30A - Final Reflection

1) The most formative experience was definitely trying to come up with an opportunity to pursue for the semester. I have never thought outside of the box like that and have never had experience with entrepreneurial thinking. It was an interesting learning experience. To be completely honest, I am most proud of taking an online class during my last semester of college. Staying in "school mode" is difficult enough when you see the light at the end of the tunnel (graduation) but I think I managed to stay on track and take this class seriously enough. 

3) I think I have learned some techniques of an entrepreneur that I will be able to adapt to my future career, but I don't think I consider myself a true entrepreneur yet. I'm definitely moving in that direction.

4)  I would mention to future students to try to be as creative as possible when approaching this class. I had a hard time at first coming up with ideas for my opportunity, mainly because I was stuck in a box and not trying to think creatively. It became much easier when I took a step back and thought of things that didn't just affect me directly. It was more fun for me to complete the assignments once I found an idea that I enjoyed researching and thinking about.

 

28A – Your Exit Strategy

1) I plan to stay with my company for several years and hopefully expanding it to other markets around the state of Florida and maybe even around the country. I would definitely bring experienced business leaders on to my team to help me market my service effectively. Eventually, I'm sure this idea would become very successful and I would be approached by bigger investors who would want to buy my company in order to expand it further than I could. I would like to keep a decent stake in the company that I would be able to pass down to my family in the future. 

2) I chose this exit strategy because I think I would be able to bring my service to other markets effectively with the help of experienced business professionals that are also passionate about this type of innovative service. 

3) I haven't thought about my exit strategy until now, so it has not influenced other decisions I've made in my concept. 

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

Shoe Dog, Phil Knight

1) Learning how unpopular Nike was at first surprised me. Not all brands started off being popular or even liked by the general public. It is surprising to hear though, since now it is such a household name. I was also surprised to find out the origin of Nike and how it was started by a legitimate family. Large companies don't normally base their culture off of "family values" so it was nice to read that Phil Knight surrounded himself with family, family friends, and other athletes. I admired the persistence Knight showed when he was designing his shoes and manufacturing efforts. Knight made it clear in his book that he faced adversity and failure pretty often. I also admired how he depended on his Research and Development team to find answers.

2) Leadership was a trait Knight displayed very well, which contributed to Nike's success. His knowledge of the athletic world, more specifically the unmet needs in it, allowed him and the company to reach peak success. His passion for this industry was unparalleled and that gave him the competitive edge to excel with his company.

3) For the most part, I wasn't confused by anything in this book. I enjoyed reading it and I would recommend to a friend.

4) I would ask Knight: Were you ever worried about causing issues due to hiring your family and/or friends? What were your longterm goals for the future of Nike? Did you predict that it would become as successful as it has become?

5) Knight's athleticism is something I can relate to from my experience of playing various sports. I think he and I would both agree that in order to succeed, you need to put in the work. In life, and in sports, nothing comes easily without putting in hard work.

26A – Celebrating Failure

At the beginning of this semester, I was looking for an internship. After researching local companies, I contacted the one that appeared the most interesting to me. It was a marketing internship with a holistic health and fitness center located in downtown Gainesville. An interview date was set a few days after I applied.

When I arrived at the interview a few minutes early, the woman interviewing me, Samantha, informed me that she forgot our interview was scheduled for that time and asked me to come back a few hours later.

When I returned, we had a fantastic connection. After an hour of discussing the business and how I could be part of their team, she gave me a basic marketing assignment to prepare for the second round of interviews with the owner of the business. I had a lot of ideas to enhance their social media platforms, and knew I had a strong presentation.

The day before the next interview, Samantha postponed the meeting until a few days later because of a scheduling conflict. Almost three weeks after my initial contact, I met with the owner of the company, Elena, and Samantha for the second interview. I arrived 30 minutes early to sign some paperwork, but was told my interview would not start until 45 minutes after we scheduled because they decided to have a last-minute meeting.

After preliminary questions, I delivered my presentation. I hit all the points Samantha had asked me to cover. However, the reaction from Elena was not what I expected it would be. She had no idea what to expect from an intern.  I had a lot of interesting ideas how to market the business and was enthusiastic to be involved. Unfortunately, after this meeting, I knew her expectations were for a very experienced marketing employee. She was not looking for a university student with excellent marketing experience and education for an internship.

The company contacted me later in the week. I explained I enjoyed learning about the business, but the lack of structure and knowledge of what interns are contributing to a business had made me realize the internship was not what I was interested in pursuing.

By this point, there weren’t many internships available. This taught me a valuable lesson about expectations from one positive interview. I realized I had put all my eggs in one basket, and learned from that mistake. I ended up working as a nanny for three adorable boys and learned other valuable lessons about raising children. I was sad at first because I realized I had wasted a lot of time on an opportunity that didn't play out the way I expected. But I gained interview experience and realized what I expect from a future internship or job. Taking this class helped me come to that realization as well. I have had experience with failure throughout my life, but ENT 3003 helped me celebrate that instead of shy away from it.

23A - Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

Your Venture's Unfair Advantage:

1. Fundraising Experience: I have fundraised for multiple organizations throughout my four years at college. Specifically, I have raised over $8,000 for Dance Marathon at the University of Florida. 

Valuable: This is a valuable skill because I will definitely need funds to pursue my opportunity. 

Rare: This is not rare, many people have the ability to do this

Inimitable: This is somewhat inimitable, however, it is also somewhat individualistic

Non-substitutable: I could pay another person to do this for me, but that would defeat the purpose. 

2. Uniqueness of idea in this area: There is no other service in the Gainesville area that delivers groceries to customers. 

Valuable: I think it's a valuable idea because of the convenience it provides to its users. 

Rare: It's not rare since the idea exists in other markets.

Inimitable: This is definitely inimitable. It exists in other markets and has competition where it does exist. 

Non-substitutable: The substitute for this idea would be going to buy your own groceries, which if the customer is using this service, they do not have the time to be doing. 

3. Social Capital: I am currently a college student and have a large network of friends and acquaintances that I could connect and market this service to.

Valuable: This network is extremely valuable because I would need an initial client base to get this service started. 

Rare: This is not rare, many people have a large network of friends they can utilize. 

Inimitable: Again, many people have large networks they can connect with, however I think I have a special group of individuals that would propel my service further initially. 

Non-substitutable: This type of advantage is truly non-substitutable because you need an initial group of people to get your venture started. 

4. Public Speaking Experience: 
Valuable: This skill and experience is valuable when communicating my service to potential investors and users. 
Rare: This is not rare, but it is also not common. It is a skill you must develop, but many people are able to gain this skill. 
Inimitable: Everyone's level of public speaking experience is different, but you can tell when someone is more comfortable speaking in front of people than others. 
Non-substitutable: Public speaking skills can make or break a presentation. It is imperative that whoever is presenting on behalf of a company is able to convey that message clearly and confidently. 

5. Listening/Taking Criticism Well:
Valuable: this is valuable because when you are the creator of something you want people to use, at the end of the day your opinion is not the most important one you must listen to. It is important to be flexible and adaptable.
Rare: Not very rare.
Inimitable: Everyone has the ability to listen, but it takes a lot of experience to be able to digest criticism well.
Non-substitutable: Can be substituted by others who have this skill. 

6. Familiarity/Ease of Use:
Valuable: It is very valuable to have an easy to use app service, otherwise customers will not want to use your service.
Rare: Not very rare. In my mind, it would follow a similar model and function to Uber.
Inimitable: This can be imitated easily
Non-substitutable: The substitute would only be that users don't end up enjoying the ease this service provides because the app would not be easy enough to understand. 

7. Target Audience:
Valuable: Extremely valuable if I want this opportunity to be successful.
Rare: Not very rare.
Inimitable: Most entrepreneurs can determine their own target market when coming up with their idea.
Non-substitutable: This is absolutely not an option to substitute, it's important to know and market to your target audience in order to be successful. 

8. Social Media Presence:
Valuable: Social Media has completely revolutionized marketing and I have had professional experience dealing with digital marketing, which would help me utilize this skill.
Rare: Not rare. Many people my age understand how social media presence and marketing works. 
Inimitable: Others can learn how this type of marketing can help them, so it is inimitable. 
Non-substitutable: See above. 

9. Drivers Available:
Valuable: This is extremely valuable because this is what the whole service is about - drivers who can provide a service to users. 
Rare: Not rare.
Inimitable: Yes, because there are drivers available almost everywhere
Non-substitutable: Absolutely not. Refer to the point about valuable. 

10. Leadership Experience:
Valuable: As the founder of this venture, it's important that I am able to lead a team well if I want this service to become successful.
Rare: Not rare. Lots of people can gain leadership experience.
Inimitable: See above.
Non-substitutable: I could have someone replace me as the "leader" aka CEO or President or whatever, but I would not want to hand over that position.

Assignment 19A - Idea Napkin No. 2

Second Shot at Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

My name is Meredith and I am a senior marketing student at UF. I plan on moving to New York City after graduation to start a career in marketing. I have a talent for leading groups and public speaking, and I like to work with other people to solve problems. I have a passion for traveling and exploring new countries, and would love to find a career that allows me to do so.  It would be easy for me to be passionate about starting this business concept because it is something that directly impacts me, and I feel that having a connection to your work allows you to invest yourself more fully.

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

This part has not changed. My service is a grocery delivery service. When I lived in NYC this summer, I saw tons of advertisements for this type of service, but I have not seen that service offered anywhere else. I know for myself as a student, grocery shopping can be a pain and hard to do if you don’t have a reliable mode of transportation. My service would be in the form of an app, similar to Uber, where you would request specific grocery items and pay a fee to have them delivered to you. The feedback I received from my peers was positive and confirmed that this is an unmet need in certain market areas, and even helped me think of possible ideas to build off of and create a better plan for this solution. 

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

This part has also not changed much. My “clients” are college aged individuals, both male and female, who attend UF or live in the Gainesville area. Geographically, all of my customers live very close to one another, so that is something they all have in common. They also either don’t have a reliable mode of transportation or do not have the time in their day to go grocery shopping. In addition, I think the families that live in the city of Gainesville would appreciate this service as well. Afternoon traffic in Gainesville is a struggle, and many families are forced to drive onto Archer after work and spend hours in traffic in order to get their weekly groceries. I'm certain that it would be valuable to that market as well. 

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

Mainly because of convenience. Convenience plays a large role in why customers would find this valuable to them. Food delivery services and driving services have become popular because they have created a way to make their customers lives more convenient.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

This service does not exist in the Gainesville market, so that is something that sets my idea apart from others. Just like Uber and other apps that have taken off, it will allow individuals to make money on the side or during their free time, as well as provide a service for a market.

I believe that these qualities seem to fit together nicely. The only question that was difficult to answer was number five. I don’t think this is a unique or new idea, because it is playing off a service I saw in New York City. However, since this is a completely different market, it would be new to these customers. I think to make this idea work, I would have to do a lot more research to ensure that a city like Gainesville could sustain this opportunity. I enjoyed the feedback about the similarity between this idea and Uber being a solution for not having guaranteed transportation.  

A lot of the feedback I received was positive and encouraging, and even got me thinking about the different markets that I wasn't initially including in my first Idea Napkin. A lot of people noted that Gainesville would be a good place to start this idea due to the amount of families that live here, not just the amount of students.  

Assignment 21A - Reading Reflection No. 2

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

Carol Dweck and her colleagues' research have discovered a simple belief that can guide and direct nearly every part of our lives. It has to do with your mindset aka the view you have of your qualities and characteristics - where they come from and whether or not they can change. Dweck defined two types of mindsets that represent extreme sides from each end of the spectrum. A fixed mindset is developed through believing your qualities are what they are, and you have no ability to change that. Intelligence, personality, and creativity are some examples of these types of characteristics. A growth mindset develops through believing that your qualities can be shaped through different amounts of effort and time put in to enhancing them. Aptitude, talents, and interests are all examples of the types of qualities you can change through experience. Dweck talked about being somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, and different experiences or times in your life when you may veer towards one extreme or the other. Your mindset will vary with each different experience.

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

Being an entrepreneur, it's extremely important to be flexible and adaptable in your attempts to solve problems. You may come in thinking you have an incredible solution, but when put into practice, being firm in your goals but flexible in your execution will result in finding the most optimal way to achieve your goal. Allowing your views to change with each experience will allow that type of mindset to guide you in that area. 

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

If I were going to design an exercise for this class, I would create a list of scenarios that an entrepreneur may experience in the first year and ask the class to use different mindsets to adapt to those challenges. 

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 expectations?

There wasn't anything that surprised me, but I enjoyed reading the chapters that dove into different aspects of life, such as an athletic approach, a business approach, and a relationship approach with these different mindsets. It was nice that Dweck included these chapters in her book because it allowed me to relate back to my own life and see how I could adopt her practices into my own life.