Venture Concept No. 1

This week, I am writing my venture concept.  In this, I will be addressing three main areas: Opportunity, Innovation, and finally the venture concept.

Opportunity

The first area I am addressing is the opportunity I see and am trying to profit on.  In case you aren’t familiar with my product, for clarity’s sake I will go ahead and briefly describe it.  I am making a retractable phone charger that emphasizes a durable cable.  When I asked myself who has this need, the answer was quite simple: anyone with a cell phone.  You don’t have to do much research to know that is quite a large market, and therefore, a huge opportunity.  When I interviewed people about this idea, almost all of them said it was something that they would spend money on.  First, I just asked people about charger cord length.  That was something that an overwhelming majority of the people I talked to had an issue with.  However, the issue of cord durability kept coming up as well.  That was when I decided to focus on making a durable cord as well.  This brings us to the next segment.

Innovation

There are several products on the market currently that have certain characteristics of my product, but nothing that puts all the elements together like I will.  For example, I found a retractable car charger that was only $6.  However, people complained that it broke easily, sometimes never worked, had a very flimsy cord, and just did not seem like it was very well made.  I also found a company that sells durable, long iPhone charger cords.  They sell for about $18, and their reviews are fantastic.  They last a long time, the cord length is excellent, the design on the braded cords is flawless, and they seem to work very well.  However, this company does not offer any cords that are retractable.  With my product, I would like to take positives from both.  I want a charger that is retractable, but I do not want to sacrifice quality of the cord in order to do so.  I don’t know for sure what price I will set on it yet.  However, I think it could be very competitive with a price somewhere around $20.  Eventually, I would be happy licensing my product out to a larger company, but I want to do my own manufacturing and sales in the beginning. 

Venture Concept

The first part of the venture concept I want to talk about is resources.  There are many valuable resources at my company’s disposal.  I talked at length about these in the “secret sauce” blog post recently.  In my opinion, the most valuable resource or opportunity for me is the sheer size of the market.  There are so many people that have cell phones.  Not only that, but tablets, music players, and other devices need charging as well.  It is also a growing market as well.  For the first time, people are using mobile devices to search the internet more than computers.  As you can imagine, this drains battery quickly.  Our product offers a longer cord to make using your phone more convenient while it is charging.  When I look at the near future for this product, the obvious next step to me is to look into car chargers.  After that, we could look into other applications for our retractable technology.  As long as we can get a patent, we can put our technology on other things as well.  This brings me to asking what the next step is for me.  I would love to get a patent on the charger.  That would give me all kinds of options.  The one that pops out to me is actually selling my product to a larger company.  I could keep some equity in the company, have a royalty, or if the offer was good enough, sell the entire thing.  This would allow me to continue investing and growing new products and ideas.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

The topic of this week's reading was innovation.  I was surprised by the strategy that went into innovation.  When I think of something innovative, I usually don't think of people sitting down and planning how to be innovative.  I think of someone having a spontaneous idea that leads to innovation.  I was confused at first when I read about "routine innovation."  The author referred to it as "myopic or suicidal."  That was a bit surprising, as I didn't realize that some forms of innovation could be bad.  I would like to ask the author how to clearly differentiate between routine innovation and radical.  I would also ask him how he personally plans to avoid being routine.  I felt like Gary Pisano gave a very detailed, thorough analysis of  innovation, and there wasn't anything I particularly disagreed with.

Amazon Whisperer

This week, I will briefly examine what I think the main selling points of my product are.  Then I will try to determine what is next for my company.  The support for my product idea has been overwhelmingly positive.  People love the idea of a retractable phone charger, and almost everyone seems to have issues with cord durability.  The combination of durability and retractability should make my product a winner.

When I think about what the next step should be, there is an obvious choice: car chargers.  In fact, a few of the people that I interviewed several weeks ago mentioned that they would be interested in that as well.  I went to amazon to find a product like this.  The one I found is made by EpicDealz.  It is incredibly affordable, but it has some mixed reviews.  Many people said that they loved it, and it really made their lives easier.  They loved the price (only $6) and that it avoided tangled cords and a mess.  However, some people had problems with it. Several people reported that they simply couldn't get it to work.  While others said that they cord seemed very flimsy and breakable.  Here is a picture of the charger.

I like the design just fine, but I would make a few changes.  The main thing that would have to be different is durability.  That is going to be one of the main selling points of my products, so I can't afford to have people complaining about the frailty of the cord.  I think a car charger line makes a lot of sense for my company.  It seems like an easy way to expand our brand without having to differentiate production and branding too much.

My Unfair Advantage

This week, I am putting together a list of all of my "resources."  Then I will pick the one I currently deem to be the most valuable.

1.  No debt.  I don't currently have oodles of cash to throw at this product, but I currently am not in debt.  That is a huge asset while starting up a product or company as many people have student, credit card, or mortgage debt.
2.  Leadership.  When I asked the people closest to me what my biggest human capital was, they said that I was a good leader.  I feel like this is a rare trait.  Many companies fail for lack of good planning and leadership.  I am by no means completely ready to run a business, but I feel like I could do a good job managing people.
3.  Making people comfortable.  Another strength listed by my friends and family was the ability to make people feel comfortable.  That can be very big if I am in a position of leadership.
4.  Supportive friends and family.  My family and closest friends are very supportive and encouraging.  If I was to start up an entrepreneurial endeavor, they would jump all over any opportunity to help.  This is not incredibly common, and I do not take my strong family relationships for granted.
5.  A strong product idea.  Of the people I have interviewed, almost everyone was strongly in favor of my product idea.  That is something that can be very hard to replicate, and it can make a product very successful.
6.  Technology knowledge. While I wouldn't say that I am "technologically brilliant" like some of my friends, I have a very good understanding of how to use technology and social media.  I am sure this will come in very handy for my down the road.
7.  Friends with entrepreneurial experience.  Throughout this semester, I have mentioned people I know who are entrepreneurs.  The one that sticks out to me the most is Maple Street Biscuit Company.  Knowing people who have that first-hand knowledge and experience is very valuable!  An not everyone has the luxury of being able to ask their friends about those kind of experiences.
8.  Tenaciousness.  Another one of my strengths (according to my friends and family) was my competitive spirit and ability to get things done.  Not everyone has a fiercely competitive spirit, and I can certainly use that to my advantage.
9.  Humor.  This is a tool I can use the break the ice.  It ties in with my ability to make people feel more comfortable.  This can have immense value in an entrepreneurial environment.
10.  Huge market.  There are so many people that use chargers.  Cell phone chargers, computer chargers, chargers for their car, etc...  The growth potential for this product is massive.  This is a huge opportunity for a product like this, and I hope to be able to use that to my advantage.  

All of these are very important, however, I would say that the large market is my top resource.  I could have the other 9 resources, but if there isn't a market for my product, I can't succeed.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

This week, the reading was about being financially prepared before embarking on an entrepreneurial venture.  The thing that surprised me the most was how much the entire chapter was just a reflection of accounting classes I've taken in the past.  We covered the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and operating budget.  All of these were chapters in my accounting books.  I was also mildly surprised at how much of that class came back to me after reading this chapter.  The thing that I found confusing was the plethora of financial ratios.  There were over a dozen listed, and they all felt very similar.  If I could ask the author questions, I would ask him how much he uses the ratios in real life and if there was an easier way to use them when calculating finances.  I don't think the author was wrong about anything in this chapter.  He is way more knowledgeable than I in this subject matter.  This was a very informative, but mildly overwhelming chapter.  Still, I felt like I was able to learn a lot from it.

Growing My Social Capital

This week I had to contact 3 experts in the field in which my product is located.  Below is information about each of the "experts" and what they had to offer me.  I found all of the companies I contacted the same way.  I looked online for companies who focused a large part of their business on selling phone chargers.  Then I emailed them, and I asked them what they thought about my idea and if they had anything similar.

1. Charge Cords

Charge Cords is a company that specializes in durable, long-lasting electronics.  Specifically, chargers.  They fill the role of "domain expert."  That is, someone who is engaged in the same type of activity I'd like to be.  They cater to a niche market, those wanting longer, more durable charger cords. Charge cords does not carry retractable cords.  All of their cords are 5 feet in length, and they are made from the original Apple cables.  They just add two feet of length and wrap it in a protective casing.  They like my idea, even though they don't carry anything similar.  I learned about their process and that it's definitely possible to make my product.

2.  Anker

Anker is a little bit more diverse than Charge Cords.  They not only carry cords, but they also sell things like: portable, car, and USB chargers, audio cables, speakers, and headphones.  They are my market expert.  I emailed them, and they too liked the idea of my product, but weren't aware of the specifics needed to manufacture it.  There are lots of things that go into making a product.  They aren't sure what exactly I would need to involve to be competitive, but they agreed that quality and durability were very important.

3.  Recoil Winders

Since 2012, Recoil Winders have been helping solve the problem that I identified.  They created a product that helps keep cords untangled.  It can be used for charger cords, headphones, and USB cords.  They like my idea, but they prefer their method of having a product one can use for multiple different cords.  They did agree that some cords (like iPhone cables) can still fray and break over time, but that is attributed to the poor quality of the cable, not their product.  In order for me to have success, they said my cable would have to be of very good quality, not just retract.

This assignment really pushed me to research and reach out to people I normally wouldn't have.  I feel like it helped me grow, and it showed me that sometimes you really do just have to ask for someone's help.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

The feedback I received from round two of this assignment was very positive.  Therefore, I did not change very much.  I tried to keep it as similar to the previous video as possible while polishing it up slightly.  Here is the video.  I hope you enjoy.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

This week's reading focused on marketing challenges that entrepreneurs will face.  The biggest surprise in the reading was that on of the biggest inhibitors to marketing research is irrelevancy.  In other words, the researchers can potentially spend a lot of time collecting data that is completely unhelpful and irrelevant to them.  The only thing that was a little confusing this week was all the different pricing models.  Things like subscription, "freemium," affiliate, virtual goods, and advertising models were all covered.  I was a bit unsure about when it would be most advantageous to use which one.  That is what I would have asked the author. How do you know which model gives your particular endeavor the greatest chance of success?  Which model or models would he say is most prevalent?  I thought this week's chapter was pretty straightforward, and I didn't have anything I particularly disagreed about.

My Secret Sauce

This week, I have a very introspective assignment.  I had to come up with a list of characteristics about myself that set me apart.  Here is my top 5:

1.  I work well with others.  By this, I don't mean that avoid fights.  Instead, I mean that I am very good at making others feel welcome and comfortable in an otherwise uncomfortable situation.

2.  I have a good sense of humor.  At least, I think so anyway.

3.  I don't take "no" for an answer.  This is both a positive and negative attribute, depending on the day and situation.

4.  I have a good memory, especially for facts and statistics.

5.  I am a good leader.  I am able to take control of a situation and help get things going in the right direction.

Next, I interviewed the five people closest to me and asked them their thoughts on the matter.  The people that I interviewed are, in this order: My grandmother (whom I am currently living with), my mom, my dad, my girlfriend, and my sister.  I had to do the last 4 interviews over the phone.  As a result, I didn't want to make a video just looking at a phone, and I didn't want to film myself talking on the phone.  So I made all those interviews just have a black screen.  Here are the interviews:

I think that I saw myself pretty much the same as the people I interviewed.  Most of them at least mentioned that I help others feel comfortable.  To me, that is the attribute that stood out the most, so I'm glad they all saw that as well.  I would not change my original list, as I think that I fairly assessed myself.

Idea Napkin No. 2

This week, I am making some changes to my first "idea napkin."  I will be making changes based on the feedback I received.  Some of the sections will be identical to my first attempt.  For example, the feedback I received won't change anything about me, so that section will remain largely unchanged.


First, I will look at myself.  I am a junior in college, and I don't have any experience starting a business.  However, I have had some previous exposure to startups that succeeded, and a few that didn't.  I can take things away from both of those by learning what to do and what to avoid.  One of my strengths is working with people.  That has always been a passion of mine.  From competing in high school forensics, working with elementary age students, and teaching high school debate, I have always enjoyed being around people.  This particular business endeavor I would see being a large part of my life, while still allowing me to have a full time job to provide for my family.


Next, I will briefly examine the product.  I am considering a retractable phone charger.  Think of a mechanism similar to that in a measuring tape.  You can extend it for quite a ways, then lock it once you have enough length in the cable.  Something that people really wanted to see in this product is durability.  Almost everyone seemed to have issues with their cords fraying and breaking.  I want to make sure that my product is very durable and long-lasting.


For the target market, I would be offering it to anyone with a cell phone.  I would probably start with an apple charger, but I would quickly put other chargers on the market as well.


So why would customers care about this product?  Of the 10 people I have interviewed so far, 9 have said they would be willing to pay for longer cord length when they purchase their phone.  I know several people that have bought a longer cord, and they all love it.  However, most of them complain that the extra length gets cumbersome from time to time and can be in the way.  This is what would set my product apart from others: you would be able to adjust the length as you need it.  Sometimes, you only need a foot or two to charge your phone.  Other times, it would be very convenient to have 5 feet of cable.  This product would give my customers the best of both worlds.  In addition to that, I will be making a durable cord as well.  That is a big concern for many people, so this product will help people fix a need. 


The challenge we would have is demonstrating our product.  People will know if their charger is inconvenient or bothersome.  However, the challenge we will have is showing people how our product works.  I believe that if people saw it, they would be very excited about it, and the product would succeed.  However, it would take some creative marketing to get the word out.  Overall, I believe there is good potential in the product, but it would take time and a lot of effort to make it work.


These are the main things that people left in the comments of the first "idea napkin" I wrote:


1.  They had issues with cord length.
2.  They love the idea of a retractable cord.
3.  Cords tend to fray and break.
4.  They would consider buying a product like it.
5.  Making the cord longer AND stronger would be ideal.