Existing Market
1. I think next I will have an addition to the device that senses when a brake light or tail light is about to go out and will connect to the internet and order a new brake light or tail light online automatically to be shipped to your house.
2. Interviewed customers
3. I think what would make the most sense would be to start out with the first product that I've been talking about all semester. Then, come out with the addition to the product at a later date and sell to the same customer base.
I would start out by releasing the first device which is the basic brake and tail light sensor. Then, I would release the second device which has the additions that I mentioned above.
New Market
I could make this of value for younger people by trying to work out a deal with insurance agencies so that your driving insurance is slightly less if you have one of my devices installed in your car.
I found in my interviews that the younger people responded basically exactly as I expected. They were totally down for anything that would lower their insurance expenses, since insurance is very expensive for newer drivers.
I explained to them that the device would be a $150 investment, but over time they would make that money back and them some.
Friday, November 17, 2017
Venture Concept No. 1 24A
At the beginning of the semester, I came up with a need that I thought was an unsatisfied need at the time, and still is an unsatisfied need. The need that I identified was the need for a way for drivers and passengers in a car to know when their brake lights or their tail lights are out without having a brand new car that may have this capability. And even now, most new car models do not have this capability, especially not with tail lights. The people who have the need, or my potential customers, are people that do not have brand new cars that are capable of sensing whether they have a brake light or a tail light out. They also must be of driving age with a valid driver's license and they must be concerned about their safety on the road. The nature of the need comes down to people's desire to feel safe while on the road. Driving in a car is most likely the most dangerous thing you do everyday so people want to try and make this element of their life as safe as they possibly can. Their are no changes being made in the general car market with this capability so the environment of not improving safety of vehicles in this way is creating this market, so to speak. The market spans across the entire United States and will usually be an older demographic, people more concerned about their personal safety. Right now, customers are trying to satisfy their need by checking their lights every so often, but in reality they are not doing a very good job satisfying the need because it is difficult to be consistent and you obviously cannot check while you are actually driving. This a fairly big opportunity because I feel that this is a need that a lot of people have and it stretches from coast to coast in the United States and could probably even be introduced to international markets. The window of opportunity will be open until all car manufacturers begin adding this capability to their vehicles. At this point the opportunity will likely be used up. I'm not a patent expert but I could also try to see if it is possible to put a patent in place for the technology and then I could potentially continue to make money after car manufacturers are using the technology as well.
The way the technology will work is as follows: a device that can be attached to the inside of the rear light housing of any automobile will have a sensor that can detect whether or not the brake or tail lights are working properly. This will then connect via Bluetooth to a device that can be placed in the front of the car which notifies the driver and any passengers in the car if there is a problem with either the brake lights or the tail lights by emitting a high frequency noise for a short period of time and displaying a message that describes the exact problem and recommendations for how to fix the problem, like installing a new left brake light for example. I will make money off of this by selling the device and by offering paid installations to less mechanically inclined customers who would like some help setting it up or don't have the time to do it themselves. I'm selling the product for $150 and the installation for $30.
I think that customers would want to switch to my product because there is no existing product with the same capability. Many people value their safety while operating a motored vehicle and would be willing to pay a significant amount of money to make their driving experience as safe as possible. I don't think it will be very hard to get them to switch because most people seem to think it is a good idea once they actually hear about the technology. There are no competitors as of now but if car manufacturers begin to implement this technology in a mainstream way before I could get a patent that could potentially be a weakness for my business. Packaging, price points, distribution, customer support, customer experience, and the business location all play a very important role in defining the business concept. The packaging will be made to look clean and stand out to the customers as something that they can rely on rather than something that just pops out at them. Price point I already discussed in the above paragraph. Distribution is really important, I would like to hire somebody that is an expert on this to help me. Absolutely, customer service is key, I learned this when I worked for Publix. They put so much emphasis on customer service that people would rather shop there than Walmart, despite their higher prices, just because the employees are actually nice to them. The location would not matter as much since these would mostly be sold online. I would like to start out with one employee that has experience with other startups and I would like my business to operate mainly online.
I think that the most important resource in my venture is the fact that I have prior experience working in small businesses and doing business-like activity on my own. This experience cannot be gained by sitting in class or reading books and not many people my age have had the opportunity to work in that kind of environment. I learned a lot about how businesses work throughout my time working for the small company that I would have never figured out otherwise. This is what makes experience so important. The next product that I would aim towards my existing customers would be a second model of this device that has internet capability and will automatically order new brake lights or tail lights that will be delivered to your house as soon as the device senses that your brake lights or tail lights are going to burn out soon. This eliminates the hassle of going to the store when you may not have properly functioning brake lights or tail lights. As an entrepreneur, I want to make lots of connections and hire a group of people that I can trust and rely on. I want to have a stable income for myself so that I can do the things that I enjoy. This first venture will help me to achieve my vision by being a learning process so that my next ventures have the ability to become even more successful.
The way the technology will work is as follows: a device that can be attached to the inside of the rear light housing of any automobile will have a sensor that can detect whether or not the brake or tail lights are working properly. This will then connect via Bluetooth to a device that can be placed in the front of the car which notifies the driver and any passengers in the car if there is a problem with either the brake lights or the tail lights by emitting a high frequency noise for a short period of time and displaying a message that describes the exact problem and recommendations for how to fix the problem, like installing a new left brake light for example. I will make money off of this by selling the device and by offering paid installations to less mechanically inclined customers who would like some help setting it up or don't have the time to do it themselves. I'm selling the product for $150 and the installation for $30.
I think that customers would want to switch to my product because there is no existing product with the same capability. Many people value their safety while operating a motored vehicle and would be willing to pay a significant amount of money to make their driving experience as safe as possible. I don't think it will be very hard to get them to switch because most people seem to think it is a good idea once they actually hear about the technology. There are no competitors as of now but if car manufacturers begin to implement this technology in a mainstream way before I could get a patent that could potentially be a weakness for my business. Packaging, price points, distribution, customer support, customer experience, and the business location all play a very important role in defining the business concept. The packaging will be made to look clean and stand out to the customers as something that they can rely on rather than something that just pops out at them. Price point I already discussed in the above paragraph. Distribution is really important, I would like to hire somebody that is an expert on this to help me. Absolutely, customer service is key, I learned this when I worked for Publix. They put so much emphasis on customer service that people would rather shop there than Walmart, despite their higher prices, just because the employees are actually nice to them. The location would not matter as much since these would mostly be sold online. I would like to start out with one employee that has experience with other startups and I would like my business to operate mainly online.
I think that the most important resource in my venture is the fact that I have prior experience working in small businesses and doing business-like activity on my own. This experience cannot be gained by sitting in class or reading books and not many people my age have had the opportunity to work in that kind of environment. I learned a lot about how businesses work throughout my time working for the small company that I would have never figured out otherwise. This is what makes experience so important. The next product that I would aim towards my existing customers would be a second model of this device that has internet capability and will automatically order new brake lights or tail lights that will be delivered to your house as soon as the device senses that your brake lights or tail lights are going to burn out soon. This eliminates the hassle of going to the store when you may not have properly functioning brake lights or tail lights. As an entrepreneur, I want to make lots of connections and hire a group of people that I can trust and rely on. I want to have a stable income for myself so that I can do the things that I enjoy. This first venture will help me to achieve my vision by being a learning process so that my next ventures have the ability to become even more successful.
Friday, November 10, 2017
Your Venture's Unfair Advantage 23A
Generate a list of all of the resources in your venture (produce a list of at least 10 resources that you already possess). This can include your human capital, social capital, financial capital, and capabilities. You may also discuss the organizational culture you intend to create (but, obviously, it's not a resource that you have, now.)
Conduct a "VRIN" analysis for each resource. That is, describe, for each resource, how it is valuable, rare, inimitable (how hard it is to copy by others), and non-substitutable (are there other resources that can provide the same benefits?).
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 my top resource is my experience working at a small company. I learned so much throughout this experience that could not be taught in a textbook and not very many people have the opportunity to have this experience at such a young age.
- - experience with small-business operation
- - experience with mass-shipping items using USPS
- - experience with online business
- - experience dealing with wholesalers
- - financial capital to start the business
- - connection with several entreprenuers
- - good work ethic
- - honest
- - ability to plan for the future
- - good creativity
Conduct a "VRIN" analysis for each resource. That is, describe, for each resource, how it is valuable, rare, inimitable (how hard it is to copy by others), and non-substitutable (are there other resources that can provide the same benefits?).
- - This is valuable because it will be easier to operate a small business since I know how one works. It is rare and inimitable because not many people get to have experiences working for small companies. It is non-substitutable because no information can be put in the place of experience.
- - V: I'm more efficient at it since I know how to do it. RI: Not many people actually have first-hand experience with mass-shipping N: no information can be put in place of experience.
- - V: The online business is more than just common sense and my experience will make it easier to transition my own business into the online world. RI: Many people are not good with technology and may not have the skill-set to create an online business N: no information can be put in place of experience
- - V: There is a certain way you have to find and converse with wholesalers that I've learned over time with experience which will be very helpful when I have to use them for my business. RI: Many people do not get the opportunity to experience talking to wholesalers before they start a business N: no information can be put in place of experience
- - V: The business cannot start without the initial financial investment RI: Not everyone has the needs to finance their own business N: money literally cannot be substituted
- - V: I have had the opportunity to become close with several entrepreneurs that can guide me along the way. RI: This is something that a lot of people don't have. It is difficult to come into contact with entrepreneurs sometimes, let alone becoming friends with them N:nobody knows how to run a business like a successful entrepreneur.
- - V: Even when it's hard I will continue to be persistent about building my company. RI: Oftentimes people don't have the time or effort to put into their business which leads to less than satisfactory results. N: no other resources can provide the same benefits as a good work ethic. You can hire more people but as the entrepreneur you need to be the one to drive the business forward.
- - V: Honesty allows customers to trust you and be more likely to come back. RI: Not everyone is honest. There are a lot of shady companies out there that people don't trust. N: Honesty is very important to people and once you lose someone's trust it can be very hard to get it back.
- - V: The ability to plan for the future is important so that you can set things into place for your company that will put it in a good position for a significant length of time. RI: Not everyone has the ability to see the big picture. N: In order to successfully plan for the future you need to have this ability.
- - V: Creativity is important because businesses need to be creative all the time to appeal to customers. RI: Some people are more "right-brained" and less creative. N: You can try to go off just logic but oftentimes some creativity will draw in more customers.
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 my top resource is my experience working at a small company. I learned so much throughout this experience that could not be taught in a textbook and not very many people have the opportunity to have this experience at such a young age.
Elevator Pitch No. 3 22A
https://youtu.be/kApz1gtPBog
Didn't do the elevator pitch last time so I didn't have the chance to get feedback.
Didn't do the elevator pitch last time so I didn't have the chance to get feedback.
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Reading Reflection No. 2 21A
The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users -Guy Kawasaki
1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
The book is used essentially as a guide for tailoring your business social media profile to suit your business needs.
2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
In ENT 3003 we learned about the importance of maintaining business connections with others in your field. Social media allows you to do exactly this as well as establishing new connections and making yourself available to your customers.
3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
I would make the students develop their own social media profile using the techniques described in the book.
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?
The integration of social media and blogging. You can utilize social media to pull people off of the social media website and onto your own blog or website which is a very useful tool when trying to encourage potential customers to purchase your product.
Growing Your Social Capital 20A
Person 1
1) Katsumi Adachi, Ph.D- Chief Specialist, Center for Semiconductor Research &
Development, Storage & Electronic Devices Solutions Company. Member of Bluetooth Board of Directors and works for Toshiba.
2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.
Domain Expert- Dr. Adachi has served as a member of the board of directors for Bluetooth technologies for several years. Combined with his experience at Toshiba, he has a large wealth of knowledge about the bluetooth industry.
3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
I found Dr. Adachi on the Board of Directors list on the official Bluetooth technologies website: https://www.bluetooth.com/about-us/board-of-directors. I sent him a brief email detailing my business plan and asked about his thoughts and if there are any corrections that I could make.
4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
Dr. Adachi did respond to my email and he basically just sent me a list of licencing information for if I would like to declare my product as an official Bluetooth product in the future.
5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
This information was helpful because if I were to implement Bluetooth technology in the future, I now know the exact steps for doing so.
Person 2
1) Jack Hanania- President/CEO of Maserati of Jacksonville
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- Mr. Hanania has been targeting a similar audience to mine for years while building up his car dealerships.
3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
I found Mr. Hanania on the Maserati of Jacksonville web page: http://www.maseratiofjacksonville.com/about-jack.htm. I sent him an email asking about my target market and how to reach them more efficiently.
4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
I never received a response from Mr. Hanania
5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
N/A
Person 3
1) Hiroshi Shimizu- Executive Director of Takata
2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.
Supplier- Takata supplies many products that are used in automobiles, one major example being seatbelts. Mr. Shimizu knows the ins and outs of supplying safety equipment for automobiles.
3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
I found Mr. Shimizu on the Takata corporate summary webpage: http://www.takata.com/en/about/company.html. I emailed him a copy of my business plan and asked him to share his thoughts.
4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
Mr. Shimizu unfortunately never contacted me.
5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
N/A
I'm glad I got at least one of the three to respond and hopefully the other two will get around to it, I'll update this post if so. But for now it was at least nice to receive some feedback from Dr. Adachi. He outlined the steps for implementing Bluetooth technology in my product which was really nice. I have definitely learned from this experience.
1) Katsumi Adachi, Ph.D- Chief Specialist, Center for Semiconductor Research &
Development, Storage & Electronic Devices Solutions Company. Member of Bluetooth Board of Directors and works for Toshiba.
2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.
Domain Expert- Dr. Adachi has served as a member of the board of directors for Bluetooth technologies for several years. Combined with his experience at Toshiba, he has a large wealth of knowledge about the bluetooth industry.
3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
I found Dr. Adachi on the Board of Directors list on the official Bluetooth technologies website: https://www.bluetooth.com/about-us/board-of-directors. I sent him a brief email detailing my business plan and asked about his thoughts and if there are any corrections that I could make.
4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
Dr. Adachi did respond to my email and he basically just sent me a list of licencing information for if I would like to declare my product as an official Bluetooth product in the future.
5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
This information was helpful because if I were to implement Bluetooth technology in the future, I now know the exact steps for doing so.
Person 2
1) Jack Hanania- President/CEO of Maserati of Jacksonville
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- Mr. Hanania has been targeting a similar audience to mine for years while building up his car dealerships.
3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
I found Mr. Hanania on the Maserati of Jacksonville web page: http://www.maseratiofjacksonville.com/about-jack.htm. I sent him an email asking about my target market and how to reach them more efficiently.
4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
I never received a response from Mr. Hanania
5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
N/A
Person 3
1) Hiroshi Shimizu- Executive Director of Takata
2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.
Supplier- Takata supplies many products that are used in automobiles, one major example being seatbelts. Mr. Shimizu knows the ins and outs of supplying safety equipment for automobiles.
3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.
I found Mr. Shimizu on the Takata corporate summary webpage: http://www.takata.com/en/about/company.html. I emailed him a copy of my business plan and asked him to share his thoughts.
4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation?
Mr. Shimizu unfortunately never contacted me.
5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?
N/A
I'm glad I got at least one of the three to respond and hopefully the other two will get around to it, I'll update this post if so. But for now it was at least nice to receive some feedback from Dr. Adachi. He outlined the steps for implementing Bluetooth technology in my product which was really nice. I have definitely learned from this experience.
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