Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

The resources that I possess, go as follows:
1. Great product that has not been done before and will not be repeated

2. Human Capital: Product developer skills
This is a valuable skill, but this human capital is not hard to acquire. 

3. Human Capital: market research analyst skills
Also a valuable skill, but still not hard to acquire.


4. Human Capital: extensive knowledge of the users of this product range 
It is valuable to understand your market, but this is common amongst entrepreneurs.


5. Social Capital: Niche-community with growth by word-of-mouth
Since pet owners are the market, pet store presence and word-of-mouth will be easy tools to grow this company.


6. Social Capital: Ambassadors that promote the product at stores and on social media platforms
This is a new marketing tools businesses that are social-media savvy have been using, it is easy to imitate. 


7. Social Capital: Partnerships with and support from organizations across the nation, such as Petsmart and Petco.
This is valuable and rare. Having these connections provide credibility to this company. 


8. Financial Capital: Funds raised by sponsors and investors (Pet treat enthusiasts).
This is not as rare to acquire, another company can easily obtain loans for financing.


9. Financial Capital: Funds granted through start-up business idea competitions.
This is a bit more challenging to acquire a normal competitor. 


10.Culture: Aspire to create a culture centered around pet treat enthusiasts, creating a special form of network.
This is a unique resource. Must work hard to align goals and actions to the vision we have created. 

Elevator Pitch No. 3

https://youtu.be/lLU469S4cQk

21A Reading Reflections Post 2

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

I chose to read "How to Fail at Everything and Still Win Big" by Scott Adams. The overall theme for the book was to always put yourself in front of everything. He wants to stress the idea that you need to take time for yourself and everything in your life that can affect your well-being.

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

This book relates to ENT3003 because it is all about self-improvement. It all about giving yourself the best chances in life.

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

 If I had to design an exercise for this class, I would make it about self-reflection. To look at yourself and make sure you are doing the best you can with everything in your life.

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?

"Passion about something does not mean success" This was an aha for me because it showed me that passion does not always go hand in hand with success like I was always taught.

Idea Napkin No.2

I am currently a senior at UF, about to get my bachelors degree in Business Administration. I also work part-time as a salesman at a local boat store. I have gained a lot of people skills and entrepreneurship skills while working there. When asked to create a business opportunity this seemed to come to me quite easily. I was able to use my personal experience to assist me in coming up with this idea.

The business opportunity I am offering to the consumer is a healthy alternative to treats for cats and dogs. This treat is no-calorie and fat-free, as opposed to the calorie ridden treats on the market today.

I am offering this product to all consumers with an overweight pet or a consumer would like to fit his pet as many treats as they would like without any consequences.

I believe consumers would like to have this product compared to the treats that are on the market now. Consumers will love to have this product because they would be able to feed as many treats as possible.

My product is set apart from other companies because there is nothing like it on the market. This will be the first absolutely no calorie treat on the market. This is a super grain that has just been discovered and I am the only one with the patent to use it.

I believe that all of these components can work well together. My entrepreneurship skills will help me take this product and market it correctly and effectively.

I believe the feedback that I have received on my first idea napkin has given me insight into what I can bring to the market.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

Elevator Pitch No.2

Create a Customer Avatar

My prototypical customer, I believe would be middle-aged men and women who have a moderate to an active lifestyle. They have hobbies that would include fitness or painting. They like to drive environmentally friendly vehicles that can run on electricity or eco-boosted engines. The cars would be red or light blue. They like to watch "The Office" on Netflix or home improvement shows. They might have one child or one on the way. They are less likely to be adopted. They have a close group of friends that they keep in touch with. They don't read a lot, but if they were to read it would be fan-fiction. They are typically neutral on politics and like to keep it personal.

I feel like I can relate to this prototypical customer in some ways. I like to keep up with my fitness and my shows on Netflix. I do enjoy the thought of eco-friendly cars as well.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

I decided to interview people at PetSmart who were either in the dog aisle or cat aisle. When in the dog aisle, I was able to talk to people about their buying behaviors. One interviewee based their buying off of price and not so much quality. They preferred online shopping more than in-store and always paid with a card. They think they sometimes receive a poor product compared to the higher end products because of the price of the treat. They stated that this was not always the case, though. The second dog owner was shopping for quality and price. Not afraid to spend a little more to get a better quality product, but did not want to go overboard. They prefer to shop in store so they are able to physically touch the product and examine. This customer preferred cash. They were likely to check online reviews before making a purchase to rid themselves of any poor choices. The third interviewee was in the cat aisle. This consumer was a bargain shopper and cared mostly about price. They did not have a preference for where they liked to shop more, either online or in-store. They mixed it up with cash and card and did not check many reviews before making purchases so sometimes would make a poor decision in their choice.

These interviews helped me get an idea of how I should base my marketing. When it's online I should make sure I have a great rating and no poor reviews. In-store should have easy to find and easy to read labels to draw peoples attention and inform them of the better choice.