30A

The most formative experience I had in this class was definitely having to give so much detail about my idea and what I want to do with it in the future. I will remember this because now I know that just because I have a good idea, doesn’t mean it will be successful. I have to put in the work to see the results. I enjoyed the reading reflections most because not only did I learn from the books I read, but I learned little summaries about the other ones from responding to other people’s posts. I am most proud of myself for developing this idea. I didn’t think that the majority of the class would focus on a business idea, so I am glad I came up with one that was feasible in the beginning of the semester. 

I see myself as an entrepreneur, and am very confident in my everyday life because of it. I now look at a lot of decisions from an entrepreneurial perspective, and I think that will prove very beneficial in the near future. 

I recommend students pick an idea they are truly passionate about, so the class doesn’t seem like work. To perform best in this course, I would recommend perfecting time management skills, as the little assignments add up at the end of the semester. To foster that mindset, I recommend being mindful in their everyday life, and actually applying the skills you learn every week to the following assignments.

29A

29A 

Venture Concept 2

Opportunity. 

The potential customers of my product are mainly college student that attend universities in warm weather, and athletes. The forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity are the humidity and heat at schools like the University of Florida, and the lack of a portable deodorant. Demographically, the market consists of college students, and geographically, a warm climate. Currently, customers are bringing toiletry bags, and makeup pouches in their bags. They are not loyal to this, they want something easier to carry. This opportunity is very big, as there is no competition yet. The window of opportunity is seemingly long as no one has come up with this idea yet, however, I wouldn’t wait too long as you never know what could arise. 

Innovation. My product is the portable, dissolvable deodorant strips. They are very similar to the Listerine mouthwash strips, as shown below, and will come in a similar container. That way, students can store it on the wallet on the back of a cell phone. This is a product in retail so I will make money by selling it in stores and online through college campuses. In other words, I would partner with certain colleges and large corporations to sell one pack of deodorant strips for about $10. 

Venture Concept. 

Customers will want to switch to this product because it is more convenient. They will no longer have to carry gym bags, only phones. In this era, people bring their phones everywhere so having deodorant accessible on the back of one will make the product that much more desirable. For this reason, it shouldn’t be hard to get them to make the switch. There are currently no competitors in this market. Packaging is the main strength in the business. Thus, it is extremely important that I partner with the right corporation or manufacturing company. Distribution and customer support are always important, but it is especially important that the first college I bring the strips to is an easy target and well within the boundary of my customers. I would organize a business by partnering with an existing deodorant corporation. This would save a lot of time and effort and the company would already have the necessary connections. Therefore, the employees and roles would be under the digression of the company. 

The three minor elements

I think the most important resource will be the fact there is no other product in the market like mine. Additionally, once the product is out there, it will be hard to create spinoffs on the product. My next step will be to partner with a corporation that has existing networks, and would still provide me with profit. Finally, in 5 years I want to be on a different career path, not in retail, while still managing profit of this idea. This venture allows me to get a taste of the retail world. I want to be in Information Systems, but that requires me to be able to effectively communicate to all fields. Having a background in any field will prove beneficial to my future. 

1. Unfortunately, I had a problem submitting my venture concept on time, and therefore did not receive feedback. However, throughout the entirety of the course, I have received many positive comments, but also suggestions, such as partnering with a giant corporation like Dove. 
2. Given the feedback from other students, I acknowledged the fact that my connections weren’t established enough, and that partnering with another corporation would benefit the company best. 
3. Include a picture (for illustration!).

28A

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make.  I intend to sell my business in the next 5 years. I don’t see myself in the world of retail, so I would like to sell the company so I can take a different career path. 

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy? I have selected this particular strategy because I don’t want to be in the retail business. I want to take a different career path while also pursuing my idea for the product. 

3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources? This has influenced some of my other concepts because I know my intentions aren’t long term. For example, in a past assignment, I said I wanted to partner with a larger corporation because they had existing connections in retail and manufacturing. That way, it would be easier to take over. 

27A

Inbound Marketing, Brian Halligan

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The general theme/argument of the book is how important social media and marketing are for a business to thrive. In today’s age especially, it is very important to master social media and take full advantage of all that it has to offer and how it can enhance the business. 

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

The book enhanced what I’m learning in ENT3003 because it discusses marketing and knowing who to target audience wise. Additionally, ENT3003 taught me to use my resources wisely, and knowing how to market with social media would greatly benefit a business. 

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

I would design an exercise where students would create a social media page on any platform and discuss why they chose that particular platform, and how it connects to their targeted audience. For example, I would target Facebook for older people, and Instagram and Twitter for younger generations. 

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 expectation

My biggest surprise moment was how marketing can be applied to anything. I thought it was mainly used for sales in business, but it can also be used for politics. 

26A

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. I experienced failure a few weeks ago. I spent all of my time studying for my Business Finance exam and once that exam was over, took a Management exam. I was so overwhelmed from it that I went into a relaxed mode the entire next week, because my next exam wasn’t for another 6 weeks. However, I forgot to submit an assignment for my management class. This caused me to receive a 0 on a very easy assignment that would’ve made a big difference in my grade. I was so stressed from it that I couldn’t stop thinking about what that one assignment would do to my GPA. 

2) I learned that I need to use my planner more, and that GPA isn’t everything. Although I am a perfectionist, an A- isn’t that much different than an A, and in the real world, the minor difference in my GPA won’t impact much. 

3) I think Failure is one of the most important things to experience that one needs to succeed. I believe that you learn more from your failures than your successes, and I carry that with me everywhere I go. I try not to let failures get to me and try to learn from them instead. I think this class has taught me that successful ideas take effort and often you need to fail before you succeed. 

25A

Existing Market. 

Step 1: In terms of products and services for my next venture, I think my next step is to set up a meeting with Dove to create a joint partnership. 

Step 2:  I interviewed three customers in my existing market. I told them about my idea to partner with Dove and they thought it was a great idea, except the profit share may not be fair, since Dove is already such a well established company. One of them suggested contacting Listerine to ask about their manufacturing, since that is the most similar product to mine. 

Step 3: What makes the most sense is to call big companies and ask them to get in touch with their manufacturers. Doing the business myself with my team rather than a big corporation would generate the most profit and would benefit the business best. Once I get in touch with the right people, I can use my network to get advice from the people I know that have started a business from scratch. I think that using my network and choosing members of a team whose skills complement each other would help the company more than partnering with someone who can do all of those things for me. 

New Market.

Step 1: I’ve been targeting college students and student athletes in warm weather. I could also target all college students or market it in retail in general, since everyone wears deodorant even if temperatures are low. 

Step 2:  Though those in colder weather may not be in dire need of this, they will still need deodorant, and the portability of my product will prove successful, even if the purpose is unintended. 

Step 3:  I interviewed my friend who goes to school in Baltimore, and my aunt who lives in Chicago. They think the business would succeed near them but only in the Spring and the Summer. I think to succeed in this market, I have to emphasize the portability of this product to convince the audience they need the product. 

Step 4: I learned that this new market doesn’t seem to have a dire need for this product because they have seasons in the north and don’t sweat every time they walk outside. My assumptions were correct at the fact that the portability of my product is what I should capitalize on and use it in my marketing strategy. I underestimated how much people would actually want it, because everyone wears deodorant no matter the weather. I don’t think this market is as attractive as the first one because the main purpose of the strips were to prevent sweat and smell. If this audience lives in snow and cold weather then sweat won’t be as great of an issue. Overall, I still think it’s possible to succeed in this market but think the existing market is most profitable for my product. 

23A

1. Human Capital- My employees will be trained extensively in retail that will greatly benefit the company. VRIN- this isn’t rare in the world of retail but it is valuable
2. Capabilities- There is an opportunity in the market. VRIN- this is rare and very valuable. 
3. Social Capital- I am a college student at the University of Florida so the HQ would be very central to an optimal location. VRIN- this is not imitable, and very valuable. 
4. Social Capital- I used to play tennis so have a huge network of athletes, one of the products targeted audiences. VRIN- this is not imitable, very rare, and very valuable. 
5. Capabilities- My team will be very creative and specialized in marketing. VRIN- this is super beneficial for a business. 
6. Social Capital- I can utilize the many organizations at the University of Florida to enhance and advertise my product. VRIN- this is valuable, rare, and non imitable. Other resources can provide this, but not as cost effective as this. 
7. Capabilities- There is a lot of vacant space in the area that I can use to run a store. VRIN- this is relatively rare but it’s something that should be capitalized on. 
8. Human Capital- I have great time management. VRIN- this is rare and very valuable, as I would be running a company as a college student. 
9. Financial Capital- my product is inexpensive to create, as a joint partnership would solve the manufacturing issue. VRIN- this is non-substitutable, as there is no other product in the market like mine. 
10. Human Capital- I am very self motivated and innovative. VRIN- this is valuable because it takes a lot of determination to run a company. 

My top resource is my network. I am a college student who has a wide range of connections with students and student athletes, and think this is my biggest asset. 

22A

I was given very positive feedback on my last elevator pitch, so the only criticisms I received were by myself when watching it. I found that the pitch is almost memorized, I made more eye contact with the camera because I am more comfortable in front of it, and I speak more clearly, which makes the pitch better overall. This further proves that practice makes perfect! 

21A

I read Carol Dweck’s The New Psychology of Success. 

1. What was the general theme or argument of the book? The general theme of the book is that success is not based on talent or luck. Every person is capable of success and no mindset is fixed. 
2. How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT3003? In ENT3003, we are constantly talking about the many ways one can achieve success. For example, we are told to take advantage of our social capital, but recognize that everyone’s social capital is different. This connects with the book because it talks about all the different ways success can be achieved. 
3. If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve? If I had to design an exercise for this class based on the book it would be to have each student describe what their mindset is on success, how it compares to the growth mindset, and how they can implement the growth mindset into their everyday life and their business. 
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 expectation? I think the impact on Parents, Teachers, and Coaches was unexpected to impact a mindset. Students learn from teachers starting from a very young age, so every teaching style they use shapes the mindsets of kids.