Week 11 Reading Reflection

During the reading my biggest surprise and the thing I found most interesting was innovation. Innovation is the method to creating the future and better understanding how innovation works was interesting to me and was a surprise because I did not know it before. Something that was confusing to me was the impact that risk can have on an entrepreneur. I know that risk can effect people in different ways but that it has such a strong impact on them was confusing to. The two questions I would ask the author would be, "has he ever faced almost complete failure?" and "how would he bounce back from taking on psychic risk?" I did not find anything he said necessarily wrong.

Amazon Whisperer

The revenue driver for my business concept is convenience. I need people to be able to find my product easy to use and convenience enough for them so that they do not go through the hassle of going to the store. The money maker that comes from convenience is the service charge for the delivery of the groceries. The next thing my customers will want is the ability to choose between different types of similar products. For example, they may want to try two different types of deli meat because they are unsure of which they want over the internet so we need to be able to provide that option for that. This will enhance my idea by offering more decisions. This will make a difference to customers because it shows that we actually care about their preferences. 
This is a dinner for 2 that amazon offers. The reviews for the product is that it was simple and easy and tasted good. I think this is important for customers because if they are going to order products like this the main thing they are looking for is convenience. I would not really change anything in this product. I think this would make a good addition to my idea because it gives customers ready made meals.

My Unfair Advantage

1. I have experience in dealing with students because I am a student myself.
VRIN: I understand how students think and what their needs are better than most because those same needs I have. Other people do have this same attribute though. But this is valuable.

2. I understand how Gainesville transportation works through my 3 years of living here.
VRIN: Because I constantly use the local busing and travel services offered here I know what students miss out on or what they find difficult while using these services. This allows me to implement means of solving their issues. This is valuable.

3. I have already discussed my idea with numerous college students and workers of local grocery stores.
VRIN: This allows me to strategically plan out how I want to implement my idea and what I need to change in order to fit exactly what my target audience wants. This is valuable, rare, but is imitable.

4. I already have a network of students that could advertise my idea through Greek life because I am in a fraternity.
VRIN: This is inimitable, rare, and valuable. Because of this I have a means to start immediately and get my venture to people very quickly because Greek life runs or is a part of a lot of the major organizations on campus.

5. I understand how smart phone applications work and how to target my audience on them.
VRIN: This is valuable. Since I understand how they work and how to advertise I on them I can easily create an application that allows customers to submit orders efficiently through a smartphone application.

6. I have a group of friends who know how to make applications.
VRIN: This is valuable, rare, inimitable, and does not have a substitute. Having a group of friends who can easily put together an application for my idea would allow me to get ahead of other services that offer similar functions. The human capital they provide cannot be found elsewhere.

7. I know how often people use the busing system and other means of public transportation.
VRIN: This is valuable. Because of the transloc application for the local busing system I know how long it takes for a bus to get from point A to point B and I know how many people use the bus. This can be used to understand peoples characteristics when it comes to transportation.

8. I have strong people skills because of constantly being around a lot of different types of people.
VRIN: This is valuable and does not have a substitute. Because of my fraternity I have learned how to talk with many different types of people. My venture hits a large range of people and so I need to be able to communicate with them in order to build relationships and grow the business.

9. I understand how to run a company from a managing standpoint.
VRIN: This is valuable and does not have a substitute. My background in economics has allowed me to study and understand finance and financial statements which are the back bone to any company. In order to run a company well you have to understand how these function.

10. I have a firm understanding of what to do to start a company/idea.
VRIN: This is valuable and does not have a substitute. From this class I have learned what it takes to start a venture and the dos and don'ts of what a business requires.

My top resource is my group of friends that I can use as a network to help start my business, create my application, and to advertise my idea. They would allow me to get a head start right out of the box and would provide support when I needed it.

Week 10 Reading

The biggest surprised I found in the reading was the true amount of risk that you take on when you start your own business. I know many people that have started their own business and I always thought it was brave of them but to have so much risk is incredulous to me. There is so much that goes into it. I did not find much of the reading confusing for the most part. The two questions I would ask the author are, "Which financial sheet is the most important?" and "What is the least risky way to start a business?" I did not really disagree with the author on anything in the reading.

Growing My Social Capital

1. Paul is the manager of a local grocer in my home town. The reason I got in contact with Paul is because I think he was able to provide some vital information on the transportation of goods from a store to another location. He is filling in the domain expert position for me. I found him through a friend who works at the local store as a bag boy. He was able to provide me with the information to contact Paul. Paul explained to me the importance of transportation and how having the right method of transportation of groceries to my customers is vital for my idea to work.

2. The market expert I was able to get into contact with was a girl named Hannah. Now although Hannah does not work for a grocery store she targets the same audience I want to target. College students. She works for an advertising organization here at UF called "The Agency." They target millennials and this is exactly who I want to target. I got in contact with her through a friend as well. She was able to explain how to cater to millennials and what to focus on in advertising.

3. The supplier that I was able to get into contact with was the person who supplied Paul's store. His name is Kurt. Kurt is a produce farmer, specifically strawberries, in my home town and he provides Paul's store with fresh strawberries. I talked to Kurt and he was able to provide me with information on how he transfers his strawberries and what is important about them.

Reflection: I think that this exercise showed me that when networking it is important to focus on specifics of the industry you want to pursue. The information I learned here will help me in other networking opportunities. I have not done many networking experiences so this experience is new to me.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

I noticed that in my feedback the comments primarily focused on how I am hitting a very niche market. I think this is important to recognize and try to use it to my advantage. This is the feedback I found most helpful and that I tried to push for in my elevator pitch.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

During the reading I was surprised by the different types of customer surveys. The effectiveness and impact from each different type of survey made me realize how the effect of globalization has on customers. With the ever increasing use of technology certain surveys have become obsolete. Mail in surveys are an example of this. Mobile marketing was the section of the reading I found confusing just because it is the type of marketing that I do not usually notice. I feel like the average consumer does not realize that type of marketing because of how integrated it is in our lives. If I had to ask two questions to the author they would be "Which is the most effective marketing method for millennials?" and "How would you bridge the gap between the younger population and the aging baby boomers?" I did not find the author wrong about much in he reading.

Napkin Idea No. 2

My name is Steven Cutler, I am a great peoples person and I have a strong work ethic. I have been involved with my fraternity for the past couple years and because of that my skills with understanding what people want have improved significantly. My aspirations for my business concept is to interact with customers and provide an experience they cannot get anywhere else. I am offering it to people who do not have transportation and who attend UF. Basically, I am offering it to students who cannot get to a grocery store easily and need help to receive this service. They care because if I am able to provide a cheap and reliable method for students they would have an overall better experience and would lose a lot of the stress in their life. I am able to communicate with people extremely well and this is what separates me from others. For this idea to work you need to have people skills and be able to motivate people to use the service. I think all of these elements work together and synergize to create a desirable service. I think the other issue would be to convincing people to try the service one. As for the feedback from my previous customers interviews I found some important notes. 1: Keep it cheap. 2: Keep it easy. 3: Keep it reliable. 4: Offer something that no one else offers in Gainesville. 5: Stress why you should use the service through advertising to students. All of these points are necessary to make my venture happen and I will keep them in mind moving forward.