30A - Final Reflection

1.) The highs of the semester: Learning about entrepreneurship; posting on time; taking risks; getting critical feedback on my ideas; the excellent readings; the amazing and amusing lectures. The lows of the semester: forgetting to turn in an assignment (or 2); procrastinating until the last minute to turn in some assignments.
2.) The most formative experience has definitely been the new insight I received from the lectures. It has completely changed the way I see business, the world, and life in general.  Besides the lectures, a pivotal moment was the second reading where I learned about the different mindsets. The experience I will most remember years later will probably be this feeling right now - looking back and realizing just how important and pivotal every moment has been.  The realization that every little moment is important. That in itself is joyous.
3.) I definitely see myself as an entrepreneur, but even more so: an innovator. I have
4.) I would first off recommend that they get organized as soon as possible. Business, entrepreneurship, college, and life are serious things that should be approached appropriately. Another recommendation would be to do all of the assignments. Also, have an open mind going into the course.

29A - Venture Concept No. 2

1.) Venture Concept Description

Opportunity:

The opportunity exists in the Volusia/Flagler county area. The unmet need stems from middle-aged consumers who are struggling to pay the ever-increasing cable bills.  The changes in the environment creating this need is mainly the higher costs of cable while wages remain stagnant.  Another force driving this demand is the rise of streaming services that have essentially become mainstream at this point.  Geographically, my market is in the borders of Flagler and Volusia counties.  Demographically, my market is primarily focused on middle-aged fathers that are in lower-middle-class and watch television in moderation. Customers are not satisfied nor loyal to current cable companies right now.  This opportunity is pretty large, but the window of opportunity will not last long due to the rise of streaming.  There is also a huge opportunity within the sports industry for this type of streaming innovation.

Innovation:

The product I am selling is a streaming system with the consumer’s choice of streaming service.  The streaming service and amount of services would be dependent on 3 different packages: Lite - this comes with a Roku stick and 1 choice of streaming service for $75 ; Regular - Roku Standard player with 2 choices of streaming services for $100; Ultra - Advanced Roku player with 3 choices of streaming services for $150.  These are one time costs for my service. I would also offer on-site technical assistance after the installation for $50/hr to fix any problems.

Venture:

Consumers would switch to this product because it helps them save money in the long run while offering technical service.  It wouldn’t be too difficult for customers to switch. They would just have to cancel their cable (or not if they want to keep it) and we would come in and set up the system.  The primary competitors will be cable companies like Spectrum and AT&T, but also Dish and DirecTV could be considered competitors. Their weaknesses are bad customer service and high prices.  My whole packaging system is vital for my business concept. Regarding how I would organize my business concept, I would start straight out of where I live and use my SUV as transport.  It would be just me and family until I gain more money to hire workers and expand. 

Important Resource:

My important resource is my social capital. I am well known among the church and political community in Flagler and in parts of Volusia. This conveys the native/local trust and good-heartedness that my competitors just wouldn’t be able to effectively match. 

Next for the venture:

The next thing for the venture would be a subscription monitoring service that will charge a low monthly fee to make sure that customers don’t overpay for subscriptions they aren’t using, and managing billing and services on behalf of the consumer. 

Also, I would need to develop a separate sports subscription service for around $20 a month that provides access to cable exclusive sports. This would be similar to the NFL Sunday Ticket that DirecTV has.

What’s next for me:

I hope to still be humble and remember where I came from. I would hope that as time goes on, I would actually work harder and be involved in my community. I don’t take pleasure in moving to an elite area with mansions. I would rather invest my money in the community and helping students learn technical skills. I take great pleasure in seeing my local community thrive. This venture would definitely help me generate the funds to help the community while serving their unmet needs.

2.) The feedback I received from the previous Venture Concept assignment was very optimistic, but I did have one good constructive comment: sports. A classmate stated that they were in the target market, but sports access was a major issue.  This was something that I noticed, in general, among a few college-aged people I interviewed.

3.) Based on that feedback, I added in the plan to develop a subscription service on top of the current product and I also highlighted the great opportunity for such a service in the innovation section. 

4.)

28A - Your Exit Strategy

1.) My exit strategy for my business would consist of me owning and working on my business for many years.  I would not sell the business to the big cable corporations and, out of fear that someone else might do that, I would probably not sell my company at all.  I understand that big corporations would most likely use predatory pricing strategies to get me to go out of business, but I don’t think it would be that effective due to my commitment to the local community. When I am older and can no longer operate the company, I would give it to my children or perhaps then sell it for a large profit and reinvest the profits to my family and my community (since you can’t take it with you when you die).

2.) I chose this strategy because I am a firm believer in family first and helping out the local community.  As such, I would hate for a big company to buy my company and essentially destroy whatever good was done for the community.

3.) My exit strategy didn’t really influence much of my other decisions. It did in the sense that I wanted to keep it primarily local and invest heavily in the community: something that would make no sense if I was just looking to sell the company for a huge profit.

27A - Reading Reflection No. 3

Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
The general theme/argument of the book is that we have two systems of thinking which can be basically described as fast and slow. The ‘fast’ system is the thinking we perform most actions with and is something that is more or less instinctive.  The ‘slow’ system is one where we have to exercise more time and energy on thinking. It is essentially the system we use when making analytical or tougher decisions.  Kahneman argues that both modes of thinking can be helpful, but they also have drawbacks. For example, with the ‘fast’ system, we tend to make irrational decisions or just bizarre predictions.  With the ‘slow’ system, we tend to approve of these same crazy decisions that our ‘fast’ system made. 

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
The book connected with ENT3003 because it explained to me the two different systems of thinking we have and how to avoid the many mistakes that a potential businessman or entrepreneur would make not knowing this information.  Furthermore, Kahneman points out that failure is bound to happen, yet we are so hesitant to accept failure that more damage can be done.  This is an important lesson that we learned in ENT3003: accept failure and move on.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
It would involve a corporate scenario that would consist of 3 groups/businesses: the first group would make quick decisions about everything, the second group would make slow and analytical decisions about everything, and the third group would do a combination of both. I would then compare the results at the end of the exercise and see who faired the best.

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 surprised that the author included sections that discussed emotions and regret. I never really considered regret as a punishment to one’s self, but that is essentially what it is.  I was delighted to see that Kahneman described emotions as something that can coexist and somewhat depending on our own perspective. This is what I believe as a practicing stoic: that nothing is inherently bad or good. It is our perspective that makes it so. 

26A - Celebrating Failure

1.) I would consider mainly one event a true failure this semester: me failing my second exam for calc 2. I didn’t understand the material while I was being taught it but, instead of seeking help, I just pushed it aside. I did the bare minimum required for the homework and the class, in general, leading up to the exam.  I only studied the day before the exam! Then came the exam. After about 90 minutes of guessing, I ended up with a 15/40. My worst exam score ever.  I was surprised: I genuinely thought that I could figure out the material during the test, but series and the different rules/tests require a ton of practice.

2.) Instead of blaming the test for being too hard or the math department for being evil people, I took full ownership of the matter. Had I went to office hours and completed extra practice work, then I would have at least passed the test.  This was all on me.  My efforts were worth a 15/40, so I needed to increase my effort.  And so I did.  I went to tutoring, office hours, and completed my homework with great effort in preparation for the next exam. As a result, I only missed three questions on the multiple-choice on exam 3.  I essentially learned that the important things in life don’t come easy: they require a lot of hard work and effort.

3.) When I was younger, I hated the mere idea of failing.  I found failure to be something that only idiots would do.  When I came to college, my whole world view changed.  I became more inclined to the idea of taking risks and also to the optimistic idea that nobody really cares.  Essentially, I found that if you take a risk and fail, you can either learn from it and grow, or complain and never rise.  This class definitely helped me with viewing failure as a necessity for growth.  Especially reading the Mindset… by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. really emphasized the value of effort.

24A - Venture Concept No. 1

Venture Concept Description: CoastStreamz LLC

Opportunity:

The opportunity exists in the Volusia/Flagler county area. The unmet need stems from middle-aged consumers who are struggling to pay the ever-increasing cable bills.  The changes in the environment creating this need is mainly the higher costs of cable while wages remain stagnant.  Another force driving this demand is the rise of streaming services that have essentially become mainstream at this point.  Geographically, my market is in the borders of Flagler and Volusia counties.  Demographically, my market is primarily focused on middle-aged fathers that are in lower-middle-class and watch television in moderation. Customers are not satisfied nor loyal to current cable companies right now.  This opportunity is pretty large, but the window of opportunity will not last long due to the rise of streaming.

Innovation:

The product I am selling is a streaming system with the consumer’s choice of streaming service.  The streaming service and amount of services would be dependent on 3 different packages: Lite - this comes with a Roku stick and 1 choice of streaming service for $ 75; Regular - Roku Standard player with 2 choices of streaming services for $100; Ultra - Advanced Roku player with 3 choices of streaming services for $150.  These are one time costs for my service. I would also offer on-site technical assistance after the installation for $50/hr to fix any problems. 

Venture:

Consumers would switch to this product because it helps them save money in the long run while offering technical service.  It wouldn’t be too difficult for customers to switch. They would just have to cancel their cable (or not if they want to keep it) and we would come in and set up the system.  The primary competitors will be cable companies like Spectrum and AT&T, but also Dish and DirecTV could be considered competitors. Their weaknesses are bad customer service and high prices.  My whole packaging system is vital for my business concept. Regarding how I would organize my business concept, I would start straight out of where I live and use my SUV as transport.  It would be just me and family until I gain more money to hire workers and expand.

Important Resource:

My important resource is my social capital. I am well known among the church and political community in Flagler and in parts of Volusia. This conveys the native/local trust and good-heartedness that my competitors just wouldn’t be able to effectively match.

Next for the venture:

The next thing for the venture would be a subscription monitoring service that will charge a low monthly fee to make sure that customers don’t overpay for subscriptions they aren’t using, and managing billing and services on behalf of the consumer.

What’s next for me:

I hope to still be humble and remember where I came from. I would hope that as time goes on, I would actually work harder and be involved in my community. I don’t take pleasure in moving to an elite area with mansions. I would rather invest my money in the community and helping students learn technical skills. I take great pleasure in seeing my local community thrive. This venture would definitely help me generate the funds to help the community while serving their unmet needs.

23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

How valuable, rare, inimitable, non-substitutable
Resources I have:

1.) Knowledge of area: Knowledge of the area is pretty valuable - especially since I come from the area, but it is definitely not rare, inimitable or non-substitutable.  Any company or person could find most of the information on a computer or visit Volusia/Flagler County personally.

2.) Social Capital: This is very valuable in Flagler county politics because you essentially have to know someone to get anything passed through the government. I don’t have personal connections with anyone that is in government, but I was a student ambassador for the Department of Commerce when international and domestic investors came to my county and high school. Social capital is easily imitable, but my social capital is not very substitutable. I am pretty well known in my community through the church, high school programs, and government/political functions. 


3.) Financial Capital: I have very little of this, so whatever I do have is valuable.  It isn’t hard to make money though, so it is not rare, inimitable, or non-substitutable. 

4.) Marketing Knowledge: My knowledge is primarily based on online marketing and social media marketing.  The knowledge is somewhat rare since many people don’t really understand how it all works.  It is super imitable because online marketing is not hard or impossible to learn. It is also substitutable with traditional marketing or word of mouth.


5.) Human Capital: Very valuable.  My human capital encompasses a wide variety of skills and knowledge that can help with the technical and social aspects of the business. It is not imitable but it is substitutable. 

6.) Excellent Communication Skills: This is very valuable in business and life in general. It seems as excellent communication skills are becoming more of a rarity, so I would say that it is pretty rare.  It is imitable, but it takes time and commitment to actually understand and implement communication skills. This is pretty non-substitutable for the most part because companies have tried using other techniques to solve this problem but have not gone far. 

7.) Equipment: I have an SUV, a ladder, and a toolkit.  This is the very basics of what I would need to go to the site and install the product. These basics are valuable in that they are necessities to accomplish my venture.  They are not rare, inimitable, or non-substitutable.

8.) Analytical Skills: This is a super valuable skill for my venture. I could combine this with my knowledge of the area to pinpoint exactly the area I would set up shop or conduct business in. These skills are pretty rare and not too inimitable. This is somewhat substitutable with computer software, but that can only go so far. 

9.) Technical Skills: This is also very valuable for my venture. I would have to know how to install and set up the product that I am selling.  It isn’t too rare or inimitable, and it’s definitely not non-substitutable. 

10.) Great consumer relations: Extremely valuable since my target group includes people who are not happy with their current cable provider. It is actually pretty rare in my industry, but it is very imitable and substitutable. 

Based on my analysis, my best resource would be my social capital. This is the most important because I left a good impression in the community when I left for college. I still occasionally participate in some local functions when I visit on the weekends. This would definitely help in conveying trust to potential consumers. I would also be able to market my product at community events.