Week 15 Reading Reflection

This week, the reading discussed how businesses among the extremely poor were not like the rest of the businesses in the world.  The most surprising thing to me was the shocking story of how SKS Microfinance was ostracized and even physically attacked.  The people in power spread rumors about the company, and that led to the locals attacking the company.  Nothing was particularly confusing to me in this reading.  Originally, I struggled to understand exactly what a microloan was.  However, after re-reading it, the answer was clearer, and I understood it.  If I could ask the author anything, it would be what his biggest risk was.  He shared many risks and several frightening circumstances.  I would love to know what he would classify as his biggest risk.  Also, I would ask what the best moment was for him.  Where did this whole idea really click for him?  The company makes a huge difference in so many people's lives.  That idea is a novel one to me, and I really enjoyed hearing about it.  I didn't disagree with the author on anything this week.

Final Reflection

As I sit here and reminisce about this semester, it is crazy to me how fast it has been.  It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I was setting up a camera and repeating a few words I didn't understand about being an entrepreneur.  There have definitely been some highs and lows throughout the semester.  However, I do feel much more prepared and equipped with an entrepreneurial mindset.  The most formative experience for me was actually a series of experiences: the interviews.  I learned how to do them better after each and every one, and I am definitely a lot more comfortable with them.  The assignment I look back at with the most pride was the most awkward experience for me this semester: trying to give people money.  Normally, I would think that asking people for money would be more awkward.  However, this assignment taught me that trying to give people free money can be nerve-racking as well.  If I were to give one piece of advice for future students, it would be to write down every assignment on a calendar at the beginning of the semester.  Doing that really helped me stay on top of the projects as the due dates approached.  It really helped me settle into a routine, and it was a big difference maker for me throughout the semester.  Finally, while it is important to take these assignments seriously, it's ok to have some fun with them.  I genuinely enjoyed this class.  I very rarely dreaded assignments.  Instead, I looked forward to the challenge and embraced it.  I feel that this class has made me better for it.  At the beginning of the semester, I was just saying words.  But now I truly believe that I am an entrepreneur.

"Boston Marathon Finish Line" by Steve Garfield.  https://flic.kr/p/6gdeDj

Venture Concept No. 2

This week, I revised my venture concept.  I made changes based on the comments presented, which were almost completely positive.  Here are some snippets of the comment section fro my first venture concept.  

"I think your idea is the most brilliant one yet! It is unique and inventive."

"I love your idea and would absolutely benefit from a durable, retractable charging cord. I cannot tell you how much money I have wasted on buying new cords and cubes for my phone to charge, all while they break so frequently."

"I love the concept of retractable cords so I very much like what you are proposing. Adding the element of a durable cord is icing on the cake."

"I like your idea, because I think long cables are super annoying. However, there are already retractable and durable phone chargers out there, what makes yours so different?"

The only criticism offered was that my product might not be unique.  I think that is definitely something that needs to be addressed.  I didn't change much in the opportunity and venture concept sections.  However, I did add a few things to the innovation section about setting my product apart.

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 braided 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.  Recently, I had to purchase a new charger cord.  My old one had gotten so worn down and frayed that the wiring was protruding from it.  I looked around for something like the product I am wanting to make.  However, I was unable to find anything.  The retractable chargers mainly had very thin, frail looking cords (even more so than the standard Apple one).  I ended up settling for a long, braided cord, and I am much happier with this cord than my previous one.  When making my product, 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 $18-20.  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.

"Tangled" by Jabiz Raisdana. https://flic.kr/p/aSZZU6

Elevator Pitch No. 4

This week, I made my final sales pitch.  As the comments continued to be positive, I didn't make any huge changes.  The only thing I added was a personal story about how I recently had to buy a new charger cord due to my old one fraying and breaking.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

This week, the reading was on the entrepreneurial mindset in organizations and social entrepreneurship

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading?  

The biggest surprise to me was all of the variables that were required for innovation to happen.  I had always thought someone just had an idea and made it happen.  We learned that you need to have a "champion" of the cause, top management support, and a willingness to tolerate failure.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I was a little confused on what a "diaspora" is.  I didn't quite understand how you determine what is and is not a diaspora.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask?

How do you draw the lines on a diaspora?  What is the most effective way to take advantage of such a group already in existence?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I did not come across anything that I disagreed with the author about this week.

Google Gold

This semester I practiced search engine optimization.  Some of the things I did included using similar phrasing, wording things in a consistent manner from post to post, and trying to use my keywords often.  This brings me to the subject of keywords.  Early in the semester, my keywords were: retractable, phone, and charger.  I added the word "durable" a few weeks later to help narrow the search.  I didn't do a particularly stellar job of using social media with my blog.  I don't use it very much myself, and I probably didn't put enough of an emphasis on it.  My most viral post was actually my "Half-way reflection" post.  I don't understand why it was, but it wasn't even a close race.  That post had over 6 times the number of views as my second most viewed post did (133 to 21).  Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the front page of Google.  In fact, I was unable to locate it on any of the pages unless I searched for "durable retractable phone charger" in quotes.

"Gold coins." by Anthony Joh.  https://flic.kr/p/27RBCn

Very Short Interview, Part 2

The end of the semester is rapidly approaching.  I revisited the entrepreneur that I interviewed at the beginning of the semester, Robert Minchin.  The first time I interviewed him, I had no idea what to expect from this semester.  I didn't realize just how often I would be thrust out of my comfort zone by assignments.  Now that I've done those tough tasks, I have a better understanding of what being an entrepreneur actually means.  Mr. Minchin is incredibly busy preparing for law school and editing full time, so we communicated via email again.  Here are the questions I asked and his response.

1.  Throughout this semester, I have repeatedly had to interview people about my product ideas.  How would something like this have prepared you for your entrepreneurial endeavors?

"When I was working with the start-up, we had to approach potential donors and ask them to invest in our product.  But more important than that was getting them to invest in us as entrepreneurs.  If people don't see the fire in your eyes and a passion for what you're doing, they won't buy in.  Doing projects like that can only help give you perspective on what it is like to do that with money on the line."

2.  My most recent assignment was a celebration of failure.  How has failure helped shape your career?

"I started out by getting my engineering degree at UF.  About 2/3 of the way through, I decided that wasn't what I really wanted to do.  However, you don't just throw away several years of hard work and study, so I finished my degree.  I didn't fail in the typical sense.  I just didn't land where I was expecting to after several years.  Next, I got my MBA from Harvard.  That was moving more towards the direction I wanted, but I still wasn't quite there.  This fall, I will be beginning law school at George Mason in DC.  This is exactly where I want to be.  I will be surrounded by an environment I love and a job I want to do.  it just took me a few tries to get there."

3.  What advice would you give to an 18 year old you?

"Don't be afraid to try new things.  I had my sights so set on engineering that I didn't branch out as much as I could have back then.  I would just liked to have tried a few more things back then when I wasn't as busy."

I felt more prepared for this interview than the last.  After all, I have done a few interviews between then and now.  I was encouraged by his advice to "try new things."  I think that is something we can all take to heart and benefit from.  ENT 3003 has forced me to do new things, and I will do my best to continue trying new things outside of this class.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

This week's reading was on valuation of entrepreneurial ventures.  The biggest surprise to me about the reading was in regards to the control factor.  Shareholders in many companies can be the swing votes in big decisions regarding the company's future.  I guess I had never really thought of stock in that way before.  I had only looked at it in regards to its value increasing or decreasing.  But when you purchase stock, you are actually buying a small portion of the company.  The only part that confused me a bit was the math section.  I got  bit lost in the adjusted tangible book value and price/earnings ratio.  Other than that, it seemed pretty straightforward to me.  If I could ask the author something, I would go a different route.  I would ask him about stock, and what he looks for when making stock purchasing decisions.  I would also ask what are the biggest red flags to look for.  There was not anything in this week's reading that I particularly disagreed with.

Celebrating Failure

This week's post is a celebration of failure.  The example I have chosen to examine is from this semester.  However, it is from a different class.  There is a group project in my international business class, and it lasts the length of the semester.  We had 3 practice rounds at the beginning of the semester.  My team and I felt very confident going into the first practice round.  We had our product's specifications and finances completely figured out... Or so we thought.  After the results were published, we found ourselves in dead last, and it wasn't even close.  From that last place start, I learned not to get too overconfident.  My team made lots of adjustments, and when the real round rolled around, we did much better!  Personally, I hate failure.  I think that I hate losing more than I enjoy winning.  However, I am trying to get better at taking my failures and learning from them.  Failure can actually be an incredibly useful tool.  But you have to approach it with the proper mindset of bettering yourself.  Otherwise, failure can eat you alive and bring you down.  This class has taught me not to be afraid of failure.  There have been many assignments that I really did not want to do.  I felt uncomfortable doing them, and I almost just wanted to skip it and move on.  However, I pushed myself to do everything, and I think I am better for it.

Fail Early, Fail Fast, Fail Often.  by Aaron Davis.  https://flic.kr/p/r4Y3pr

My Exit Strategy

"Joining to jump: Force Recon Marines perform parachute training with SEALs, pararescuemen" by DVIDSHUB.  https://flic.kr/p/9d3QYt

As entrepreneurs, it is good for us to have a solid exit strategy.  For the Navy SEALs pictured above, their strategy was simple: jump.  Mine is relatively simple as well.  It is a plan that I have actually been saying since the very first elevator pitch video, and I see no reason to change course now.  My plan is to make a solid product, then sell the rights to it to a larger company.  I would preferably keep some stock in the company or a royalty agreement.  But if a good enough deal can be agreed upon, I would sell the entire thing outright.  I selected this strategy because it is the most logical way to make money.  Make a product that does well, then sell it and invest the money into something new.  I don't think this particular exit strategy has influenced my decisions a great deal.  Since my goal when owning the product is also to make a profit, the decisions I made haven't really been altered by this plan.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

This week the reading was on strategic entrepreneurial growth.  The biggest surprise to me was the section about things that hinder strategic planning.  Although some of these are quite simple, they were still a tad surprising.  The list included things like lack of time, knowledge, expertise, skills, trust, and openness.  To me, these seemed like the things any aspiring entrepreneur would want to iron out in the very beginning stages of his or her endeavor.  It never ceases to amaze me how often a lack of planning will cause things to fail.  The entrepreneurial strategy matrix was a lad confusing to me.  It was difficult for me to differentiate between the high and low innovation and risk.  If I could ask the author questions, I would ask him about that.  How does he know how to label innovations and risks?  How often are these things mislabeled?  I would like to have those questions answered a little more clearly.  I didn't see anything that I thought the author was wrong about.  Other than being a little confused by the matrix, the chapter was clear and concise.

What's next?

This week was very forward focused. I had to interview people about 2 things: a new product and a new market to enter. As for what I think about the next step, I have already covered that in detail in the "Amazon whisperer" assignment. However, so we're all on the same page, I'll recap it again. I think the next step for my company is to manufacture retractable car chargers as well. With the overwhelmingly positive feedback about my current product idea of a durable, retractable charger, moving on to car chargers seems like a natural progression. When I thought about what additional market to target, I thought about car manufacturers. Since I want to make car chargers, I could approach the manufacturers and sell my product to them. If I was successful, they could make my product standard in their new cars, and I would collect a royalty. Here are the interviews where I asked 3 people about these ideas.

At first, I liked the idea of selling my product directly to the manufacturers. However, after conducting interviews, I have rethought that strategy. People who buy used cars wouldn't get my product. And it isn't enough of a selling point to make a difference. I believe I will be better off selling it directly to consumers.