrastinate. if you do the work you will get the grade. Do not put off the work or it will catch up to you. There are strict deadlines in this class that you do not want to miss. At the beginning of every week read over the assignments and see what you need to accomplish that week for the class.

29A - Venture Concept 2

Opportunity: A way to clean white shoes in a timely matter as a way to prolong the life of the shoes.
1. High-school to college-aged kids have this need.
2. People want to look good always, especially the things they bought and wear. These kids care about image and getting their money's worth, this product will help in both areas.
3. White shoes get more and more popular every year. The area with no growth is a way to clean and preserve these shoes.
4. Geographically, the market is based in America, specifically near big universities and local high schools. Demographically, the ages we are targeting are 15-22-year-olds.
5. Currently, some customers have no way of satisfying their need f clean shoes, while others use some form of all-purpose wipes or the use of their laundry machine.
6. I believe this opportunity is very large considering how popular and how many people wear white shoes.
7. This opportunity will be open as long as white shoes stay on trend in this demographic.

Innovation:
The product is a spray that you leave on the shoes that does the work of cleaning for you. After a few minutes of leaving the product on the shoes, the customer just wipes away the spray to reveal clean white shoes. Because our target market is so young and may not have a lot of money, we are shooting for a lower price point of around 20 dollars for the product.

Venture Concept:
1. This product will solve the needs of the customer by keeping their shoes looking fresh and new without breaking the bank or involving too much time. Customers will buy this product because they care about what they wear and how they look. They will do whatever it takes to look the best always.
2. I believe it will be easy for customers to switch to this product as they have no other real alternative right now.
3. KIWI shoe cleaning product is really the only competitor. Their weaknesses are that they do not have a cleaner specifically for white shoes and they lack penetration into the younger demographics.
4. Our packaging, price point, and distribution play a huge role. We need our product to be on-trend and easily accessible to our target market.
5. The business would be an online business first, focusing a lot on digital advertising. Then we would move into getting the product near schools and colleges in the future. As I have never run a business before I do not know how many employees or the organizational model I would need.

Minor Elements:
1. My unfair advantage is that I am apart of the target market and I know how this market thinks and what they do.
2. What's next is opening up to a new target market of people who collect high-end shoes.
3. Sticking with the business and seeing where and how far I can take it.

Feedback:

• Some people really loved the idea and would buy it immediately
• Others told me they were okay with their shoes not being cleaning all the time
• Some consumers even said dirty shoes were a style in themselves
• One consumer told me they liked the idea of a wipe better than a spray
• Most consumers liked the price point
• A lot of consumers told me about the sneaker collection market

Adaption:

• Marketing my product for sneaker-heads and collectors
• I will create different variations of the product to suit the wants and needs of more customers 
• I will keep the price point low and try not to price hike at all  

28A - Exit Strategy

1. After running my business for a few years, growing it to be a leading shoe cleaning brand, I intend to sell it. This is after I feel like I have done all I can with the business. I would want to creatively and almost physically drain myself by giving the business my all. When I feel I have nothing left to offer I would be more than happy to sell.  I would hope for a very large return, large enough that I could start a new business venture or invest in a start-up.

2. I feel like this is my best strategy because I like to do many things. My only interest is not in the shoe industry. I am interested in starting many businesses and I believe selling the company would give me a lot of capital to do more things. Also, I believe staying with one company for so long would make me feel stagnated. Getting fresh blood into the business would only help that venture more, and if you love something you have to let it go.

3. I think I have always had this exit strategy in mind when creating the business. I think it would actually help me give more effort into the company, as I know I will eventually leave, I will want to give it everything I have when I can. Also, I believe it will help me stay open to new ideas and new connections while running the business, which in turn could be an idea or connection that helps the business grow.

27A - Reading Reflection

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, Chris Anderson

1. The theme of this book is that of selling, and Chris Anderson explains a new way of selling that is better than that of the past. This is a book that was capitalizing on the internet and digital space. He explains that niche goods that are online are the way of the future and implores the reader to see this fact.

2. It connected because in the professor's lecture he talked about specializing and being niche and not too broad. Making a product for everyone could do worse than making a product specifically for a set group of people. Also in lecture, the professor encourages us to create and so does this book. The book tries to change the reader's perspective to his own about long-tail selling. 

3. I would tell the class to create something on their laptops. It can be anything and that is the point. Anderson goes into detail about how anyone who has a laptop instantly becomes a creator because they now have tools at their fingertips to do almost anything. Which in turn makes the tail longer because anyone and everyone are creating.

4. This book is a few years old, but I was surprised at what I learned. Chris Anderson's long-tail perspective still holds true today. Niche is still the way to go, and most everyone can create and sell niche products because of today's technology. This left me feeling more creative and more confident in the things that I do create.

26A - Celebrating failure

1. I failed in making it to an exam. It was the start of the semester and I wanted to get a really good grade because it was the first exam. I studied all week, maybe a little too much, and I ended up oversleeping. I was able to make up the exam, but at a point reduction. To me, I failed because I could no longer get the grade that I wanted.

2. I learned that sometimes if you push too hard, the outcome will not be what you want. I pushed myself too hard studying and neglected my sleep which caused me to miss the exam. I should have been more in balance and in control. I was so blinded by doing anything I could to get the best grade that I forgot what I needed to do to actually make it to the exam.

3. Failure is rough. Deep down you know it makes you better and shapes you, but it is still hard to go through. I think I handle failure fairly well. I have a good perspective on failure and know it makes me better. I think that this class has made me want to fail even more if that makes sense. Reading about entrepreneurs and listening to lectures about successful people who fail make it sound like failing is more positive than it is negative.

25A

What is next for my shoe cleaning product? I believe what is next is to market towards “sneakerheads”, a culture of people who collect shoes. These people love to wear the hottest sneakers and want them to look well all the time. I believe my shoe cleaning product would do well in this market.

Existing Market Interview Reflection: I specifically asked my interviewees what they would do if they had a product that did what mine did. I asked them how they think it should work and if people would buy it. I did this without me telling them how I think the product should work. One of the interviewees said it should work like a wipe, a powerful one where you just need one to do the job and you can throw it away when you are done. She believed this would be the easiest way to clean the shoes. While the other two (boy, girl) thought it should be a machine like a laundry machine for shoes. These two did not believe that a wipe or spray could effectively clean shoes. I actually really liked both ideas for products, but I believe that the machine would be too expensive for the average consumer. The wipe seemed most feasible and convenient to use.

New Market Interview Reflection: I asked two people from a new market about my product idea. The market is “sneakerheads” or people who collect high-end shoes. The people I talked to about my product liked my idea. Their only complaint was that my product was for white shoes while they wanted a product for all of their shoes. They liked the convenience of it and thought it would be worth the price if it did what it says it does. They also said some sneakerheads do not wear the nicest shoes they have but still wear nice enough shoes that they would want to keep clean. This market seems perfect for a shoe product like mine.

23A

1.     I am the prototypical customer: I created this product and venture with me in mind. I wanted this problem solved so I set out to solve it

Valuable: Since I know myself well I will also understand my target market well.

Rare: Could be rare if other entrepreneurs are not also like this.

Inimitable: Anyone has the ability to do this

Non-substitutable: I could hire someone our conduct focus groups to get the same sort of information.

2.       Unique: There are very few competitors in the marketplace

Valuable: This will make it easier to differentiate the product from other competitors

Rare: Not very, new products are created every day with no competitors

Inimitable: This could be copied by others

Non-substitutable: This is non-substitutable. There is no way I can replicate this.

3.       Direct access to target market: As a college student, I am in very close proximity to the target market of the product.

Valuable: This will make it easy to connect with the wants and needs of the customer.

Rare: Not many companies or ventures have the ability to do this.

Inimitable: Others do have the ability to do this as well.

Non-substitutable: I believe this can not be substituted, as I do not believe there is another way to have this much access to a target market.

4.       Relationship with someone who invests for a living. My father’s friend who loves to invest in start up companies.

Valuable: Could potentially get my company started with his capital.

Rare: This is rare as I do not know any other investors.

Inimitable: Others do have connections like this and probably to a greater extent.

Non-substitutable: I could reach out to other potential investors, but would not have the same relationship with them like I do with my father’s friend.

5.       Experience in sales. Used to work sales selling agriculture equipment.

Valuable: This is valuable as it will help me make sales of the product.

Rare: Not rare, I could hire sales people.

Inimitable: Other entrepreneurs probably come from sales backgrounds as well.

Non-substitutable: This experience is very valuable to me.

6.       Access to a computer and the internet. A lot of people take this factor for granted. Sometimes all you need are these things

Valuable: These things are needed to succeed in today’s world.

Rare: Not rare, but there are others without it.

Inimitable: Other companies have this.

Non-substitutable: Nothing can replace this.

7.       My motivation to do everything to the best of my ability.

Valuable: This could be the determining factor to whether the business succeeds.

Rare: As a business owner, I must have this myself.

Inimitable: There are other entrepreneurs with this feature.

Non-substitutable: I cannot replicate this.

8.       Financial capital of my savings account. I do have some means of starting this company.

Valuable: Will help the company start.

Rare: This is rare as it costs money to start a business.

Inimitable: Other companies have this to a greater extent.

Non-substitutable: I cannot replicate this.

9.       A part of a few clubs at UF, which allows me more access to the target market.

Valuable: This grants em greater access to the target market and an opportunity to sell to them.

Rare: I can not get this anywhere else.

Inimitable: Other companies do not have this access like I do.

Non-substitutable: I cannot replicate this.

   .   Shoe culture is getting more and more popular. Sneakerheads will want to keep their shoes pristine.

Valuable: Having a culture and community related to a product is great for sales.

Rare: I cannot replicate this culture.

Inimitable: Most products do not have a culture like this surrounding them.

Non-substitutable: I cannot replicate this culture

I believe that my direct access to the target market is my most valuable rescource. I have the ability to interact with this target market to directly sell to them and gain information about them and what they want. To me this trumps the other resources I have laid out here.