Venture Concept No.1

          Most of the objects and services we use in our daily lives are electronics, but all electronics have a small battery life compared to the amount of time we use them for. However, outlets are limited in most public places, and this causes people to be upset at the lack of services a building is providing. Therefore, a lot of people have this need, but I plan on targeting people in Universities and airports. University students constantly use their laptops and other electronics to complete assignments. Businessmen who travel all the time and need to do work on the go need to have a dependable outlet that works all the time. Overall, this product I have come up with will eliminate the problem(the absence of outlets) that these people face while doing work in public places. Our world is changing to an electronically dependent environment which creates this opportunity that I have chosen to work with. This opportunity is pretty large considering the demand to have a person’s electronics charged at all times, especially for college students. Having one’s computer die during an important quiz is not exactly the best thing to happen because most teachers blame it on the student and not the electronic. Another important aspect is Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is one of the most common services needed in the world right now. Every public and private business in America understands the importance of having free wifi for customers. Students and businessmen need a reliable connection to the internet in order to work. As a student, I know that an unreliable internet connection can lead to not being able to watch a class lecture or complete a quiz. This combined opportunity is important because of the great need of a power connection and internet connection. This window of opportunity is closing fast considering the amount of portable chargers for cellphones there are in the market and technological advancements are improving greatly. So it is only a matter of time before companies will be selling the portable chargers that I am offering to my customers. 

           The innovation I have created is a portable charger with outlets on it that will serve as a way to charge any electronic with a plug. This product will also be a Wi-Fi hotspot which is very important because crowded places like libraries can be hard to get an accurate Wi-Fi connection. It will provide a reliable connection for all students and businessmen. My product has a dome like shaped with up to four outlets on it and is called the Pod. The Pod will be sold privately to Universities and airplane companies in bulk for a cheaper price. I want to add a cool aspect to the pods by selling customized pods that are designed to match logos and colors of companies. For example, if I were selling pods to the University of Florida, I would make ones that are blue and orange. I would paint a gator on them too. It will make the pods more fun to use. As far as working them, the customer simply plugs in their charging chord to any electronic the device will charge or start working. The most important thing of the Pod is that it is a chargeable device. A power chord will be given to the customer and they can be charged at home or a dedicated location in the library. Customers can take the pods with them to any place in the library or airport. To the companies that buy them in bulk, a censor will be added to the Pod that will set a buzzer off once it leaves a building so they are not stolen. For the  individual customers who want to to buy the Pod for their own personal use they will be available on the website. They will be sold for seventy-five dollars individually. Additional designs and shipping will be added fees, but otherwise it is a pretty affordable device for those who want it. 

          Customers would switch to my product because it will be a reliable internet connection and a way to have their electronics constantly charged. People won’t have to worry about forgetting their charger at home or where the nearest outlet is. It is just very necessary for the technology dependent life we have adapted to. The competitors are the companies that sell portable chargers for I-Phones, but customers will come to find that the Pod works for all electronics(lamps, hair straighteners, blow driers,ext.) Customer experience and support is important for this business concept because if there are glitches, University libraries will not want to invest in the product. Price points have a role in my business concept because I will use it to find a way to charge the companies I will be selling a lot of Pods to. I would organize my business by making it a small office with ten salesmen, a team of accountants, and a team of engineers dealing with the advancement of my product. 

Being a college student, I understand the importance of a reliable internet connection and outlet; therefore, other competitors cannot relate to college students like I will. I also have connections with a marketing expert who sells computer advancements to schools. The next step in my venture would be to create a Pod that is waterproof. It will be a new device that will be even better for the customers. In five years, I want to have a large building and be selling devices all over the world. In the next decade, I want to be coming up with new ideas and discovering new opportunities to tackle. This venture was really important in developing my skills as en entrepreneur. I will always look back at it and use the same techniques I learned to develop my ideas. 

My Unfair Advantage

Human Capital

1. Creativity
V: It is valuable in the sense that it will help me come up with new ways to make my business the best it can be.
R: No, it is not rare. Everyone is creative in their own way.
I: It is not easy to copy one's creativity because everyone has different ideas and skills which enhances their creative process.
N: People who aren't creative can hire people who are creative or look up what people have done in the past and copy their methods.

2. Organization
V: This is valuable because it will keep everyone in check and focused on a goal. It will help my product continue to move forward.
R: No, it is not rare.
I: It is easy to learn to be organized. Anyone can bring that to the workplace.
N: There is no way to be organized in another way, you either have to be organized or not organized.

3. Outgoing Personality/Motivator
V: This is valuable because it will keep the energy going and get people excited about what they work for.
R: It is not that rare.
I: It is easy to be copied by others because people can copy the tactics you use to motivate people.
N: There are different ways to motivate people. Maybe by paying workers more?

4. Persistance
V: This is valuable because it it a good mentality to have. It will help my product go far and it is very entrepreneurial.
R: It is not that rare, but it potentially can be because people tend to give up fast.
I: Sometimes people do not have the drive to be persistent so being persistent can be hard to copy.
N: There is no other way to be persistent.

Social Capital

5. Connection to a Supplier:
V: This is valuable because it will be imperative to move my business forward and to get advice to achieve the most.
R: It is not rare to have a supplier, but it rare to know the same supplier I know, and I will be better off with my supplier.
I: It is hard to copy this because my supplier will be different from a supplier someone else finds.
N: Yes. People can know other suppliers, so they will get the same benefit that I do.

6. Connection to Market Expert:
V: This is valuable because I will be able to market my product extremely well with the market expert I have.
R: It all depends on the market experts you know and work with.
I: It could be, because people use the market tactics that they learned in school or the same market tactics that have been used for years.
N: Yes. People can know other market experts, so they will get the same benefit that I get.

7. Connection to Domain Expert:
V: This is valuable because it is important to know someone who is experiencing or has experienced what a person goes through when they create a product or expand a business.
R: Again, it depends on the people you know.
I: I don't think that one could copy the benefits I receive from the Domain Expert I know because every person's experiences are different.
N: Yes, people can know other domain experts, but everyone is different; therefore, people will get different results.

Miscellaneous :

8. Time:
V: This valuable because competitors may not have so much time on their hands like I do as a college student.
R: It is rare.
I: No one can copy how much time I have on my hands unless they go back to school.
N: It is hard to not have to deal with time since it is everywhere.

9. College Student:
V: This is valuable because I am selling a product to college students and Universities so I can relate to the hardships students go through.
R: It may be rare to be a college student.
I: There are a lot of college students so people could have this advantage.
N: You could hire college students to market your product if you weren't a college student yourself.

10. Taking this Entrepreneurship Class:
V: It is very valuable that I am taking this entrpreneurship class because I am learning a lot about my abilities and learning methods to tackle situations.
R: A class this well taught is very hard to come by.
I: Maybe if you knew people who have took this class before or hired people who took this class to work for you, then it would be easy to copy.
N: One could take other entrepreneurship classes to makeup for not having gone through this one.

Growing Your Social Capital

1. The Domain Expert:
- John Lynch is an electrical engineer at the University of Florida
- John is one of my older brother's roommates, and he is a fourth year in the engineering program.
-My brother gave me his number and I talked to him about my product and the way I wanted it to work.
-We talked about the importance of getting the engineering right since it is a tricky concept and how I would have to make sure to market my product so it is not just like every portable charger that exists right now.
-John is very valuable to my social capital because he is an engineer and can make my product something real and valuable. The engineer would create the product and make sure it works before I market and sell it.

2. The Marketing Expert:
- Zachary Smith is a marketing manager of a company that promotes the increase of technology in Public schools in the US.
- I contacted Zach on the phone since we are cousins, and I have a close relationship because he traveling to Florida with his company a lot. He and his employees come up with ways to market new software and devices for kids to use at school. We talked about my product, and how I could be marketing it in Universities all over the United States.
- Zach was a valuable addition to my Social Capital because he already successfully has marketed different kinds of products to schools and will be helpful when I need to market my product to different Universities.

3. The Supplier:
-Mario Uber, owner of an phone and computer company.
- Mario is one of my uncles from my mother's side.
- I contacted him over Facebook and told him about my product, and how he has been able to grow his company by adding new additions.
- Mario is a great addition to my social capital because he could take on my product or help me develop mine with a bigger company. He can teach me a lot about taking it further.

Reflection: Talking to these people wasn't as hard because I already knew them, but it was still a little nerve wracking when I had to tell them about my idea. They weren't rude, but one or two of them were a little skeptical at first, but they were quick to help me out and give me some pointers. Talking to these people will give me the courage to venture out and talk to people I don't even really know to expand my product.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

1) While I was reading this chapter, I was surprised to learn that a cash budget is the best way for an entrepreneur to start a business. I guess I should have known this because having to pay everything with other forms of payment is worse. If the entrepreneur would have to pay the interest as well as the amount he may have borrowed from the bank or credit card company, it would be more stressful.
2) One part that was confusing to me during this reading was the sales forecasting section that talked about a linear equation that can forecast sales. I am not the best with math so I immediately had to look over this part, but once I saw the graph I understood it more.
3) The two questions I would ask the author are if he would ever start a company without a cash budget even though it is risky, but aren't entrepreneurs are supposed to constantly take risks? My second question is if the horizontal analysis is a broader method and therefore more useful than the vertical analysis method?
4) What I believe the author was wrong about was how he said that taxes were a variable expense because they depend on sales. While this is true, I always believed one had to pay fixed taxes on the property and the taxes to run a business.

Elevator Pitch No.3

       The feedback I received from my last elevator pitch was really great. A lot of people liked my idea which really surprised me, but they suggested that I make it evident in my pitch why my product is different from other existing portable phone chargers. I made sure this point was clear in my pitch this time around. I also tried to make the lighting in my video better by better placing a lamp. I didn't think that this feedback was silly, but I didn't expect to get some critique over my video skills considering I do not have the latest technology to create a elevator pitch worthy of being in a movie. I hope you guys enjoy, and I can't wait to hear some great feedback.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

1) The biggest surprise for me during this reading were the different factors affecting the pricing decisions such as the customer services provided by the sellers and the production's life-cycle stage. I especially never thought that customer services would affect the pricing, but I suppose that it is important because the amount of customer service provided for the customer would make the good or action more valuable to the customer
2) One part of the reading that was confusing to me was sales forecasting and how the marketing team of a company can project future sales through historical sales figures and applying statistical methods.
3) If I were able to ask two questions to the author, they would be the following: How can anyone understand the size of the market when it constantly changes and how can the company possibly come up with an efficient way to entrap its customers if they do not know what they want?
4) I disagree with the author when they said that the customer will shy away from purchasing an item when there is no printed price schedule available. If anything they will be more curious, and will ask for it. Then the salesman has the opportunity to convince the customer of buying the item.

Idea Napkin No. 2

     I am a college student, and I have always been creative person and have liked to try new things. I like talking to people and and understanding their view points of life. Above all, I am a very organized person that likes to make lists, so when I work to make my product as successful as possible, I would be efficient and responsible. I like to think that I have an outgoing personality so I can use it to sell my product. My aspirations, when it comes to my business concept, are simple. I'd like to create something that is a necessity and original. I would like this charging pod to really change the way people will do their work. They could possibly take the pod outside and enjoy a day in the sun while taking care of their work. The pod will be a wifi hotspot so it will also provide wifi. If I were to start this business, it would play a huge role in my life, as it will be an effective way supply something that is in such high demand in Universities since they are constantly in need of more outlets and wifi hotspots in their libraries. It would take up a lot of my time as well because I will keep having to come up with something to expand my business.

      The product I am offering to costumers is a chargeable pod with outlets on it that will serve as a portable way to charge electronics. The pod will also be a wifi hotspot so one can get access to wifi literally anywhere they take the pod. Customers will no longer have to worry about where the closest power outlet is. They will be able to purchase one of the pods or they can use pods that a library at a University has purchased for their customers. The pod needs to be a device that can be able to function for long periods of time without it needing to be charged. The best would be if it could be able to last twelve hours until it would need to be recharged.They will be reliable and important to a student's success in college.

       My customers will be college students or University libraries. Something that all the University libraries will have in common is that they will have a lot of students trying to use the outlets at once, and not all of them will get to them. Therefore, there will be less people in the libraries. Keeping these pods in libraries will cause less student complaints and keep the libraries always full. College students all have the same thing in common as well, they are constantly depending on electronics and outlets so they can get their school work done. The pod could be sold in electronics store as well, and could be sold to anyone in need of an outlet. The pod could be sold to airplane companies so business people who travel a lot for long periods of time can get wifi and outlets during their trips. The pod could be sold to about anyone who needs a portable outlet with a wifi hotspot.

        This product is valuable to student customers because they will be able to charge their electronics anywhere even when there aren't any outlets around. They will be able to complete work for a whole day in the middle of a park where there are no outlets and not have to worry about anything. This product is valuable to libraries as well because they will get less complaints about the lack of outlets and more people in the libraries. Perhaps the school will get better overall grades because of the amount of students studying in libraries. It is valuable to people who travel long distances and need to work on their electronics. 

        What sets me apart from everyone else that is trying to sell this product is that I am a college student that is often in the library where there aren't many plugs and is forced to go back to the dorms to work. I can relate to these students and I can push the product into the market cause I have experienced it. I am organized and creative so I will continue to come up with new methods and ideas to make my product be successful. What also sets me apart is that I have decided to make the pod a wifi hotspot. There are portable chargers, but what makes my product unique is that the pods will provide wifi for people without it. 

        These elements fit relatively well together I believe because they will be able to make my product successful, different, and reliable. As the product creator and seller, I will be able to relate to the customers and sell it to them more efficiently because I am like the customers. My business idea may be a little weak because it will take very intelligent engineers to develop the pods that can harness the electricity to be able to charge a laptop and make it a wifi hotspot, but as technology changes and grows, so will the possibility of my product actually happening.  

        Five points that I took from the feedback from my peers are to make my pod a wifi hotspot, to differentiate my product, to make my company revolutionary, and to use my experience as a college student to maximize to marketing product. I incorporated the feedback into my idea napkin by making the pod a wifi hotspot and that has differentiated my product. There are a lot of portable chargers, but not all of them offer a wifi hotspot as well as a multi use outlet.