23A - Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1.     Social Capital – My cousin is a patent lawyer and is educated on what it takes to get something patent. She said she is willing to help anyway she can.

2.     Locations – I plan to have my product located in a range of different locations in different states.

3.     Financial Capital – The production of my invention does not cost much at all and will help me get my business idea to more places.

4.     Quality – I know what I want in my product and I am dedicated to making the best product.

5.     Work ethic – I am willing to work with others to make the product appeal best to the users.

6.     Human Capital – I will be in charge of the product and I have already been learning a lot through interviewing.

7.     Communication – I have been able to communicate my ideas and learn through networking.

8.     Social Capital – A family friend works in marketing and is willing to help me.

9.     Commitment – I am committed to  making my product a reality and adapting to obstacles.

10.  Organization – I am organized and will use my organizational skills in developing my product.

I would say my best resource is having my cousin available to help me. Having a patent lawyer help me would make a step in the business process much easier for me. Knowing people can help go a long way.

22A - Elevator pitch 3

https://youtu.be/sAnYvY4AP4k

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

1)    Who they are and what their background is.

I have a cousin that is a patent lawyer. She went to law school in Ohio and became a patent lawyer a few years ago.

2)    Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

The slot that I am filling is the domain expert. She has lots of experience working with clients to get their ideas patent. My ultimate goal is to have my creation patent and she could be able to help me.

3)    A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

I was able to get in contact with my cousin quite easily as we still keep in touch with each other.

4)    The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

My cousin was able to explain to me how the process would go and how difficult it would actually be. She was able to give me the business side of what actually happens. She said she would continue to keep in touch and help me with anything she could.

5)    How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

Including this person helps me to start somewhere. Without knowing someone that can help with your idea, it is hard to move forward. She is in her own network of people so I could even grow with that network.

1)    Who they are and what their background is.

This person is my dad’s friend who went to the University of Pennsylvania and got a degree in business and marketing. He currently holds a job as a Vice President of Marketing for a company in Pennsylvania.

2)    Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

This person is the market expert. His job is in marketing and he has a lot of work experience.

3)    A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

I was able to look him up on Facebook and send him a message.

4)    The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

He was not able to speak for too long but he gave me a rundown of what he does and then I told him about my idea. He was able to talk to me about consumers and what they look for.

5)    How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

This person helps me learn another aspect about products and services.

1)    Who are they and what their background is.

I was not able to find someone who was a supplier in my industry, but I was able speak with a family friend who works in logistics for an automotive company.

2)    Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

This person is the supplier and works closely with the supply chain at his job.

3)    A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

I was able to contact him through Facebook.

4)    The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

I was able to learn about the logistics of his company. Even though it was not directly related to the industry of my product, I was able to learn about how important the supplier is to relay products from the manufactures to the consumers.

5)    How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

This person helped me expand my knowledge on a process I did not know anything about.

After doing these assignments I was able to gain more insight about starting a business. It seems like quite a challenge to have an idea become popular. This experience was different because it was the first networking experience where I reached out to people unexpectedly.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman

1)    The theme of the book was how the mind has two parts to it and they can cause us to struggle when making decisions. One is automatic and the other is the conscious mind. The automatic helps us make those instant decisions without having to think twice. The other side analyzes a situation and then makes a decision.

2)    The book connected with ENT3003 because in this class we have to make a lot of decisions. We have to decide what is the best business decision, instead of just making a random choice in the moment. The choices we make now can really affect us in the long run especially when it comes to business.

3)    The exercise I would create based on the book would be a reaction time game. I would ask questions and see what the instant answer would be. After, I would let them take their time and think about it and then see if they get a different answer than the initial one.

4)    To me, the biggest moment in the book was when the author described how having two different ways to think can be a bad thing. They can make opposite decisions and make our final choice a hard one to make. I always thought that having two ways to think always make the best of the situation and they were like back up to each other, but this is not always the case.

18A - Create A Custom Avatar

What kind of hobbies does your customer have? What kind of car do they tend to drive? (What color is it?) What TV shows do they watch? Do they have children? Are any of them adopted? What are their favorite books, and who are their favorite politicians? How old are they? How old do they feel? And so on. The richer the detail, the better. 

The typical customer drives a silver Toyota Camry. They do not have children yet but they are a part of a big family. They watch crime scene shows and enjoy rewatching series’ on Netflix. Their favorite books are novels, but they do not read as often as they would like to. They try to stay out of politics because it is all nonsense to them.

After you have created this customer avatar, I'd like you to answer this final set of questions: What do you have in common with the customer avatar? If you have anything in common with the avatar, do you think that is a coincidence? Why?

I have lots of things in common with the avatar because I fall into the category of the typical buyer. I created a product based a need I’ve experienced so it makes sense that I have similarities to the avatar.

19A - Idea Napkin No. 2

     1. I am hardworking, motivated, and open minded. I am able to come up with ideas when I am put on the spot in certain situations. With my business idea I would be able to get my idea in a number of different locations. If I were to start my business it would impact what I would do as a career2. I am offering a secure and sanitary place for public restroom users to put their cell phones.3. The customers that the product would be for is females and males who wear shorts without pockets. All of my customers wear clothing without pockets or pockets that are not big enough for a phone. The main audience would be for females who wear clothing without pockets.
4. My product will be paid for because it is a basic need that could be solved with a few steps. My product is not changing the way things are, it is just adding something.5. Something that sets me apart from others is my self-motivation. I go out and do things without being told and without expecting something in return.I would say my business idea and plan fits together. To get my idea to actually be of use I would have to take an initiative to get public restrooms to test it out. Once the idea is tested out I would be able to see if any changes need to be made to make the best product possible. I have already talked to people that have said they would use the product.

17A - Elevator Pitch No. 2

https://youtu.be/Fm-KHAb5N1w