30A – Final Reflection

I think the biggest moment of all my assignments was probably one of the first assignments which was the bug list. That was definitely one of my lows as there were many times I wanted to give up on that assignment and struggled through a lot. I think one of the best moments though was creating an avatar for my business, not only did it show me new ways of understanding how customers think and what a perfect customer would be for my business it was also a very enjoyable assignment. I think the thing that stuck out to me as the most formative experience was planning out a business from start to end. It showed me so many different tricks and paths to use that a company can really benefit from. The experience that I will probably remember years later is probably the experience that annoyed me the most which was the bug list. I think the bug list really opened up my eyes when it came to how we live with problems every day and have gotten so accustomed to it that we may miss the opportunities that a business can form from. The most joyous experience was actually my second elevator pitch as I think that was the assignment I tried the most for and my family was constantly giving me advice during that specific day. The experience I am most proud of myself for accomplish would either being all three of the elevator pitches or all the assignments together that worked in creating one business as a whole as it really developed my skills in understanding what is necessary for starting a business. I also most definitely see myself as having a larger entrepreneur mindset as there were many times that I learned not only new information on running a business but also how to think which I value a lot. I think saying that I am a complete entrepreneur now is kind of hard to say though as I just took one class on this, but I think with more experience in the real world I will definitely be on my way. I think the one recommendation that I would give to students that are going in a similar path is to stay organized and to go out of their comfort zone in trying new things and thinking of new ideas. To perform beset in this course I would definitely plan out the workload for this class as sometimes it can get heavy if not planned out effectively. I think that the best way to foster this mindset is to see this as a way to grow and not a way to do work, with that the assignments will be more enjoyable. 

Journey!

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

I think the thing that surprised me most about the entrepreneur I read about was how open minded and creative he was. I think that Elon Musk had a skill in seeing things that few others were able to see and he was not the person to stop another from following their dreams. I think that this is also something I really admired when it came to that as I really appreciate someone who can be supportive in scenarios where no one else can be.  His ideas and companies that he created were crazy important in helping people around the country getting things they themselves wanted done. I think the thing that I least admired when it came to this entrepreneur is what can be seen in real life with some of his announcements and how sometimes he does not take things seriously at the risk of other people's lives. I guess something that can bee said about this is that this could be his way of relaxing but it could also harm others. Yes, Musk definitely encountered adversity and failures such as choosing between two of his companies Tesla and SpaceX. To solve this issue he was able to take some risks and also work with the government to save both of his companies eventually. As previously mentioned, the competency that I was able to notice was that the entrepreneur exhibited to see things other were not able to identify. I think Musk was great at seeing an opportunity and taking up on that chance to really start something and get people interested in his ideas. I think the thing that confused me was how crazy Elon could get with some ideas. I think it was interesting that he wanted to save the human race, but his solutions were way out there and things that are very hard to accomplish. I think two questions that I would ask Elon Musk is what company he thinks his greatest mistake was in and what he would have done differently with that company if he could go back in time. I would be interested in this as I would want to see what new ideas he created in his journey of following his dreams. I think that the entrepreneur really prioritized hard work as a key skill to have to accomplish many things. This is obviously something I agree with as this combined with passion can unlock many more doors in finding one's own ideas for specific opportunities. 

28A – Your Exit Strategy

The exit strategy I would probably have is two different possibilities. The first possibility is continuing to grow the business if I see that the business is capable of growing to other parts of the country. If that path does not work, then the other possible plan I have after 5 years is seeing whether or not another company would bee interested in purchasing the company.  This particular strategy I think works really well for me because when you work in the technology industry, if other companies start noticing your product they have a larger group of employees that can easily see flaws in your product and exploit those by making a product that does not have any of those weaknesses. If the business does look like it can grow I do intend to state with the business for several decades because I want to be able to help that business grow myself and protect the venture as a family business that can be passed down to someone who I know can run it really well. I think that the exit strategy I have made has made me think about how to optimize the product to not just be able to be used in one specific scenario but be able to be used in multiple other scenarios. This way it will allow for the product to expand to other parts of the country or it can connect well with another company that is interested in purchasing this product. I don't think it has influenced my growth intentions if anything it has put me on a specific timeline to make sure things don't fall behind and allows me to get everything out at the same time in a successful manner.

26A – Celebrating Failure Submit Assignment

A recent event in which I failed within a class assignment was my attempt in programming a hardware piece that I had to get working. The hardware piece itself had to start displaying an image that would change based on buttons that the hardware piece had. Something that can be annoying with hardware projects is that sometimes a person cannot tell if the issue is software or hardware related. I spent 2 weeks trying to figure out the issue and had to ask for an extension. Eventually, I had to ask for help and was able to find the issue that was creating so many of the different problems I was facing. From this I was able to learn a few things. I learned that trying several different paths in solving something is not the end of the world even though it may be bothersome. I also was able to learn that asking for help is not a bad thing either and can also help speed up the process, because with the help of another person that person may be able to see the issue that another person may never be able to solve. My failure was not the first time someone has questioned whether their own work or the items that they had was failing the tests that they needed to solve. It definitely is hard though and can sometimes be embarrassing if others can solve it a lot faster. I realized though that its not the end if you can't figure something out and just have to contact someone for guidance. I will state though that my emotional state is not the best when I am failing as sometimes I will just start freaking out but eventually I will calm down and try to figure out the issue. This class itself has changed my perspective on failure as I have realized that failing is part of the process in creating new things or creating new solutions. I definitely am more likely in taking a risk that I was a few months ago as there is no way something else will be created without taking some form of risk. 

25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market

The next step in my venture would be going towards groups that travel to provide my product and allow them to experience the same thing beach goers are able to experience. After interviewing three customers that I already identified as part of my market they said different things that are all possible plans for this venture. The most surprising recommendation was targeting more people than just beaches, which is similar to the next step I created as it would allow for a larger reach for my product and allow more people to experience how my technology works. The second customer said that I should create more products that targeted beach goers. This was a possible path as instead of expanding my customer base it would create another product that people would appeal to the same group to buy another product. The third customer said to just expand the company even more to other countries, This last suggestion was something I did not consider as I never thought of expanding outside of the united states but think is a great idea. 

Through this, I think there are several paths that I can take to grow into a larger company. I think the best path is to first look into expanding the reach my company has inside the united states such as those who travel on a constant basis. From there I think that it can then be expanded even more like another customer was saying to have a larger reach in beaches outside of the united states.

New Market

The market I am considering is more of a middle class group where any person can afford this product. The radically different market that I can target is the more wealthier groups of people that can afford a lot more than the middle class can. Thee venture concept that I have might be able to create a value for people in that market if the quality is upgraded and technology can be used in parallel with things such as their yachts and other cool vehicles. Other things that this can do is that the technology can be invested into its own cup and would therefore have to be somewhat bulkier but still worth it. The amount of effort it would take to put all the technology into a cup would be a lot, but it would please a more affluent group. The two customers I talked to said that the idea I had would be a good idea as long as it is portable. Both of the customers I interviewed said that they already had coolers integrated in the stuff that they had, but something such as a transportable device could come in handy. One of the customers said that they think if the design of the product is well developed then the value could rise a lot as many people would want it just by the looks. 

I think that this market is a hard one to hit as the more affluent group of people can be pickier with what they want. Even with that though, this market isn't unreachable as the design I have created can be changed slightly and have new added features to appeal to that group. The expectation of integrating it with other stuff that they already have is something that is already occurring but they did give me another possible idea in focusing on the design of the product as well. This new product is still a reach as it can be a very hard one to appeal to. 

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Chill Out

The Cool Company

The Opportunity 

Beach goers and constant travelers are the primary targets of my company. There is a need for a way to control the temperature of a drink to achieve satisfaction with the item being consumed and for this item to be easily transportable. The certain reason people need this is because people are constantly doing these two activities and have to either face room temperature to warm drinks or deal with things that are heavier than necessary to control their drinks temperature. This market is primarily target geographically to beach goers as this will be where most people will benefit from this product. It may expanded later on to airports as it can also help those who are constantly traveling throughout the country. The customers are currently satisfying this need by dealing with the inconvenience of just not having a drink at the correct temperature or carrying bulky containers that can be displeasing. The biggest loyalty customers may have to what they use now is if they have a family the bulkiness may not be significant enough to repel them from this process and go to my product. At the moment this opportunity is not that big because of coronavirus but after the fact it may become bigger as more people will want to go to the beach and travel. The window of opportunity will open shortly after the pandemic starts to subside and will only last for a certain amount of time.

The Innovation 

My device is creating a simple device that can hold a cup or any random sized container and then control the temperature that cup contains. This device will be manually controlled by the user using buttons that will then control software to change the temperature of the drink. For this product several goals will be met one of them being transportability. This product will be small enough to fit in a backpack, but it will also be capable of expanding to larger sizes that will fit anything that the consumer may want to use. The device will also come in several colors to attract as many people as possible and have different themes that can relate to the beach or any important events that are occurring at that time. This device will also have special material that will be sand resistant to not fall apart and break on the consumer that purchased the product. There will be three possible products that the consumer will be able to decide between. The first product will be $10 and will be able to only hold cups that can fit into car holders. The second product that will be an option will be $15 and will be capable of holding cups and larger containers such as bowls, this product will be expandable but still be able to be used in tasks such as traveling and beach going. The third product that will be obtainable is a higher quality design that can be controlled by a phone and will cost $35. These three products will allow people to decide what product will best fit their lifestyles. 

Venture Concept

The reason that this device will allow people to switch to the new product is because this product will meet two of the needs that these people need, one being the need of a drink's temperature that a consumer can control and the other need having a transportable and easy to use device. It may be hard for some people to switch to my device as people like to stick with things that they have always stayed with so a large cooler may be something they see as more appealing, but if this device is marketed enough, I think that it will be amazing in bringing and attracting more people to the product. The competitors would most likely be companies that create coolers and other similar companies such as yeti. Thee most possible weakness of all this would have to be that they do not target beaches like my company would. As this is marketing towards the beach, packaging will be simple which will also lower the cost of creating this product. The price points I have explained before come in increments to allow people to be able to have choices between how much they want to spend on this product. Customer support will be important in helping people with products that are broken and the customer experience is just as valuable as we would need to know if the product is good enough quality to last the beach environment and also easy to use for everyone. These customers will allow for the business to be better shaped to increase customer happiness. I would organize this business to have four to five different teams each specializing in their specific field. The three core groups would be marketing, software, and human resources. These teams will allow for the company to have specialized people that can work together and produce a good item that will please several consumers. The number of employees would differ per each team but at the moment the entire team would be around 10 people and then grow as the company grows. 

The Three Minor Elements

The most important resource I think will be the experience that I have. The experience I have will allow for this product to be created at a low price using the software knowledge I have and will also allow for my experiences with going to the beach so often to be used. The experience I have will not be as common as not everyone knows how to code and not everyone goes to the beach so often. With this, the product I can create can then have things that stand out from the rest as they will be specific to the beach. 

The next opportunity I want to tackle with my innovation is going to the traveling business. Not only will it be useful in going to the beach, but it can be useful for people who are on the constant go and need smaller things that will allow them to still be happy with their travel. The next thing for me is to have a running company that will be selling in both sides of the country in every major beach area to maximize the reach the company has. This will most definitely be a 5 year goal if not longer as it will take time to start off in Florida and then grow on the east side of the country and then the west side. I think that after this I want the company to start creating more products to expand their reach even more in other markets and things that a person may need. This first venture will allow me to get to new ideas that will allow me to invest in more things and really help me grow more businesses. 

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1. Software Experience-
1. Valuable: Highly Valuable as it makes many tasks easier to do. 
2. Rare: This is not the easiest to come by as it can take many years of experience to be a capable software engineer. 
3. Inimitable: With enough schooling this is easy to imitate. 
4. Non-Substitutable: Needed for this product as something needs to be programmed to correctly control the temperature. 
2. Mechanical Engineering Relations-
1. Valuable: Highly Valuable as it is important for the product as a whole. 
2. Rare: Similarly to the previous one, it's not the easiest thing to come by because of the needed schooling. 
3. Inimitable: This is imitable as long as someone goes to school.  
4. Non-Substitutable: Needed for this product as something needs to contain the technology that is being used to control the temperature. 
3. Low Cost for a Quality Product-
1. Valuable: Somewhat valuable as it will not pose a problem for people who prefer spending on inexpensive items. 
2. Rare: Not rare at all as there are always cheap products that attempt to do similar things. 
3. Inimitable: This is imitable with the right planning.   
4. Non-Substitutable: Hard to substitute something at a low price. 
4. Personal Beach experience-
1. Valuable: Valuable as I have experience in products that may or may not be affected by the beach environment. 
2. Rare: Not rare as there are many people who have beach experience. 
3. Inimitable: This is imitable with the right planning.   
4. Non-Substitutable: This kind of experience is hard to substitute. 
5. Low Cost in producing the Product-
1. Valuable: Valuable as I have experience in products that may or may not be affected by the beach environment. 
2. Rare: Not rare as there are many people who have beach experience. 
3. Inimitable: This is imitable with the right planning.   
4. Non-Substitutable: This kind of experience is hard to substitute. 
6. Transportability- 
1. Valuable: Somewhat valuable as it can allow the product to be used in several locations but it also may limit how often it can be used. 
2. Rare: Rare as there are very few items that can do this and be small. 
3. Inimitable: Imitable with correct planning. 
4. Non-Substitutable: The size of the product cannot really be substitutable.  
7. Solid Starting Fund- 
1. Valuable: Important as there are several things that need to be invested in and mass produced. 
2. Rare: Not super rare but not super common either. 
3. Inimitable: With enough time this can be done as well. 
4. Non-Substitutable: Loans. 
8. Optimal Location- 
1. Valuable: As my product is targeting beach goers this is really valuable. 
2. Rare: Not as Rare as there are several locations for beach goers. 
3. Inimitable: Yes as long as a beach is near. 
4. Non-Substitutable: Somewhat substitutable as it can target other similar locations.
9. Strong Instagram and Facebook Presence- 
1. Valuable: This is really important as people who are going to the beach will constantly be updating their social media. 
2. Rare: Not as rare.
3. Inimitable: Yes 
4. Non-Substitutable: Not really, socially media is the best in outreaching to large groups of people. 
10. Good Customer Service- 
1. Valuable: Somewhat important as my device is going to be cheap so people may choose to just purchase the same product again after a few months, but needs to be present for people who got broken products at the very . 
2. Rare: No
3. Inimitable: Yes 
4. Non-Substitutable: No Customer service cannot really be replaced. 

After looking through the list, I have decided that the most important trait would have to be the experience in software that comes with my company. This can be a very costly thing as it takes a lot of schooling to do this and is really important to the product that is being made. A lot of the other 9 items can be imitated or are not as expensive.