30A – Final Reflection

1. 
   
2. In my opinion the idea napkin #1 was one of my favorite activities because that was the beginnings of the business as well as the first time I had to sit down and analyze myself and if I would fit with the business I wanted to set out to make.
3. I do think that I have gotten closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset because this class has inspired me to start working on a separate project that could potentially become something greater in the future.
4. Although some of the assignments might not seem to be as useful as others, they are all great learning experiences and should not be blown off. I would recommend not procrastinating in order to get the full impact of the assignments.
5. Many times progress is not linear instead it looks like this 

1. 
   

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

Cuisine Comet
Opportunity:

• Who has the need?
• Parents and students
• Nature of need?
• Parents worry that students are not getting proper nutrition. Students do not always have the knowledge or space to cook in dorms.
• What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?
• Students schedules are getting progressively more strenuous leaving them with limited time to cook.
• How is this market defined geographically and demographically?
• Parents that tend to be overprotective
• Students with busy schedules
• Students with little cooking experience
• How are customers currently satisfying this need? And how loyal are they to whatever they use now?
• Many go out to eat and are not very happy with their current situation.
• How big is this opportunity?
• Fairly big
• How long will the “window of opportunity” be open?
• For as long as it is not addressed

Innovation

• What it is
• Interstate food delivery system
• What it does
• Allow parents to deliver food to college students
• How it works
• Parent goes to hub drop off and scans food. Once food is scanned it is then shipped to student, who is alerted via phone. Once alerted student will have pickup code that can be used at the designated hub.
• What are you selling and for how much?
• Delivery service and depending on distance price would be determined but around 5 dollars per pound.

Venture concept

• What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product? How hard will it be to get them to switch?
• Because students do not usually eat the healthiest of foods and this would allow them to get a better alternative. I do not believe it would be too hard.
• Who are the competitors?What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities?
• No competitors currently.
• What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining your business concept?
• That is the entire business.
• How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture?
• Starting off with 18 employees 3 in each hub with 5 hubs throughout the state. 3 for deliveries. Four roles Hub manager, Inventory supervisor, cashier, delivery driver.

The Three minor elements

• The efficiency in customer service as well as the technology implemented.
• The next step would be to establish more hubs throughout the state.
• In five years I would like to have expanded the hubs out of state to the surrounding states such as Georgia.

2. The feedback I received from my peers was mostly positive, with the only concern being the longer delivery times if/when expanding to other states.


3. The venture concept stayed intact but the expansion plan has become more uncertain.

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

• 1) You read about an entrepreneur: Steve Jobs
• What surprised you the most?
• That Steves drive to build and design was instilled in him by his father.
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• Steve Jobs ability to sell virtually anything.
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
• His “rude” tendencies when something did not go as planned.
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• Steve was let go of apple in 1985, in response he started up NeXT and joined Pixar.
• 2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
• Extreme attention to detail, as well as an uncompromising design with the drive to see it through.
• 3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
• I don’t know if it has to do with the book so much as Steve Jobs himself. In the book they point out that meditation and LSD were an important part of his life, but he was also someone who was incredibly crass and sharp.
• 4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
• Why was he so hesitant to take his position as Ceo again?
• How does someone who consistently faces pushback from his company continue to work on great new ideas.

Your Exit Strategy

1. Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?
1. I would plan to stay with the business until I retire, eventually using it to generate passive income.
2. Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?
1. Because if I were to start this venture I would want to see the expansion of the idea until the end.
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?
1. It didn’t influence how I identified the opportunity but it does influence the growth intentions. In the previous post I said in 5 years I would have liked to have expanded across Florida, but eventually I would have liked to have expanded across the country.

26A – Celebrating Failure

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.
1. At the beginning of the semester I was taking 16 credit hours and ended up not being able to study very much for all of my exams so I failed all of them.
2. Tell us what you learned from it.
1. I learned that I can’t spread myself so thin without proper planning far in advance.
3. Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?
1. Before this class whenever I would fail I would be disappointed in myself, after this class I realized that sometimes failure is necessary for success.

25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market.

1. Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next in terms of products and services for your venture.
1. Expanding to other colleges/cities throughout the state.
2. Step 2: Interview three customers who are already part of the market you have identified, and ask them what they believe is next for a venture like yours. Describe to them your business, and simply ask "What should we be doing that we aren't planning to do?" Next, ask them about your ideas of what customers might want next.
1. Interview 1: have you thought of delivering to peoples doors?
2. Interview 2: have you considered slower but cheaper options?
3. Interview 3: what about the people that go to college outside of the state?
3. Step 3: Based on your own expectations and the feedback you received from customers, set a path for the future. In two to three paragraphs, describe what makes the most sense for your venture in terms of growing in your existing market.
1. The most sensible option for growth within my current market would be to expand to more parts of the state while also becoming more cost effective.

New Market.

1. Step 1: Identify a radically different market from what you're currently planning to target. If you're currently targeting B2B, think about going after a B2C market. If you're currently targeting an affluent part of society, think about targeting a very poor part of society.
1. Delivering to other states within the U.S.
2. Step 2: Once you have identified a radically different market, describe how you think your venture concept might be able to create value for people in that market. You may have to get creative with this -- that's OK -- and perfectly welcome!
1. Would be a valuable resource for parents that have students going to college out of state.
3. Step 3: Interview two people from this new market. Again, describe to each interviewee what your concept is. Then, ask them how they think your business might be help to meet customers like them. What kinds of adaptations to the product/service mix do they think you should make to be successful in this new market?
1. Interview 1: It would be helpful for me because on my birthday my mom likes to send me a care package but usually it's only a couple non-perishable items and it would be nice to get more.
2. Interview 2: It would be cool to have my parents send me food but it would probably take a while from Miami to Washington dc.
4. Step 4: Reflect, in two to three paragraphs, on what you learned about this new market. What surprised you the most? Were any of your expectations/assumptions correct? Does this new market, on second thought, appear to be as attractive as your existing market? And so on.
1. I was surprised that people who live out of state would still be willing to get food shipped to them, I was worried about this because it would take a fair amount longer than inter-state deliveries.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Cuisine Comet
Opportunity:

• Who has the need?
• Parents and students
• Nature of need?
• Parents worry that students are not getting proper nutrition. Students do not always have the knowledge or space to cook in dorms.
• What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?
• Students schedules are getting progressively more strenuous leaving them with limited time to cook.
• How is this market defined geographically and demographically?
• Parents that tend to be overprotective
• Students with busy schedules
• Students with little cooking experience
• How are customers currently satisfying this need? And how loyal are they to whatever they use now?
• Many go out to eat and are not very happy with their current situation.
• How big is this opportunity?
• Fairly big
• How long will the “window of opportunity” be open?
• For as long as it is not addressed

Innovation

• What it is
• Interstate food delivery system
• What it does
• Allow parents to deliver food to college students
• How it works
• Parent goes to hub drop off and scans food. Once food is scanned it is then shipped to student, who is alerted via phone. Once alerted student will have pickup code that can be used at the designated hub.
• What are you selling and for how much?
• Delivery service and depending on distance price would be determined but around 5 dollars per pound.

Venture concept

• What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product? How hard will it be to get them to switch?
• Because students do not usually eat the healthiest of foods and this would allow them to get a better alternative. I do not believe it would be too hard.
• Who are the competitors?What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities?
• No competitors currently.
• What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining your business concept?
• That is the entire business.
• How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture?
• Starting off with 18 employees 3 in each hub with 5 hubs throughout the state. 3 for deliveries. Four roles Hub manager, Inventory supervisor, cashier, delivery driver.

The Three minor elements

• The efficiency in customer service as well as the technology implemented.
• The next step would be to establish more hubs throughout the state.
• In five years I would like to have expanded the hubs out of state to the surrounding states such as Georgia.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

Resources in venture

1. Companion app
1. Valuable: allows customers to complete the shipping process before dropping off.
2. Rare: a phone app is not uncommon in today's market.
3. Inimitable: the ease of use would be hard to imitate.
4. Non-substitutable: a kiosk at the delivery centers would allow for similar results but not quite the same.
2. Customer service
1. Valuable: guide customers through the process and make sure they get the proper service.
2. Rare: I find good customer service to be rare recently.
3. Inimitable: could be imitated through proper training.
4. Non-substitutable: proper customer service is non-substitutable.
3. Quick delivery
1. Valuable: customers would be receiving their food deliveries within the same day-1 business day.
2. Rare: currently it is very difficult to deliver food because there has not been an infrastructure implemented for such transport.
3. Inimitable: could not be imitated.
4. Non-substitutable: quick turn around times are essential for great customer experience.
4. Delivery Vans
1. Valuable: refrigerated delivery vans would preserve the food throughout the delivery.
2. Rare: refrigerated delivery vans are usually used by catering companies.
3. Inimitable: could be imitated.
4. Non-substitutable: could possibly be replaced by cooling containers but not as efficient.
5. Processing system
1. Valuable: efficient processing systems are key in ensuring customers receive the proper items.
2. Rare: many processing systems being used by companies are sluggish and clunky
3. Inimitable: could be imitated.
4. Non-substitutable: could not be substituted for anything else.
6. Storage
1. Valuable: for customers that drop off items at delivery centers after the van has left
2. Rare: not many companies ship food or store it
3. Inimitable: could be imitated
4. Non-substitutable: would provide the customer with peace of mind that can not be substituted
7. Mobile alerts
1. Valuable: work alongside app to let customers know when the package has arrived.
2. Rare: this is currently implemented by pizza delivery companies.
3. Inimitable: can be imitated by companion app.
4. Non-substitutable: notify customer even if they don't have push notifications on their phone.
8. Previous experience in wholesale shipping
1. Valuable: previous experience with shipping would allow me to ship for very low prices.
2. Rare: many times shipping is costly for companies
3. Inimitable: would require experience
4. Non-substitutable: cheaper deliveries would allow for a lower final cost for the customer.
9. Custom packaging
1. Valuable: custom delivery bags for storing the food as well as keeping it temperature controlled.
2. Rare: not many companies do this.
3. Inimitable: yes it can be recreated.
4. Non-substitutable: could be skipped but would be a great addition for the customer.
10. Advertising
1. Valuable: on the custom bags, vans, as well as deals through social media that would drive in more customers.
2. Rare: innovative marketing.
3. Inimitable: could be imitated.
4. Non-substitutable: advertising some other way.

Top resource:
Customer service and delivery time because that will provide customers with the most immediate satisfaction.