28A - Exit Strategy

1.    I wouldn’t want to sell the business right away. I would want to watch it grow and be part of the expansion. I don’t think I would stay with the business until I retire, but I would definitely want to be part of it for at least 10-15 years. I don’t think I would protect the venture as a family business, I would just want to pass it down to someone I really trusted. 

2.    I selected this exit strategy because I would want to make sure the business was successful and growing before I handed if off to someone else. 

3.    Because I would want to be a part of the venture for the beginning, I emphasized a lot on evaluating the product. I also focus a lot on wanting to expand the business and maybe one day even take it globally. I wouldn’t want to sell the company until I knew it was doing well on its own. I feel that being part of the venture will also help me make a lot of new connections and expand my network which could then help me with future ventures. 

27A - Reading Reflection #3

The Art of Social Media 

Guy Kawasaki 

1.     General Theme/Argument 

o  The main point of the book was to emphasize the importance of social media when promoting a business or product. Kawasaki mentions that social media can determine the success or failure of your business or product. The author gives some tips throughout the book to use social media to its fullest potential. He also mentioned how social media can be very overwhelming for beginners but that after some practice any one can perfect their skills. 

2.     Connection with ENT 3003

o  We didn’t work too much with social media in the class but I feel like it is still an essential part of entrepreneurship. Social media could certainly enhance our venture ideas that we came up with for the class. 

3.     Exercise

o  For this class, I would design an exercise where students would need to use social media to promote their venture idea. I would also create different assignments that would require students to use different social media platforms to get the hang of it. 

4.     Biggest Surprise

o   I knew that social media is an important tool that entrepreneurs use but I didn’t realize how important it really is. Social media has the potential or make or break your business. It reflects on the business and the entrepreneur how the social media is used.  

26A – Celebrating Failure

1.    This semester, I accidently missed two “cupcakes” because I didn’t carefully read the instructions or deadline. I assumed they were dues Mondays at 11:59 p.m. but they were actually due at noon. So because I misinterpreted the deadline, I missed the quiz. 

2.    I learned that it is extremely important to read the instructions carefully. I need to pay a bit more attention to the deadlines as well. 

3.    Luckily, missing two quizzes isn’t the end of the world. It’s also a failure that can be easily fixed. It was frustrating to miss the quiz especially when I went to do just a couple minutes after the deadline but it’s something I learned from. This class made me realize that it’s okay to fail as long as you learn from your mistakes and try to do better next time. I don’t necessarily think I would be willing to take more risks in the future. I would pay more attention to the little details and try to get more organized. 

25A - What's Next

Existing Market 

What’s next: I think what’s next for my product/service is to keep updating and improving its features. After evaluating the results of the product after a couple of years, the goal is to keep perfecting the idea. I would also want to take it globally, especially to countries in South America. 

Interviews

1.    The first lady I interviewed works as an administrator for a small medical practice. She said that it is important to keep expanding the product. She mentioned that it would be easy to start selling the product in a large city, but that smaller cities across the US would also be interested. 

2.    For this one, I interviewed my dad, who is currently working as a physician at a hospital. He said that the next step should be combing the product with other methods to combat alcoholism. He mentioned that the best way to truly combat it is to use different methods together. He stated that this product would work really well alongside the other approaches. 

3.    In this interview, I talked to Robert again, the drug rep from Health First. After describing my business to him, he said that it’s important to keep expanding and not limit myself. He mentioned that it’s very important to constantly be evaluating the product and make improvement based on the feedback. 

Reflection

            For the most part, what I learned from the interviews was pretty similar. They all mentioned that it is important to keep the business growing but to also keep making improvements. All three people I interviewed mention how important it was to keep up with evaluations because that way I can see if the product is truly successful or if it needs more development.

I really liked the idea of being able to combine my product with other methods to combat alcoholism. However, I think it would be difficult to combine them well at first and sell it. Nonetheless, I think it’s is still a great idea that I could look to in the future. 

 New Market 

What’s Next? So instead of selling my product to a large medical institution or government agency, I could sell it to families who made know someone who would benefit the product. The main problem with this is that it would become more expensive for those who need it. However, I do feel like it would make the product more personal. It could be tailored to the person who needs it. 

Interviews

1.    I interviewed a close friend, whose aunt has been struggling with alcohol decency. She said it would definitely look into this product for her aunt. She mentioned that her aunt has used other methods but that none of them have really made an impact long-term. She did say though that she would be worried about the price and whether or not she could afford it. She said that the product would probably need to be simplified in order to use easily. 

2.    I then interviewed another close friend and ask them what they thought of the idea. He thought it was a good idea, but that it could be difficult for people to get. It could be too pricy or difficult to find/use. He mentioned that I could also make a similar product that could help people with drug addictions. It would be a similar concept just tailored more towards them. 

Reflection

            I thought it was interesting seeing their point of view of the product. They both mentioned they were interested in the product but that it might be a bit more difficult to get access to. I would probably need to simplify the product and try to reduce the costs in order to make it more affordable. 

            I really liked what the second person I interviewed mentioned. I think it’s a great idea to make a similar product that targets drug addiction. It would probably be a similar market but the program would probably need to do different things. Since most drugs are illegal, it might be a bit more difficult to use the exact software to prevent people from getting it. But overall, I thought they were really interesting ideas that could help in the future. 

24A – Venture Concept #1

Opportunity

o   People with alcohol dependency would benefit from this service, but medical physicians would be the potential customers. They would implement the product/service in their work. 

o   This is a service that could be implemented nation-wide, even globally if successful. 

o   Currently, some physicians might prescribe Disulfiram (medication given to alcoholic) but hasn’t been extremely successful in the long-term. 

o   It is a pretty big opportunity because it could help people trying to get better. 

o   The window of opportunity will be open for a long time. Alcoholism is a large problem in the United States that has unfortunately been increasing over the years. Because of it, this service will be in need for a long time. 

Innovation 

o   Product:A software that would allow physicians mark a person with alcohol decency’s ID. That way when their patient tries to buy alcohol the cashier can scan their ID and see if they have the marker

o   Service aspect:The marker would limit and place a fine on the alcohol they purchase. The software would protect the user’s information and keep everything private and possible employers would not be able to see it. 

o   Can be sold to medical institutions or government agencies. Average cost of software is around $50,000. Since this would be a simple application with limited features it would most likely cost $80,000.  

o   It would be inexpensive to those who really need it and could be used alongside other methods used to combat alcoholism. 

Venture Concept 

o   Medical Institutes/government agencies are probably likely to switch to this new product. However, might be somewhat difficult at first for people who have alcohol dependency to switch over. Some people are often in denial and refuse to get help. But for those in search for a way to get better would most likely switch to this product.

o   No major competitors, but these products/services can be used side-by-side:

§ Company that makes the medication Disulfiram

§ AA services 

§ Alcohol therapy/psychiatrists

o  Would not require packaging, but would require a technician to download the software. 

o  The product would may require customer services to guarantee assistant on how to work the program. 

o  The business location would be in large cities across the US where there are large medical institutions. Washington D.C. would be an essential city because of all the government agencies located there. 

o  Price point:Software can be expensive but will be bought by a large institution. It is crucial that the product is inexpensive to the people with alcohol dependency so that way they are much more likely to use it. 

o  Employment: Require to employ people to make the software and distribute it. It would also require to have customer support center and technicians that can help run the program smoothly. 

Minor Elements

o  My most important resource will be having connections to people who work in the medical field, specifically large hospitals or practices. 

o  In the future, after implementing the product/service, I would want to evaluate the results and from there work to keep improving it. 

o   I would like to come up with ways to finally combat alcoholism and other serious addictions. 

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

What Makes You So Special? 

1.    Human Capital – Passion & Determination 

o  Value: I am very passionate about helping people with alcohol dependency which would make me want to work harder for it 

o  Rare: not rare, many people are passionate about helping 

o  Imitable: can be imitated

o  Non-substitutable: can be substituted but is still really beneficial 

2.    Social Capital – Medical Students & Engineers 

o  Value: I have many close friends studying medicine or engineering and they could be really helpful when creating the product

o  Rare: Not very rare

o  Imitable: can be imitated

o  Non-substitutable:  can be substituted but their experienced and knowledgeable in the field would be helpful 

3.    Social Capital – Fluent in Spanish and intermediate in Portuguese

o  Value: this could allow me to work with a larger range of people, can also help if I took the product abroad 

o  Rare: kind of rare, not too many people speak more than one language 

o  Inimitable: can be imitated but might be a little difficult 

o  Non-substitutable: there could be other ways to come in contact with people who speak another language 

4.    Lack of competitors

o  Value: this makes it so much easier to move into the market 

o  Rare: it is rare, most products have a lot of competition 

o  Inimitable: although the concept is new, it can still be imitated 

o  Non-substitutable: can be substituted with another unique product 

5.    Social Capital – my dad is a physician and has a lot of contacts  

o  Valuable: extremely valuable because this could help me get in contact with people who work in a hospital or medical institutions

o  Rare: it might be difficult to have a close relationship with someone in the medical fields 

o  Inimitable: is possible to imitate but might be difficult 

o  Non-substitutable: I don’t think this to easily be substituted 

6.    Human Capital – Sympathy/Reliability 

o  Value: helps me relate with people more and tailor my product for them 

o  Rare: I feel like many people are sympathetic and relatable 

o  Imitable: can definitely be imitated

o  Non-substitutable: can be easily substituted but I think it’s still important to have 

7.    Schooling - Business major 

o  Value: a lot of my classes have taught me about how to exploit opportunities 

o  Rare: anyone can pursue this degree 

o  Imitable: can be imitated

o  Non-substitutable: could be switched out with another major in a related field 

8.    Social Capital – Close relative who is an accountant 

o  Value: this could really help me with the financial aspect of the product 

o  Rare: not rare, there are many people who work in this field

o  Imitable: can probably be easily imitated by anyone who is in accounting or finance

o  Non-substitutable: can be substituted 

9.    Knowing people who are struggling with addiction

o  Value: Allows me to better understand what they’re going through and how to help.

o  Rare: not completely rare, many people know others going through addiction 

o  Imitable: No imitable, only they can explain their experience 

o  Non-substitutable: Cannot be easy substituted

10.  Volunteering Experience

o  Value: has helped me work with people who are different from me and better understand them 

o  Rare: not rare

o  Imitable: actual volunteering can be imitated but the experience with each cannot be 

o  Non-substitutable: cannot be easily substituted, each experience is different 

I found it kind of difficult to dot VRIN analysis on most of these because I felt none of them really completed each part. However, most of the things on the list are things that I think could be extremely helpful with. I think my top resource would be the fact that my dad is a physician because that would really help me network and have the connections I need to succeed with my product.