This week I'll be writing about my venture concept and about the process
of its inception. This process ranges from the very beginning of this class and
culminates in the creation and materialization of my very own idea, which will
hopefully one day be put to use in a profitable manner. In order to fully
comprehend my venture concept, one must first go back to the origins of its
creation; for it is essential to understand a person’s motives if one is to
truly grasp what the venture means in a more profound way than just another way
to generate revenue. My idea first arose from observing; as in many cases, when
one observes the world around, it becomes easier to identify things that aren’t
being fully taken advantage of and therefore improve them. Another common
occurrence is the identification of a problem and the subsequent creation of a
solution. Well my venture concept is based on the latter, as I one day observed
a pet owner frantically search for her missing dog. This event reminded me of
my younger days, where I would chase my dog around my neighborhood every time
it ran away and sometimes I was simply unable to find it. This motivated to
find pet owners and simply ask questions; through such simple inquisitive means
I was able to generalize that there is no current means for a pet owner to
properly and reliable locate its pet. This generalization was able to bring to
light an issue that many local pet owners suffer from, thus creating a target
market for me. This newly found market consisted of young adults ages 18-30
that owned pets. In a geographical sense, this audience was mostly local due to
my confinement and limitation to the city of Gainesville. The fact that pet
owners value their pets so highly translates to immediate demand for any means
of locating them if lost; yet while this opportunity seems to present itself
locally, it is only logical to extrapolate this situation to any town or city
with a big enough population of pet owners, thus allowing for the creation of
growth for this venture. Thus began the process of creating a solution for this
newly found opportunity. The creation of a solution isn’t always as easy as
some might perceive it to be, rather it is a meticulous process in which many
ideas are subjected to trial and error more times than I’d care to count.
Nevertheless what really seems to drive a good venture is a reliable innovation
that appeals to a certain market, in my case, local young pet owners. In due
time, I came up with an idea which can be considered incrementally innovative
as opposed to radically so. I thought that there are current ways to locate
lost pets, through installation of chips and other devices that allow for
localization of an animal. This process, however, has a cost drawback as not
many young adults have the means to afford such an expensive process. This is
where I decided to take advantage of a currently popular means of interaction,
social networks. Through the modification of a basic network plan, I would in
theory be able to create an interconnected social structure dedicated to pets,
whether it is finding them or simply interacting with other pet owners. This
way I am not creating a drastically new idea, but rather modifying an already
successful one and repurposing it to fit the needs of pet owners, my target
market. Through the creation of this application and possibly a website, I
would attract the attention of many businesses who provide services as well as
products to pets and pet owners alike. This source of revenue would be highly
marketing based, with some side revenue collected from selling data such as
user preferences and interests. With the creation of this new application,
users will be able to easily access a network of similar individuals with
common goals besides simply interaction. The original goal of this venture is
to allow for pet owners to easily and accessibly engage in the finding of their
lost pets. What makes this venture especially attractive is the simplicity of
access and usage; the user interface will be as simple as some of today’s
leading social networks. This venture will be organized as a tech company,
driven largely by programmers and information technology employees as well as
marketing personnel in order to spread the brand, thus ensuring appropriate
staff is in charge of tackling any issues or problems that might arise. My most
important advantage going into this venture is the untapped market I will be
exploiting, as I am the first to enter this market, I will hold a large market
share with virtually no direct competitors. My next target opportunity will be
to spread the usage of my network to a national scale and firmly grasp bigger
cities and major metropolitan areas. Lastly, I know very little of what the
future has in store for me. But I do know where I’d like to end up, with this
venture started; I plan to simply continue living and observing. And who knows,
maybe I'll find another golden opportunity that will allow me to create another
solution for many people out there.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Friday, March 25, 2016
Week 11 Reading Reflection
The single biggest surprise while reading this week's article about not only creating but also maintaining an innovation strategy, is that many companies fail to align their business strategy with their innovation strategy. This then creates discord between the company's general course of action and the goals it sets. One thing that was not all to clear for me is how a company decides where to heavily invest in terms of areas of their business, whether it be R&D or manufacturing or marketing. I feel there area plethora of factors that can dictate what area a company should centralize and they tend to change quite often with new trends emerging. Therefore one question I would ask the author is when and how does a company know which trend to invest in and which opportunities to capitalize given the current state of the market they are in. Another question I would ask is how does a company know when to abandon a set goal and when to pick up a new one, does it depend on financial factors? Or maybe on market trends and opportunities? Or even a combination of both? I believe these questions are essential to ask if a firm is to be the leading entity in its field. Lastly, I do not specifically disagree with anything the author says, his argument and supportive data and reasoning seem all very sound and effective.
Amazon Whisperer
The main sources of revenue, or my main revenue drivers are the cost users of my social network will pay to download an app (which could potentially shift to a free download) and any advertising as well as information any third party company would want from our user base.
I think that a very smart next step would be to design my network so that, much like Facebook, it matches user needs and interests in searches and posts to any potential advertising offers that might satisfy said needs,
This next step does not only create an easier way for our user base to extract value out of using our app, it also inhibits loyalty not only from our users but also from companies who use our app as a medium of advertising. Helping put these two elements in contact with each other will not only save users time, it will also save any company looking to expand its brand a lot of time and money.
While Amazon does not necessarily sell social networking apps, I believe that I could foster a partnership with Amazon to more easily connect users with any specific pet products that they are currently looking for or happen to be trending. This would require a lot of data analysis as well as monitoring traffic and patterns in usage and connectivity. Through this use of a partnership, I believe my social network will enhance its influence over our user base and offer a wider arrange of not only services but also products as well.
I think that a very smart next step would be to design my network so that, much like Facebook, it matches user needs and interests in searches and posts to any potential advertising offers that might satisfy said needs,
This next step does not only create an easier way for our user base to extract value out of using our app, it also inhibits loyalty not only from our users but also from companies who use our app as a medium of advertising. Helping put these two elements in contact with each other will not only save users time, it will also save any company looking to expand its brand a lot of time and money.
While Amazon does not necessarily sell social networking apps, I believe that I could foster a partnership with Amazon to more easily connect users with any specific pet products that they are currently looking for or happen to be trending. This would require a lot of data analysis as well as monitoring traffic and patterns in usage and connectivity. Through this use of a partnership, I believe my social network will enhance its influence over our user base and offer a wider arrange of not only services but also products as well.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
My Unfair Advantage
The following is a list of my venture's advantages:
- Social Interaction
This is a key aspect to the creation of a social network. Social Networks are very specific creations which only serve specific purposes. Given that I will be able to bend those specific purposes to my advantage puts me in a market with little competition.
- Grassroots Reach
With my venture starting out at a local level, I believe it to be essential that I mold it so that it can reach as many locals as possible. While other products or companies may aim towards a larger more general population, I will specifically get to know and target locals.
- Small Cost to Consumers
When compared to certain services and products already out there, the usage of a social network seems an infinitely smaller cost when you compare an App to a new kind of TV.
- Humanitarian Appeal
This kind of appeal relies on people's emotional side, by helping lost pets reconnect with their owners, people in the community will feel they have done a great deed.
- Interactive Elements
As with pretty much any app out there, interactive elements can make or break a venture. While many apps offer high interactive services, few of them are related to a social network. This is where I plan to differentiate myself from competitors.
- Inexpensive Maintenance
The low cost of maintenance for upping a social network will be one of the key money savers in our venture. Compared to manufacturing/marketing/selling costs other might face, by making our product online and interactive we can greatly save on maintenance.
- Low Fixed Costs
Due to the lack of physical facility to store or manufacture our product, fixed costs (which accounting has taught me can be a huge pain in the ass) can be avoided, therefore savings us thousands.
- Easy To Use
Where many apps fail is the level of easy in which a user can navigate and explore the many things the app has to offer, User interface is challenging because is isn't always easy to create a beautiful, easy to use, informative app. Nevertheless, I feel we can mold our social network to encompass the basics and grow it from there with plenty of user feedback.
- Local Appeal
The local pet community here in Gainesville has voiced their interest in a way to not only communicate and get to know other pet owners, but as a resource to help others or themselves find their respective pet.
- Growth Potential
The growth potential for a brand can always be big, when done right, revenue from sales, popularity, advertising and sponsoring can be a big part of our income.
After much thought and consideration, I have concluded that my top resources are the low cost that it will bring to consumers compared to the high benefit and also the ease with which users will be able to navigate and utilize our app. By designing and inexpensive, efficient and elegant app, we can bring together the pet community of Gainesville and eventually expand to new heights and reaches.
- Social Interaction
This is a key aspect to the creation of a social network. Social Networks are very specific creations which only serve specific purposes. Given that I will be able to bend those specific purposes to my advantage puts me in a market with little competition.
- Grassroots Reach
With my venture starting out at a local level, I believe it to be essential that I mold it so that it can reach as many locals as possible. While other products or companies may aim towards a larger more general population, I will specifically get to know and target locals.
- Small Cost to Consumers
When compared to certain services and products already out there, the usage of a social network seems an infinitely smaller cost when you compare an App to a new kind of TV.
- Humanitarian Appeal
This kind of appeal relies on people's emotional side, by helping lost pets reconnect with their owners, people in the community will feel they have done a great deed.
- Interactive Elements
As with pretty much any app out there, interactive elements can make or break a venture. While many apps offer high interactive services, few of them are related to a social network. This is where I plan to differentiate myself from competitors.
- Inexpensive Maintenance
The low cost of maintenance for upping a social network will be one of the key money savers in our venture. Compared to manufacturing/marketing/selling costs other might face, by making our product online and interactive we can greatly save on maintenance.
- Low Fixed Costs
Due to the lack of physical facility to store or manufacture our product, fixed costs (which accounting has taught me can be a huge pain in the ass) can be avoided, therefore savings us thousands.
- Easy To Use
Where many apps fail is the level of easy in which a user can navigate and explore the many things the app has to offer, User interface is challenging because is isn't always easy to create a beautiful, easy to use, informative app. Nevertheless, I feel we can mold our social network to encompass the basics and grow it from there with plenty of user feedback.
- Local Appeal
The local pet community here in Gainesville has voiced their interest in a way to not only communicate and get to know other pet owners, but as a resource to help others or themselves find their respective pet.
- Growth Potential
The growth potential for a brand can always be big, when done right, revenue from sales, popularity, advertising and sponsoring can be a big part of our income.
After much thought and consideration, I have concluded that my top resources are the low cost that it will bring to consumers compared to the high benefit and also the ease with which users will be able to navigate and utilize our app. By designing and inexpensive, efficient and elegant app, we can bring together the pet community of Gainesville and eventually expand to new heights and reaches.
Friday, March 18, 2016
Week 10 Reading Reflection
For this week's reading on financial information and things to take into account when preparing a financial statement, what surprised me the most and definitely what I did not see coming was the sheer amount of components and information that has to be considered in order to produce an accurate and informational income statement. Given that I am a finance major and have taken a lot of finance major classes, I have been recently exposed to a few of these concepts and therefore am pretty familiar with what some of them mean, therefore I did not really find anything that was specifically confusing. If I could ask the authors a couple of questions, they would be when making a pro forma statement, how can the company account for future intangibles and unpredictable events such as markets. Also, how does one determine which of all the ratios is the best fit in order to get a precise picture of the company's financials, or do they vary depending on what you look at? Is there a general approach to this? Lastly, I did not happen to disagree with anything that I found in this chapter, everything seems sound and it all makes sense.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Elevator Pitch No. 3
The last feedback i received was for my second elevator pitch and, in my opinion, some of the most valuable. It mainly consisted of peers telling me my idea was good and solid but I seemed nervous about it somehow. I decided to address this issue by practicing a lot. I practiced and practiced in from of mirrors and friends, and did a few takes on this pitch. Hopefully I don't seem as nervous as before, even though I still kind of was.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
My Secret Sauce
Time to sauce on all of you! This week I'll be talking about my secret sauce and what makes me different from the rest of the masses. Firstly, I will discuss the five main points of human capital that i bring to the table.
1) Multicultural experience: While some may think this not to be an important trait to have, I believe that it is essential and vital in a world where countries and societies and companies are becoming ever more interconnected and interactions are requiring a great degree of sensibility and experience.
2) Multilingual: I feel this goes hand in hand with multicultural experience, the fact that I have been fortunate to live in multiple countries growing up means that I was able to experience different languages and in turn, learn them fluently. I currently speak over 3 languages and I feel that will give me an edge over others who do not as I will be able to easily interact and possibly secure deals, contracts and even funding.
3) Multiple Perspective: I feel that one of the traits that can set me apart is my ability to consider an issue or problem from more than my own perspective. This can give rise to new ideas and solutions i previously may have not considered.
4) Professionalism: Another trait that I believe sets me apart from any competition is my dedication to professionalism. In a modern business world, I am able to hold professionalism to the highest regard and perform at a level worthy of being considered professional. This means being accountable, responsible and dependable.
5) Creativity: Lastly, a greatly important trait to have is creativity. And I'm not necessarily talking about it in a general sense, as many people can be creative. I am talking about it in a personal way. One that only belongs to me, as I am able to envision a project or product as the way it should be to maximize my chances of achieving the goal I have set forth for myself or my group.
I feel that being a go getter is a very good thing to have in a leader, entrepreneur and person as a whole, the drive to achieve your ideas and goals is a major key.
Persistence is key to achieving your goals in life. Because if you are easily discouraged or give up as soon as things hit a bump in the road, then you can't be as successful, therefore this is awesome.
Being innovative is a great characteristic of a person due to the fact that they are visionaries, they spot people's needs and create a solution that they can turn into a product or company.
I see myself as a very easy going person and funny and laid back, but apparently others see me quite differently. They seem to see me as a creative character that goes after what he wants. I think that we are both right in our certain ways, maybe I truly am somewhere in the middle and don't fully know myself yet. I wouldn't make any corrections to the list given that it just feels very right.
1) Multicultural experience: While some may think this not to be an important trait to have, I believe that it is essential and vital in a world where countries and societies and companies are becoming ever more interconnected and interactions are requiring a great degree of sensibility and experience.
2) Multilingual: I feel this goes hand in hand with multicultural experience, the fact that I have been fortunate to live in multiple countries growing up means that I was able to experience different languages and in turn, learn them fluently. I currently speak over 3 languages and I feel that will give me an edge over others who do not as I will be able to easily interact and possibly secure deals, contracts and even funding.
3) Multiple Perspective: I feel that one of the traits that can set me apart is my ability to consider an issue or problem from more than my own perspective. This can give rise to new ideas and solutions i previously may have not considered.
4) Professionalism: Another trait that I believe sets me apart from any competition is my dedication to professionalism. In a modern business world, I am able to hold professionalism to the highest regard and perform at a level worthy of being considered professional. This means being accountable, responsible and dependable.
5) Creativity: Lastly, a greatly important trait to have is creativity. And I'm not necessarily talking about it in a general sense, as many people can be creative. I am talking about it in a personal way. One that only belongs to me, as I am able to envision a project or product as the way it should be to maximize my chances of achieving the goal I have set forth for myself or my group.
According to my first interview, I am a very understanding person. I feel this could be a vital skill in understanding the general public and their needs. In turn, I could find and exploit a business opportunity given their unmet needs and necessities.
Creativity is a good trait i think others see in me because of the value of ideas and the ramifications and implications of such ideas.
I feel that being a go getter is a very good thing to have in a leader, entrepreneur and person as a whole, the drive to achieve your ideas and goals is a major key.
I see myself as a very easy going person and funny and laid back, but apparently others see me quite differently. They seem to see me as a creative character that goes after what he wants. I think that we are both right in our certain ways, maybe I truly am somewhere in the middle and don't fully know myself yet. I wouldn't make any corrections to the list given that it just feels very right.
Monday, March 7, 2016
Idea Napkin No.2
1) I am a second year student at the University of Florida. My talents include sports like soccer and an ease with numbers as I can quite comfortably deal with them. My skills and experiences are that of an internationally educated student, I have learned over 3 languages while living in 3 different countries and I believe that is a key to setting me apart from others. My aspirations are to continue traveling the world and working on multiple projects and meeting new people and creating new experiences while doing so. If this business were to take off, I see myself devoting a large portion of my time to expanding the reaches and implications of the basic concept of my idea.
2) The product I am offering is an application for mobile devices that would allow pet owners to create and utilize a social network for the purpose of interacting with other people in hopes of recovering or finding a lost pet. Users will be able to post notices of any lost or found pet in the local area, making it easier for a pet owner to access the platform and simply get in contact with whoever found his or her pet.
3) The market segment I am trying to reach are young adults ranging from 18 to 35 years of age. I believe this young population to be rather avid in dealing with current technology and social media. This will facilitate the spread and usage of the application. Out of that target range, I will specifically target pet owners or animal lovers, who will specifically take an interest in helping the local pet community avoid lost pet cases.
4) For a small, one time purchase/download fee, customers will have access to the full application and will be able to become part of an exclusive pet owner social network. Not only that, users will also save valuable time due to the facilitation that my application will offer in finding a lost pet.
5) What sets me apart from competition is the lack of focus from my rivals. While others may create groups in social media or establish a hotline, I believe my application solution will be more beneficial in terms of efficiency, simplicity of user interface and price.
I believe these elements are well blended together, they cover a variety of ranges in which an issue could arise and I could efficiently solve it. My background and major in finance will allow me to manage the company's finance with ease while i would have to possibly hire app developers in order to help me with the creation of the network as well as upgrades and maintenance.
While I did not do the first Idea Napkin exercise, I believe that some good feedback would run along the lines of efficiently spreading awareness of the app and the importance of a good, strong and efficient marketing campaign so that we can reach as much of our target audience as we can.
2) The product I am offering is an application for mobile devices that would allow pet owners to create and utilize a social network for the purpose of interacting with other people in hopes of recovering or finding a lost pet. Users will be able to post notices of any lost or found pet in the local area, making it easier for a pet owner to access the platform and simply get in contact with whoever found his or her pet.
3) The market segment I am trying to reach are young adults ranging from 18 to 35 years of age. I believe this young population to be rather avid in dealing with current technology and social media. This will facilitate the spread and usage of the application. Out of that target range, I will specifically target pet owners or animal lovers, who will specifically take an interest in helping the local pet community avoid lost pet cases.
4) For a small, one time purchase/download fee, customers will have access to the full application and will be able to become part of an exclusive pet owner social network. Not only that, users will also save valuable time due to the facilitation that my application will offer in finding a lost pet.
5) What sets me apart from competition is the lack of focus from my rivals. While others may create groups in social media or establish a hotline, I believe my application solution will be more beneficial in terms of efficiency, simplicity of user interface and price.
I believe these elements are well blended together, they cover a variety of ranges in which an issue could arise and I could efficiently solve it. My background and major in finance will allow me to manage the company's finance with ease while i would have to possibly hire app developers in order to help me with the creation of the network as well as upgrades and maintenance.
While I did not do the first Idea Napkin exercise, I believe that some good feedback would run along the lines of efficiently spreading awareness of the app and the importance of a good, strong and efficient marketing campaign so that we can reach as much of our target audience as we can.
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