Venture Concept 2

1. I think that I will stick with my initial idea of a voice activated remote that connects all aspects of the entertainment center together (goodbye multiple remotes/controllers)! I will make this product amazing but I think that once it takes off I will sell the technology and/or partner with a giant company so they will not end up pushing me out of the market. In return, I will also gain access to a huge pool of new customers and profits.


2. The feedback I received was all over the place in terms of the different questions I posed in my initial venture concept. One person agreed that the possible senior citizen demographic would love my product, one said I should join forces with Amazon and create an Alexa that can incorporate my idea and let them do all the work (genius), and another said selling to businesses would be ideal. One pointer was to expand into multiple products to build a brand so the company stays relative.


3. The feedback that I used to alter my venture concept was that of partnering with a bigger company. While the exact advice was to create a custom API and sell it to Amazon and the Alexa product I would instead partner and work together with them (hopefully).

Final Reflection

2) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

My most formative experience would have to be all the interview assignments. I am not afraid of talking to people as I interact with hundreds of people a day at work but asking them about MY own idea was vulnerable and scary. I also think this was the experience I was most proud of myself for accomplishing. For some of them I spoke to people I already knew or was associated with but that can be even scarier because I will have to see them again where as a stranger can think my idea is dumb but I'll never see them again!

3) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I don't see myself there yet but I do understand the mindset necessary. I think I still have some work to do in the identifying a problem area which is the basis of the process. Besides that part I think I have got it down!

4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

I would say to leave their strict study tactics behind and think outside the box for this class. One needs to dive into their creativity but also think in a way that's different than memorizing definitions or understanding theories. Also, don't be fooled by it seeming like an "easy class." The assignments will push you and may take a while to complete so work ahead!

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?


I think that within 5 years, IF my imaginary business was large enough, I would sell it and move onto something new. I can't say for sure that is what I would do, however, I tend to get attached to things but I also like new challenges and adventures. My product was also technology related so therefore I think within a certain time frame it would be bombarded by better versions of itself so if I were not able to keep growing it would become obsolete.


2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?


I choose to sell and move onto another venture because if/when the product becomes out of date and customers move onto newer things, I will already be out and will not feel the down fall personally.


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?


I don't think it has influenced my growth intentions or how to acquire and use resources. I will have given this product my all whether I was going to stay with the company for its life time or leave it after it becomes successful. I give everything I do 100% and it does not matter if it's short term or long term!

Reading Reflection 3

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

This book was about why talent and intelligence don't necessarily bring success. It is more based on, surprise, your mindset! I found this book similar to the one in my last reading reflection, "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win."

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

I think mindset is an important lesson for anyone but it definitely connects to the class in the sense that entrepreneurs are going to fail a lot and they must realize that determination and resourcefulness is key. This is a mindset one must put themselves in or else they will be discouraged and continue to fail or give up.

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

I think that the exercise I would create would involve role playing stressful situations. I do this with my managers and they role play in groups and deliberately try to fluster the other person. This teaches them to control their emotions (and their mindsets) and stay positive and focused on the end game and solving the conflict.

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?

I was pretty surprised to read that praising someone for their intelligence or specific talents actually does not increase self-esteem. I always assumed this was the case but it is merely on a surface level and does not increase long lasting self-esteem. In return, this actually destroys it in most cases. Learning/teaching a growth mindset is more valuable than praising current ability.

Celebrating Failure

This topic is easy for me because I am currently the store manager of a restaurant. As a manager, especially one higher up the line, we are taught (and forced) to accept, learn from and eventually celebrate our failures. The reason being is that failure teaches us lessons and how, hopefully, not to repeat our mistakes.

One thing I have failed at big this semester is my time management. This is vague so I will speak about it in regards to having important one on one conversations with my managers/employees. There were a couple times when I knew there was some drama or something going on that was hindering the store from operating at optimal performance. I naively tried to let things play out hoping that these people or issues would turn themselves around. It became clear quite quickly that this was not the case. I have had small issues turn into big ones in the blink of an eye. I learned that I need to nip things in the butt immediately so that they do not grow into habits and then problems.

For example, my store is 24 hours. The overnight employees are constantly late and/or call out of work for unacceptable reasons and I neglected to take matters into my own hands and instead let the overnight mangers deal with the situation. Well, they were afraid of losing people because no one wants to work overnights right now and so nothing was done at all to reprimand said employees. Fast forward a couple months later and we are having major staffing issues on the overnights and have had to close the restaurant a couple times because I was sleeping and did not answer my phone to solve the problem for them.

However, I am now not afraid to reprimand overnight employees and those managers and stopping this culture that has risen right before my eyes. I now see how minor allowances turn into problems. I have suspended one employee and two mangers for not following protocol about these situations and so far it seems everyone is now taking me seriously and realizing what is expected of them. I have several new hires starting in the next three weeks and I am determined to set a good example and retain them this time!

What's Next?

Existing Market.

Step 1: What I think is next in my venture regarding more products are many voice activated items throughout the home. These will, however, not involve complicated apps. They will just work on command and not require syncing of different systems.

Step 2: Many said that they didn't think a product like this was possible, or that they were not comfortable with the artificial intelligence behind the products that would come following mine. They thought that I should focus on safety and security regarding personal information which I had not thought of previously.

Step 3: First, I would have to take the safety and security concerns as priority. Making sure personal information is safe is key to gaining customer trust and loyalty.


New Market.

To change this to a B2B concept, I actually do not think it would be too hard. Just finding the right concept for it would be the challenge. People at work are, or should be, always busy and constantly multitasking. How awesome would it be to have voice activated equipment at work to take some of that challenge off of you?

Making it universal to each individual business would be what to focus on. What is it that each business has in common? Is it the staff side of things that would need the technology (office workers,etc)?

What I learned is that, we as people are always busy and looking for ways to make our lives easier, at home and in general. I think that I did not realize this concept could go outside of the home. While, of course it COULD, would people use it? Many of the new people I interviewed actually said they would prefer it at work over the household because they want to focus on their families more. This also depended on the age group I spoke to. This new market is definitely as attractive, maybe not more, but not less as well.

Venture Concept

Opportunity:
The opportunity that my venture is based off of, is basically the need for having free hands or the need to be able to multitask. There are several groups that fit the need. This includes: the technology savvy, parents with young children, the disabled and/or the elderly.

Then changes in the environment that create this opportunity is the fact that people’s lives are constantly getting busier and busier. We are expected to work more and/or later and always be able to be in contact with the outside world from our homes. The potential customers are those who need to keep children occupied while they get work done and/or cook dinner, whether it be at the same time or not, or maybe those who cannot easily move around as well as they used to.

Geographically I think this is a big city type of a product. While anyone can find it useful, it will do best in places where the majority of people will want it not just a few here or there. Demographically, I believe the younger/middle aged group will realistically want it more. While I personally can see a use for it for the elderly generation, it is technology and it tends to gear more towards the younger crowd.

Currently, customers are satisfying this need with universal remotes. However, voice activation will increase their ease of living because even without the remote (what if the dog eats it) they will still be able to access all of their equipment they want. Many people I have spoken to have never even thought of a voice activated TV system, despite the recent increase in “assistant” technology.

I believe this is a fairly big opportunity. I would personally want it with how often I find myself running around the house cleaning or doing homework and then I cannot find the remote.

I think the window of opportunity is fairly small to break into this market. The release of my product would have to move fast.


Innovation:

I do not see my product as radically innovative, I think it definitely plays off of other technology out there right now however, many other products do as well. Whether they last a long time is another story. My product is a voice activated remote that controls the TV and all inputs that may be associated with it. All too often I get frustrated with the 3 different remotes and 2 console controllers laying around that each control a different aspect of the entertainment center. Why isn’t this easier by now? My product will solve that. It will work as an assistant does, picture an Alexa or the Google Assistant. There will be a key word or phrase to “wake it up” and it will be able to control all devices connected to one’s television in the home. I do not see this product being expensive, as the technology is already out there in other ways. I will make money by selling the remote as many ways as I can. First, with a website then trying to get into brick and mortar stores and electronic stores. Commercials and a good marketing team will be key. Obviously, Amazon is the hot spot right now so trying to get on there would be ideal but fighting price point will be tough. I think that somewhere around 40-50 dollars sounds suitable. Depending on how much cost per unit actually turns out to be.

Venture Concept:
This concept solves the problem by allowing people to control their devices via their voice which in
return, frees up their hands. This may sound silly to some but to others it is priceless. I believe
certain people will eat this up immediately while others will be skeptical and will take a while
with proof that it works and is valuable for them to participate.

The competitors are definitely the ones out there who already possess this technology in their own
ways who are giant companies with many followers. Once they develop their own version my
product is sure to disappear.

Packaging and price point will be vital, I’m sure. We are all human and are drawn to attractive packaging and a “valuable” price point. Trying to find that price point will be tricky, as for any venture. Also, I have never organized a business before so creating that hierarchy and finding the right people for each job role will be a new experience. I do, however, have experience in running a restaurant and I hire people in that aspect so I just have to figure out how to translate my knowledge into the business side of things.

The three minor elements

I think that my most important resource will be my ability to network and make connections. I am pretty resourceful at getting things done through others as well. I believe this comes from all my years of management experience.

If this product were to work how I envision it, and become successful as well, I think that I would follow this line of technology into other areas of daily life. I'm sure that other giant companies are also doing so as well though.

If this venture were to launch, I would want to be working closely with my employees to make sure that things are running to optimum efficiency so we can expand. Then I would want to venture out even more and create new concepts. My main goal in life is growth and I never want to stop growing!

Unfair Advantage

Resources:
1. Knowledge of the technology
2. Knowledge about the audience
3. Social relationships with people good with technology related things
4. Networking skills
5. Business relationships with people high in companies
6. Research skills
7. Determination
8. Bargaining/negotiating skills
9. Current employees who would follow me to help
10. Support system I have surrounded myself with




VRIN
I think my top resource would be my set of current employees. We are basically a family and have worked together for years. They would do anything to help me, in a personal matter, but also appreciate my bossing style and have told me before they want to follow me wherever I go. I take this for granted sometimes but this definitely valuable, rare, inimitable AND non-substitutable.

Elevator Pitch 3

Http://www.youtube.com/lrcooper6

For this pitch I decided to use my laptop to record myself and stand in a different room. I perched the computer up on the counter and used the kitchen as my background to really play into the idea of my product and it's use! I designed it for people who often find their hands full with too much going on! The kitchen is where I envisioned my commercial (one day)! 

I still think I sound a little awkward but definitely better than before. My tone is more smooth and less choppy but I will always think I sound awkward! 

Reading Reflection 2

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

The argument for the book was that you do not have to have a passion or any major skills to be successful. If you manage your life/time correctly you can beat the system.

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

I think this connects with the class in the way of being resourceful. One does not have to be super intelligent or very good at creating things to be successful. If you are resourceful with your time and energy and do things such as "match the task to your mental state" the outcomes will surprise you!

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

I would definitely design something to match with him claiming that being creative in the morning is the best course of action. Leave mundane tasks towards the end of the day and be creative early on. I would create some sort of group activity that was done early in the day and involved working together to create a story or an invention or something along those lines!

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?

I really enjoyed when he stated, "you shouldn’t hesitate to modify your perceptions to whatever makes you happy, because you’re probably wrong about the underlying nature of reality anyway." This hit home for me and I'm sure everyone who read the book. It is so easy to get caught up in the negative aspects of day to day life but we can just alter our thinking slightly and be happy.

Social Capital

1) Person one: my supervisor

None of these people may be directly related to my product, however, they have all been in the customer service industry for YEARS and I have learned all I need to know from them! My supervisor is someone who has been doing this since she was 16, which dates back to almost 20 years! Her advice and on directly dealing with consumers and customers is vital.

Person two: As much as I respect my supervisor, my boss is who I have the most respect for. I know his background and his struggle, and he has given me chances no one else has to grow as a top manager and make decisions on my own! He is a top owner/operator in the Florida co-op of McDonald's which is hard to do based on the politics!

Person three: my HR representative which is my boss' wife but also my boss because we all know women run the show! Just kidding, but really she is my boss on the people aspect of things. Her degree is in human relations and I respect her tremendously!


2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

With my supervisor I am filling the domain expert. She works the position on a day to day aspect and knows it like the back of her hand.

With my boss I am filling the market expert. He literally knows the business and numbers of day to day and long term operations like no one I've ever met in my life!

With my HR rep I would say in a way she is a supplier! She provides me the tools I need to staff my restaurant and supply me with the people necessary!


3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

Luckily, I already knew all of these people. However, getting them to answer my questions was quite different. No one has "the time" to answer silly questions from a college student unless you tell them how awesome they are first!


4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? There was no favor done in either way! I work for all of these people and in return they just wanted to help me in my student journey!


5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity? Clearly knowing people in my field will help me in the long run!

Idea Napkin 2

1) After the first time exploring my "talents" and then revisiting based upon my feedback and my business concept, I still think that my social aspects are valuable. However, I feel that my sales pitch aspect needs to improve! Most people did say that I was personable and able to connect with others though so that is a positive step.

2) What are you offering to customers? What I'm offering to customers is a device to make their lives easier. We have all heard of Siri or Google's Assistant or Alexa, but can they help us with watching TV or shows/movies? No. This is the product I'm offering to consumers and busy parents who just need their children to sit down and be quiet for a minute or two!

3) Who are you offering it to? As I began to speak about before, my main focus is on families. Specifically, those with younger children who need the help distracting them while they cook dinner or get stuff ready for the day ahead.

4) Why do they care? They care because it will make their lives easier!

5) What are your core competencies? What sets me apart is the genuine care for busy parents and the understanding I have for them. I know what it is like to have my hands full and want to make everyone's lives easier!

Elevator Pitch 2

So I accidentally missed the deadline on the first elevator pitch so here is my first attempt! I did, however, watch a few and read the feedback given on those. I am not a natural born sales person so I'm sure I look pretty awkward in the video but I tried! I know that the main thing was to not sit at the computer and record yourself so I tried to position my computer to get a good angle of me standing and move around a little bit but it is hard with a small range of view!

http://www.youtube.com/lrcooper6

Customer Avatar

What kind of hobbies does your customer have?
-My customer enjoys finding a TV show and/or movie their child will watch and hopefully sit down quietly for a few minutes. When they find spare time they also enjoy riding bikes with the kids to be active but still have not lost the baby weight (the husband included). When mom gets a free second she goes to yoga and the husband drinks a craft beer.


What kind of car do they tend to drive? (What color is it?)
-They drive a silver 2016 Honda Odyssey that is slightly faded on the outside and needs to be vacuumed but in overall good shape. It has built in DVD players.


What TV shows do they watch? Do they have children? Are any of them adopted?
-They watch anything on Nickelodeon, Disney and PBS but also sneak in some Home related shows as well. They obviously have kids and always have their hands full.


What are their favorite books, and who are their favorite politicians? How old are they? How old do they feel?
-They don't remember what books are because they're too busy with the kids to read. They are in their late 20's or early 30's. They are confused on the politician stance because they grew up watching Trump on TV and think this is all going to be a big episode of "Punk'd."








What do you have in common with the customer avatar?
-Besides the fact that they have human children instead of animal children, I think I actually have quite a bit in common with them. We have three dogs and 4 cats and between them, work and school I am constantly worrying about someone else and always busy. I find I often do not have time to enjoy the things I used to.


If you have anything in common with the avatar, do you think that is a coincidence? Why?
-I don't think it's a coincidence, the idea stemmed from my brain so I think it makes perfect sense that myself and my customer have quite a bit in common. I will need to learn to think outside of my own needs if I want to be an entrepreneur!

Know Thyself

My 5 ways of human capital:

1. I grew up an only child with a single mom. Cliche, I know, but I definitely feel that this enormously contributes to my work ethic and drive. I was taught how to be on my own at a young age but also to cherish and appreciate what I have and continuously strive for improvement.
2. I have several years of customer service experience making me quite skilled in dealing with all kinds of people, cultures, etc.
3. Along with the customer service experience, I have almost 6 years of regular management and upper management experience. I have had priceless training through my company's program in which I acquired the skills needed to excel in any organization.
4. I am 100% a people person. Where most managers may lead by intimidation, I choose to lead with the intent of respect. I get to know and want to understand my employees and build close relationships.
5. I consider myself intelligent, however, I have not taken the "expected" path in life or with school. I am 28 and just now starting a Bachelor's though I feel this attests to who I am as a person and that I never give up on something.


Interviews:

https://soundcloud.com/lisa-cooper-6/sam-interview

https://soundcloud.com/lisa-cooper-6/attach48308-20190301-194103-2-online-audio-convertercom-1



Differences:

I think that the way people see me is almost how I see myself. Obviously, there is going to be some sort of difference because they have a different perspective and you know your inner workings and your thoughts. I do think they are correct, I don't think anyone can be "wrong" about how they view another person, only lacking in knowledge of the inner workings of one's thoughts. It depends on how much you let that person in. I don't think I would change anything about my list. The things other people said add to it, but I feel it is accurate!

Buyer Behavior

I found this round of interviews much more surprising than I did any of the others. You hear about trends in shopping with the increased use of technology and we all know our personal buying behaviors so we are apt to think that everyone acts this way. However, I found this is not the case. While it is slightly skewed to the online side, many more people than I thought still shop in stores (brick and mortar).


What I found is that while yes, price matters, the people that I spoke with were more concerned about the reputation and feedback of the product. They were more than willing to pay a little more, ONLY if the product had better reviews and was proven to last longer. Style was a close segment for my segment with price coming last. I am an avid Amazon shopper, and while I agree that quality matters I tend to sometimes sacrifice that for a cheaper price due to being on a budget.


While I expected everyone to say they shopped online, I got a lot of responses saying they did a little research on the internet but ultimately chose/prefer to shop in person. They want to be able to physically see and hold what they plan to purchase.


Post purchase, they seem to contemplate first whether it works as expected and then secondly, whether they enjoy it as much as they thought before they bought it. I think this is fairly standard for everyone but many might judge the style aspect upon first sight.


I think, overall, when evaluating alternative choices, people are more drawn to quality/customer feedback then almost equally, but slightly less, to price. While we are definitely in a time of people being below middle-class lines, if they are going to spend money on something they want it to be of quality and to last them a while. Of course there are exceptions to this and to every buying aspect but that is my perspective.

Halfway Reflection

1. Tenaciousness is a competency. The behaviors I have used in this course that I already possessed are the ability to self manage and determination. Without these two things, one definitely would not do well in this course especially because it is one where assignments aren't graded in the typical aspect. Planning your course load out and times to do your work are crucial. Also, due to the fact that things are not "graded" many people would not put much effort into them or fake them and I developed the behavior here not to do things of that nature and give it my all regardless!

2. Tenaciousness is also about attitude. A major moment where I felt like giving up was during the two or so assignments where we had to interview 5 people. I am a little shy when it comes to things like this so I was dreading it and I also work 50+ hours a week so I had to be creative about who would fit the needs but also who I could come in contact with. I was creative here and found time at work to speak with customers who I thought would qualify. I definitely developed tenaciousness during this course after failing to meet the deadline of an assignment because I put it off too long and did not have adequate time to do so. After that, I was determined to never let that happen again because I want to do well and learn all that I can!

3. Three tips I would offer are as follows:
     - Take other students' criticism constructively and not personally
     - Be vulnerable and willing to change your view/belief on something if necessary
     - Leave procrastination in the past and start assignments early

Reading Reflection

Grinding it Out: The Making of McDonald's

1. What surprised me the most about Ray Kroc was that McDonald's was not originally his. He basically manipulated the brothers into franchising and stole their name/created a brand.

I admire his ability to turn a one store business into a fast growing enterprise, which is definitely not easy to do. Especially back then when restaurants like this did not exist yet.

The thing I admired the least was his sneaky ways of business and how he manipulated the brothers into franchising and basically went against their wishes.

He definitely encountered diversity and failure but his confidence and belief in his product and his persistence eventually took him where he wanted to go.

2. The competencies Ray Kroc exhibited that I noticed while reading are definitely initiative, persistence, problem solving, creativity/innovation, and quality management. I'm sure there are others but these are the main things that stick out in my mind.

3.The part that confused me was how he manipulated the brothers into signing the rights over to franchising. I guess confused isn't the right word but I just don't understand how someone can be such a good talker that something like this would happen.

4. I would ask him how to stay so confident in an idea, even when it keeps failing or people are insisting that it will not work. I would also ask what the secret is to finding good people to help you along your journey.

5. I think his opinion of hard work was his job previous to "founding" McDonald's. He was a sales man for an equipment company, Prince Castle, that was starting to fall due to competition. There is not much harder than selling an already failing product. Then, he went from being a hard working sales man to creating an empire. The drastic change of career and the hours needed to put into something of that nature are the definition of hard work.

Buyer Behavior

For this assignment, I interviewed customers at work who I thought would fit the need based on what I observed. It took me a few tries to get three people who weren't "too busy" to speak with me for just a few minutes, but that kind of further proves my point about people these days being constantly busy which is partially what my product plays off of.

First, I spoke with a family that had three young children with them. I found out that all of them were under the age of four and the mom shared with me her troubles of getting them to sit still and/or keep them out of trouble at the same time. She and the father confessed that sometimes television is their go to while they are cooking dinner and/or cleaning the house etc. They thought the idea was a little silly at first but once I gave them the short version of my elevator pitch, they thought it was genius and said they would definitely be interested.

Second, I spoke with someone who fit my other demographic that I had in mind. I have a husband and wife who come into the store almost every day who are elderly. The husband also has a medical condition which limits his ability to walk safely. The wife has to hold him up and they walk side by side very slowly everywhere they go. They said that they do not watch much television, but if they did that this product would significantly increase the ease of their every day lives.

Third, I spoke with a group of younger kids, all in high school because I thought they were the age range who are obsessed with new technology. They basically laughed in my face and said my idea was "stupid." That's okay, I accept all feedback of course. It also showed me that I should not market to the younger/millennial demographic.

Idea Napkin

1. Who am I? That is a complicated question for most people. I am an extremely hardworking individual who is determined and at times stubborn. I believe this can help in the area of starting a new business/creating a product. I have years of customer service and management experience which are both a vital part of any enterprise. Do I see my idea actually becoming part of my life? Probably not, however, maybe in the future another venture could be.

2. What I am offering is a voice activated remote to control the TV and any accessories that one has connected to it.

3. Who I am offering it to is parents with very young children who always have their hands full and also those who find themselves having a hard time getting up and down when seated. These are two separate demographics but I feel that both of these sets of people would benefit.

4. These people would care and want this product because it would make their lives easier. Today more than ever, people are on the go constantly. Therefore, they are always looking for products that will help to simplify and create ease in their lives.

5. There are voice activated products out there already. For example, the "assistants" on cell phones and products such as Google Alexa. However, there is nothing that connects to someone's TV and the average person watches hours a day.

I definitely believe that all of these elements fit together, the idea is fairly rough but I stand behind it. Where I think I have some disconnect is the demographic. When creating a marketing campaign, a company must choose one route to follow and allow the people to decide if it works for them or not. I am stuck in between my two options of who my audience really should be.