Venture Concept #2

**Original Venture Write-Up** (Edit section at Bottom)

Venture Concept Write-Up

The opportunity for my idea of creating a dog-necessities subscription box service is relevant because nearly every dog owner in the United States can benefit from this service. The potential customers are those dog owners that seek to treat their dog in a way that can make them happy, while saving money, saving time, and ensuring their dogs are consuming the safest products. The nature of this need arises because people want to provide the best for their dogs but often do not know how to do this. The subscription services solves this need by doing that work for the subscriber. Also, as more people are getting more busy, they are looking for things that will save them time and a subscription service like this will ensure that dog owners do not have to waste time at retail dog stores. Finally, people are always looking to save money and because my subscription service will buy products in bulk quantities, the subscribers will be paying well below retail cost for the items they receive.

This market is defined geographically by country. An issue subscription services face is shipping costs, and that is why it would be difficult to compete with similar subscription services in far away countries because they have to pay more to get the products shipped to them. The United States has a great infrastructure set up and makes it cost-effective to ship items across the country. Demographically, there has been a larger shift to new pet owners being younger and younger. Many college students right now are beginning to get dogs and especially recent college graduates. This is a great demographic for the company because they are more receptive to new ideas like product subscriptions than older and more traditional consumers are. In addition, this will only apply to the demographics of those older than 18 because that is the age when people first start to get dogs, however, if children with families that have dogs see information about the service they may beg their parents to join the service.

Customers currently satisfy this need by going to retail stores to get products or by using other subscription services. From the people I have spoken with, the customers going to retail stores often feel unsure, intimidated, and confused about the items in the retail stores. These people often end up not getting the right products for their dogs and spend a lot of time and money doing this. The people that currently use do subscription services see it as a way to pamper their dogs and not a matter of convivence, piece of mind, and saving money. Typically, the users of these services see the boxes of a way to treat their dogs rather than the primary way to care for their dogs needs (other than providing food).

This opportunity is huge because there are so many new millennial dog owners and so many soon to be dog owners. Also, there are so many dog owners right now that are not using subscription services that could be greatly benefitting from them. If I am able to convince dog owners that our subscription service is the best way to care for their dogs then there are so many potential customers for the service. It is crucial that we explain that our abides by the fact that “you provide the food, and we will provide everything else your dog needs for the month to be happy”.

This window of opportunity should be open for a very long time because more and more people are getting dogs. Also, the service industry for products is beginning to explode with the use of digital marketing strategies on social media as a great way to acquire new customers. As long as consumer trends tend to move towards services, ecommerce, and more people continue to get dogs then this opportunity will be available for a very long time but it is crucial to enter now before the market gets too saturated.

The innovation aspect of this service is not that it is unique, but instead that the company will focus on educating customers the benefits and value of the service and explain how it can replace shopping for your dog. This service is uniquely aimed at being a replacement service for going to the store to buy treats for your dog and will not be advertised as a way to solely pamper your dog, although your dog will be pampered. The innovation lies in the approach to consumers and appealing to the benefits it will bring them to help them improve their lives and make their dogs happier.

This company will make money buy having customers subscribe monthly to the subscription service and paying a monthly fee. Fees will be lower each month based on if they sign up for longer plans. The company will also make money by offering the products that have been in pervious boxes online to be purchased in the future.

Customers will realize they should switch to this new product but it will be hard to educate them. Customers currently can go to Amazon to buy items for their dogs or even to retail stores. What the customers can realize, however, is that they often don’t spend the time to look after their dogs needs because they’re busy themselves and buy them no more than food. The subscription I propose will allow them to not have to think or worry about the items their dog needs each month.

Packaging and price point are huge for this company. The packaging should explain the simplicity and purpose of the items inside and be bright, vibrant, and recognizable colors to create an unique experience to come along with the box. Price point is important so customers can see the value of obtaining the box compared to retail and other subscription competitors.

The company’s most important resource will be feedback we get on the service. It is crucial to listen to what customers have to say about the box so we can understand how to deliver what dog owners need. Next for the venture would be to branch out into creating our own products to include in the boxes based on the customers wants and to make better margins and lower price points. In five years, I see this subscription being a success but also see a lot of competition entering the market and so it will be important to adapt to circumstances as they appear and be proactive rather than reactive. 

What I Learned

Billy's comment on my venture concept was great. He really liked the idea of my venture concept and told me to be well aware of feedback from users. That gave me the idea to keep the current model, but really incentivize a way for users to give great feedback on what they like, don't like, and improvements they want.

Final Reflection

1.) There have been some crazy moments this semester. Reading through the posts show how far my idea has come. I now know a new approach I want to take and target market. I am happy to have taken this class because I have great ideas of what I can do to be successful.

2.) The most formative was actually going out and doing interviews. This makes it seem real and that you actually have an idea because you are completing actions. These were also my favorite experiences because I love talking to others.

3.) I do think so yes. I think I developed this through the mindsets promoted in the class and also the books I have read relating to entrepreneurship. I still work to start doing more than thinking though.

4.) I recommend they take the class as seriously as possible because there is a lot of value if you actually do all the assignments when sometimes its easy not to put full effort into them. The assignments I really tried on gave me the most valuable experiences.

The Exit Strategy

I intend to let this business grow as long as possible and hold on to it as long as I enjoy working on it. I think it will be important to keep up with trends to keep the business alive and I will be focused on that fully with little time to think about selling. For me, entrepreneurship and starting a business is more about enjoying the process, working with people you like, having an awesome team, having a relatively flexible schedule, and not about selling for money...although money as an outcome of the business is a top goal.

I have selected the exit strategy of going with the business until I lose interest or get excited about a new venture because I'm focused on living a happy life and I believe following where my heart is at in terms of what I'm working on is the best way to do this.

I think this exit strategy influences all of the decisions I make in the venture because I know this is something I want to grow and work on for a very long time and I would be dedicated to overcoming challenges the business faces. This has influenced my overall goals for the business and is why I look to expand the business to other markets and ideas to diversify the business so it can continue to grow.

Reading Reflection #3

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

The general theme of “Cognitive Surplus” is that people spend so much time watching TV that they are missing out on hours to have a “Cognitive Surplus”. This “Cognitive Surplus” is the time people would otherwise have to collaborate, learn, or work on projects if they were not watching television. Clay Shirky notes in his book that the amount of time watching TV by Americans in one year could be used to make 2,000 Wikipedia-sized projects, yet we waste that time watching TV. Shirky does, however, notice that for the first time people are moving away from watching TV in their surplus time and instead using computers or mobile devices. Shirky interprets this trend as a good thing because he has seen people join together and form collaborative groups through the internet.

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

This book connects with ENT 3003 because it highlights your ability to create similar to how the class shows how you can create ventures. Not only does it talk about the ability to create a venture, but shows how there is time for everybody to create movements. I think this book goes to show that if you would spend your free time, or cognitive surplus, on creating rather than just consuming than building ventures would be extremely possible.

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

I would design an exercise where we have to track what we do in our surplus time. I think it would be very valuable to see where all the hours in our week go. How many to school, work, classes, and homework and how much to eating, socializing, sleeping, and using electronics. I think this activity would open people’s eyes in college and have them realize that by just being full-time students they many feel like they’re doing a lot, but for many of them they are only “working” twenty hour weeks and have plenty of time to collaborate and create.

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?

My biggest surprise in the book was that people are more satisfied in the short run by watching TV because they are filling an emotional void. I think that collaborating and working on projects during your cognitive surplus can be extremely valuable because it will pay off more in the long run but I think people are reluctant to start this because they have associated “work” as a negative thing and cannot find the motivation to start unless they get some sort of immediate recognition or reward.

Celebrating Failure

The failure I've faced this semester is the lack of taking action. With the entrepreneurial venture I have, I have thought about pursuing it with my best friend for several months before the semester started. We have thought up lots of great ideas but have continually failed to meet deadlines and get anything done because we are still prioritizing other things over getting the business started. One of the largest failures we have encountered is that we have seen new competitors in the market be successful after we already had the idea so we know that we could have started and been successful.

This has made us learn and come to realize how important it is to "do" rather than to just think. I think it would be helpful if we made everyone aware of our venture so that way we are held accountable for our actions rather than having no consequences since nobody knows.

This class has shown the value of taking action. If you were to truly follow all the requirements for this class you would be well on your way to making a business happen but its easy to slack off and not take everything seriously because we are wired now to prioritize exams for other classes over things we want to pursue even though we are well aware that as business students our experiences are way more valuable than our GPA.

What's Next

Existing Market

I discovered lots of new information about the existing market and how to grow the market from the individuals I interviewed. When discussing the topic with the potential customers, I learned that they do think the future for dog items is subscription services but that they would like to have say in what kinds of items they are receiving so they can choose what types of items they're getting but still are surprised about the specific items they receive. One person I interviewed uses a service called BarkBox but said that she doesn't think it is the most efficient because they focus on cute themes for the box rather than the functionality purposes of the company.

The most sense for the future of the growth of this company is to take the route to focus on the segment's benefits for the consumers rather than the cute aspect of the boxes delivered. Doing this provides more value for the customers rather than just giving them something that is exciting and cute for just a few days.

New Market

A radically different market than what this market offers is the B2B market. When talking with one of the people I interviewed, they suggested having a section on the website where people can also purchase specific products. This sparked an idea that we can work with current small manufacturing companies of dog products to begin creating products for us that will specifically fit the customers needs. By doing this we will be able to establish good relationships with companies and further grow the business. I also learned from someone I interviewed that they think there is great potential in hosting events for dog owners to show up to to meet other dog owners and interact with the business on a physical level. This new market is attractive but cannot be reached without first tackling the existing market.

Venture Concept Write-Up

Venture Concept Write-Up

The opportunity for my idea of creating a dog-necessities subscription box service is relevant because nearly every dog owner in the United States can benefit from this service. The potential customers are those dog owners that seek to treat their dog in a way that can make them happy, while saving money, saving time, and ensuring their dogs are consuming the safest products. The nature of this need arises because people want to provide the best for their dogs but often do not know how to do this. The subscription services solves this need by doing that work for the subscriber. Also, as more people are getting more busy, they are looking for things that will save them time and a subscription service like this will ensure that dog owners do not have to waste time at retail dog stores. Finally, people are always looking to save money and because my subscription service will buy products in bulk quantities, the subscribers will be paying well below retail cost for the items they receive.

This market is defined geographically by country. An issue subscription services face is shipping costs, and that is why it would be difficult to compete with similar subscription services in far away countries because they have to pay more to get the products shipped to them. The United States has a great infrastructure set up and makes it cost-effective to ship items across the country. Demographically, there has been a larger shift to new pet owners being younger and younger. Many college students right now are beginning to get dogs and especially recent college graduates. This is a great demographic for the company because they are more receptive to new ideas like product subscriptions than older and more traditional consumers are. In addition, this will only apply to the demographics of those older than 18 because that is the age when people first start to get dogs, however, if children with families that have dogs see information about the service they may beg their parents to join the service.

Customers currently satisfy this need by going to retail stores to get products or by using other subscription services. From the people I have spoken with, the customers going to retail stores often feel unsure, intimidated, and confused about the items in the retail stores. These people often end up not getting the right products for their dogs and spend a lot of time and money doing this. The people that currently use do subscription services see it as a way to pamper their dogs and not a matter of convivence, piece of mind, and saving money. Typically, the users of these services see the boxes of a way to treat their dogs rather than the primary way to care for their dogs needs (other than providing food).

This opportunity is huge because there are so many new millennial dog owners and so many soon to be dog owners. Also, there are so many dog owners right now that are not using subscription services that could be greatly benefitting from them. If I am able to convince dog owners that our subscription service is the best way to care for their dogs then there are so many potential customers for the service. It is crucial that we explain that our abides by the fact that “you provide the food, and we will provide everything else your dog needs for the month to be happy”.

This window of opportunity should be open for a very long time because more and more people are getting dogs. Also, the service industry for products is beginning to explode with the use of digital marketing strategies on social media as a great way to acquire new customers. As long as consumer trends tend to move towards services, ecommerce, and more people continue to get dogs then this opportunity will be available for a very long time but it is crucial to enter now before the market gets too saturated.

The innovation aspect of this service is not that it is unique, but instead that the company will focus on educating customers the benefits and value of the service and explain how it can replace shopping for your dog. This service is uniquely aimed at being a replacement service for going to the store to buy treats for your dog and will not be advertised as a way to solely pamper your dog, although your dog will be pampered. The innovation lies in the approach to consumers and appealing to the benefits it will bring them to help them improve their lives and make their dogs happier.

This company will make money buy having customers subscribe monthly to the subscription service and paying a monthly fee. Fees will be lower each month based on if they sign up for longer plans. The company will also make money by offering the products that have been in pervious boxes online to be purchased in the future.

Customers will realize they should switch to this new product but it will be hard to educate them. Customers currently can go to Amazon to buy items for their dogs or even to retail stores. What the customers can realize, however, is that they often don’t spend the time to look after their dogs needs because they’re busy themselves and buy them no more than food. The subscription I propose will allow them to not have to think or worry about the items their dog needs each month.

Packaging and price point are huge for this company. The packaging should explain the simplicity and purpose of the items inside and be bright, vibrant, and recognizable colors to create an unique experience to come along with the box. Price point is important so customers can see the value of obtaining the box compared to retail and other subscription competitors.

The company’s most important resource will be feedback we get on the service. It is crucial to listen to what customers have to say about the box so we can understand how to deliver what dog owners need. Next for the venture would be to branch out into creating our own products to include in the boxes based on the customers wants and to make better margins and lower price points. In five years, I see this subscription being a success but also see a lot of competition entering the market and so it will be important to adapt to circumstances as they appear and be proactive rather than reactive. 

Elevator Pitch #3

For this elevator pitch, I made sure to incorporate feedback from my last two pitches. I focused on explaining why my service is different and better than other similar services and also focused on the three main benefits my service will provide to dog owners.

Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1.) Logistical Systems

• Valuable = This is crucial to the company to ensure all boxes are delivered in a timely fashion
• Rare = A lot of companies struggle with cheap and quick delivery
• Inimitable = This is hard to copy by companies that are not very big and are only shipping some orders
• Non-Substitutable = There is no way around shipping, the best way to do this is through great relationships and connections with shipping companies

2.) Resilient Founders

• The people behind the company are how it stays alive
• There is only one me and one of my cofounders
• Other companies cannot copy our mindsets
• Other people cannot bring to the table what we can bring

3.) Social Capital

• Connections with other entrepreneurs are crucial
• Not too many people have the same level of connections that we have
• We both already work for a startup doing sales so we know the culture of what startups go through
• Can be replaced by other mentors but we have a good starting point and it can continue to improve

4.) Financial Capital

• We have some degree of financial capital and are not in debt
• It is common for most Americans to be in debt and not have money to invest in starting a business
• Can be imitated
• Other resources can replace money like offering companies to advertise for free on our social media page which has 5000 followers

5.) Entrepreneurial Knowledge

• My business partner and I have both read several books on entrepreneurship
• Not many people take the time to learn about entrepreneurship from other entrepreneur's successes and failures
• People can learn the same information but may not apply it the same way
• This knowledge cannot be replaced magically

6.) Understanding of Social Media

• We know the importance of social media like FB and IG and have experience building an IG account to 35k followers in 5 months
• This is rare because people don't usually take the time to understand the power of social media and the value it brings by being able to have a free source of marketing for your own company and can leverage to other companies
• This knowledge cannot be learned without trying it out in the first place
• There is no substitute for social media right now and it continues to grow

7.) Support System

• We have told very few people of our venture but those that know are in full support, as well as our parents have assured us they support entrepreneurial endeavors we want to pursue
• This is rare because not many parents and friends are fully supportive of entrepreneurial risks like this
• People don't usually look to start organizations while they're focusing on college because their peers are not supportive
• Without the support system, there would be no motivation to continue forward

8.) Location

• Being located in America, and especially near big cities in Florida, is an entrepreneurial blessing
• This is rare on a worldly level because not everyone has the chance to pursue their own business
• Some people cannot change where they live
• Other locations in the USA can provide similar benefits

9.) Relationship with Cofounder

• I have known my cofounder since 7th grade
• Not often is one of your lifelong best friends also interested in the same entrepreneurial venture
• People cannot always choose to have great relationships with those they work within their companies
• I could not replace my cofounder because he makes working on the project enjoyable

10.) Curiosity and Interest

• We are so interested in business to consumer models, e-commerce, digital marketing, and dogs that we want to work on the project more and more
• This is rare because some people want to start a business not because they're interested but instead because they just want to make money
• You cannot fake interest for a long period of time
• Nothing can replace this internal drive

***The top resource is "Relationship with Cofounder"***

Companies cannot survive if the founders are not fully committed to the ideas. My best friend is working on this project with me and that is rare for a lot of companies and often time owners that work together eventually face conflicts of interest but my cofounder and I know each other as well as we know ourselves 

Growing your Social Capital

Person #1

The first person I talked to was the CEO of a company called Bullymake. He had a background in digital marketing and decided to start his own dog subscription company. Colin filled the Domain Expert role because he knows a lot about the subscription service industry and about dogs. I found the person by sending an email to the contact email listed on the site and he responded immediately saying he was willing to help me. He did me a favor by calling me immediately and spoke with me for 30 minutes to answer all the questions I had. In return, he expected nothing from me and was just being nice about answering my questions. Including this person in my network will help me deal with challenges I could face going forward.

Person #2

The second person I talked to was a person named Chris that works in sales for Trunk Club. Trunk Club is a service offered by Nordstrom that allows for the consumer to order clothing items and try on clothes then only keep the ones they like and send back the rest. Chris filled the market expert part of the role because he knows a lot about logistics and shipping products. While the company is not a subscription service, Chris has to understand shipping and return orders as well as ensure high quality of the items that go into the boxes. I contacted Chris by calling the number on the Trunk Club website and he answered the phone and said he could answer my questions for me but did not request anything in return. If I run into logistics problems in the future I can reach out to Chris for help in solving them.

Person #3

The third person I called was named Sarah and she works at Pet Naturals as a customer service agent. Sarah knows a lot about my industry because her company provides products to dog subscription service companies that put their product in their boxes. She told me that the company BarkBox places large orders for their product to put in their box so they can supply all their subscribers. Sarah would be considered the Supplier in this industry because of the company she works for. Sarah was happy to give me information and in the future could be a contact to use to get supplies for subscription boxes.

Reflection

This experience differed a lot from previous networking because I was reaching out to people cold and speaking to them through the phone. This was one of the first times I have randomly called people but it surprised me how helpful people are in wanting to help others. Going forward in networking events I will be less nervous when approaching new people.

Reading Reflection #2

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

"For twenty years, my research has shown that the view you adopt of yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life."

This quote exemplifies the general theme of the book. The book focuses on two different mindsets: The fixed mindset and the Growth Mindset.

In the Fixed Mindset, you view your character, your personality, and your strengths & weaknesses as something that you are born with and cannot be changed. The Growth Mindset, however, is the other end of the spectrum where one believes it is up to them if they want to change any of these characteristics. Those with the growth mindset confront challenges and are not quick to give up. In addition, the Growth Mindset emphasizes that you can acquire any skill you want if you put the time and effort into it. It is clear in this book that Dweck, the author, is trying to convince her readers that the Growth Mindset is the superior mindset and leads to greater success than the fixed mindset.

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

I think the idea of the Growth Mindset in this book connected with the idea expressed in class that entrepreneurs are relentless with their ideas and have to overcome hardship. From lecture, we constantly hear how important it is to be resilient and the most important part of having this characteristic is being of the Growth Mindset and believing that you can learn from failures and use them to become more successful. 

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

The exercise would include an assignment of a bunch of different situations where we would have to answer how we would honestly react to the situations. After writing how we would react, then we would click a link to a website explaining the difference between the growth and fixed mindsets. After reading the link, for part 2 we would have to explain, based on our answers, if we have more of a fixed or a growth mindset. Finally, for part 3 of the assignment, we would reflect on how we would have acted in those situations and explain how we could have made the situation a learning experience that could bring us closer to success rather than having a fixed mindset. I believe this would give students a tangible feel of what both mindsets mean and the benefits the growth mindset can have.

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?

My biggest surprise when reading this book is how frequent it is for someone to be almost completely fixed or completely growth oriented. This made me realize the power of a growth mindset. This is because I know that you can change from a growth to a fixed mindset. Because this change is possible, I believe it shows that once someone begins to switch from the fixed to the growth mindset, they begin to realize how beneficial it is and quickly convert to the other end of the spectrum of having an almost completely growth mindset.

Idea Napkin #2

What's New about this Napkin?

This idea napkin is to be based off my initial idea napkin posted to my blog called "The Idea Napkin". This new idea napkin is supposed to be updated according to the feedback I received on my initial idea napkin, however, all the feedback I receivd was positive and was agreed with what I said on the napkin. For this napkin, I will summarize my answers from last time and include changes I believe are necessary and have changed based on feedback and knowledge learned from other assignments since the first napkin.

"You"

I am still a 19 year old white male, attend the University of Florida, am a sophomore, study finance, grew up in Atlanta and Tampa, parents moved to Switzerland, will be interning in ATL this summer for GE Power doing corporate finance, and love fitness.

I aspire to operate my own business, and with this idea, similar to any business I start in the future, I believe can play a massive role in my life.

"What are you offering to customers?"

This is still very similar to the last napkin. We are offering: tangible dog gifts, surprise experiences, time savings, and assurance.

The only difference is now I understand that it is most effective to only offer items necessary for dogs so that every item in the subscription box provides value.

"Who are you offering it to?"

I still believe this service is for almost every dog owner, with the exception of some that are very poor, because of the value the service can provide.

"Why do they care?"

Convience, value, and a surprise experience. None of these are offered in traditional retail environments for dog items so this service provides a whole new, and better, way to care for your dog.

"What are your core competencies?"

Our commitment to helping as many dogs as possible. That means giving dogs a better life by exposing them to the best items. This can affect any dog, even if the owner comes from high wealth or if the dog is in a shelter.

In addition, we are aimed at an audience that is not currently attacked by current competition, that is the market of the average dog owner and not the dog pamperer.

"Do these elements all fit together?"

I still believe these elements all fit together. As I re-read the past napkin and wrote this one, I still believe in the service.

"Feedback Memo"

The most important thing I could apply from my previous's napkins feedback was that I was able to tie who I was to the idea I had. I think it is important to show your own values and beliefs in what you are working on so I was able to use that in this napkin to still show that I believe the service is a great idea. The most important thing now would be actually applying all the theory I have been working with.

Customer Avatar

My prototypical customer is the average dog owner. Current dog subscription companies are focused on targeting the pet pamperers, but my company is aimed at providing value to the everyday dog owner. Because of this, it is hard to imagine a prototypical customer. I believe the customer would be a working class American. I think it would be someone that loves having a dog but doesn't have the time to spend every week in a retail store looking for toys. I see the consumer of my product being between 18 and 60. This age range is because younger people are getting dogs and only ranges to 60 because it is a solely online business and most people older than 60 are not as in touch with the internet and seem to prefer retail. In addition, I see the customer being middle class because they are the type to have dogs but not the time to completely pamper them or afford more expensive services.

Elevator Pitch #2

I learned from my previous elevator pitch reviews to emphasize the benefits that the consumers would gain from my proposed company. During this pitch, I focused on the value that would be provided to consumers and explained the position of the company and why it is different than the competition. I learned that compared to my last pitch, I needed to show how my company is different from the competition and I was able to do this by explaining my target market.

Figuring out buyer behavior #2

Alternative Evaluation 

The most important things to the customers when choosing from alternatives is the quality of the products inside. The reason the quality of the products are so important to owners is that owners often treat their dogs like children and place a huge emphasis on their health. Price is the next most important component when deciding between competitors. Price is a big factor because it is a monthly subscription that comes out of people's paychecks. They often want to pay the lowest price but only if the quality is up to par and sometimes they think that a lower price means worse quality. 

How/Where do they buy?

The segment is likely to buy online because that is the only option. The sign ups for the subscription will be all online and fits the younger segment of the audience really well. Also, because it is online, they will hook up their credit cards and pay monthly. 

Post-Purchase Evaluation 

Making sure their dog plays with the toys. When interviewing the people, they all agreed that all the items in the box are useful to their dogs. If they order, and their dogs don't like the items they won't reorder.  

Draw Conclusions

Overall, the answers I learned from those I interviewed aligned with what I believed the answers would be. I think the most important takeaway is to ensure all the items in the box are useful and of high quality

To Next Semester's Students...

1.) What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course?

I realized that in this course you can get a lot of value from the class if you take the time to think about each assignment. The only way to do this is not be rushed to submit your assignments. Because of this, I make sure to read my assignment descriptions every Monday so I can think about them during the week. Then, usually in the middle of the week, I start my first assignment so that for the last part of the week I only have one assignment to turn in. Doing this gives me the appropriate amount of time to conduct interviews and put the right amount of thought into each assignment. In addition, I learned that it is valuable to overview all the assignments for the semester because I didn't realize we had to read a book for an assignment until the week of the assignment's due date.

2.) Talk about a moment or two when you felt like giving up. What pulled you through? Do you feel you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

I felt like giving up on my idea early on in the semester when seeing all the competition. What pulled me through was realizing that even though there is a lot of competition, I can be better than the competition. I was able to realize that the market for my service is growing and not many of the competitors are focused on the value and experience of their service and don't have appealing and enticing websites. I believe I have developed a tenacious attitude during the last two months because I have been taking steps to be a better entrepreneur. Outside of reading books on leadership and entrepreneurship, I decided to take real action to help me become a better entrepreneur. I've done this by quitting my job at Gainesville Health and Fitness and taking a job as Gainesville's sales intern for the app Hooked this spring. By physically going into restaurants and pitching the app to the business, I am able to learn valuable sales and people skills that are crucial to being a good entrepreneur. Additionally, working with a start-up is allowing me to see the challenges that small companies face and what it looks like when starting a company.

3.) 3 tips you would offer next semester's students about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the "tenacious mindset"

1. Understand that this class can mean something if you follow all the assignments and you are passionate about your idea. Utilize the class structure and understand your idea can become real
2. Have the mindset the whole time that your idea is an actual business you are looking to start or are going to start the process of taking the course
3. The only thing you have to lose is time, you will learn so much from the class if you actually complete all the assignments as instructed 

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior #1

Summary of What I Learned from 3 Interviews

I interviewed college students that fit the segment of brand new dog owners. This was a great segment for me to interview because lots of college students at UF are getting new puppies, and living on campus gave me the ability to interview these types of people. College students are great because as new dog owners, this is their first real big responsibility of having to raise something on their own, so they care a lot about their dog. In addition, college students don't have too much time to research everything their dog needs and take time to go to retail stores to try to figure it out. Additionally, college students are often price-sensitive and cannot spend too much money on their dogs.

All of the people I interviewed had the same unmet needs: The need to save time, the need to know they are providing their dogs with the right items to raise them properly, and the need to not spend too much money to keep their dog happy & healthy.

It appeared that the people I interviewed were aware of the need when they first considered getting a puppy but didn't realize the severity of the need until their first weeks and months of being a dog owner. When this group, specifically new dog owners in college, become aware of their need, they often seek help from friends, family, and the internet to solve the need. It seems like first, they consult their family because all the people I interviewed grew up in a family that had a dog. Some of the questions they ask are about the best foods to buy, which treats are ok for their dogs to eat, which products aren't safe, and what items they need to make sure their dog is living a good life.

Conclusion

I determined from my interviews that the segment of brand new dog owners, and more specifically those in college, are prime people who have a need for my service. The information search aspect of this segment made it interesting when thinking about how to best market to this segment. For this segment, having family and friends refer our service would be the best way to appeal to those in the segment so establishing credibility is key. To make sure this happens, it is crucial for us to only include the best items in the boxes and make sure every customer has a great experience with our service. In addition, internet marketing, especially on Facebook, seems like an optimal way for us to target new dog owners since Facebook is a place where people are reading content about those they are close with.

Reading Reflection: Shoe Dog, Phil Knight

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

·        What surprised you the most?

That when starting Nike, it was originally a company called Blue Ribbon. It was surprising too because they didn’t manufacturer their own shoes, they just sold shoes made in Japan, and it was also surprising because at the time, running was barely considered a sport or a hobby. I was also surprised that despite the success of the company, they didn’t have enough cash to pay Phil, the founder, a salary because they had to keep reinvesting it to buy orders. Because of this, Phil had to work other jobs during the first few years at Blue Ribbon to have enough money to live on.

·        What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

The hustle that Phil had and ability to negotiate to solve problems. When trying to get an exclusive deal with the Japanese shoe manufacturer, he lied to them and said they had an east coast store when they actually didn’t. This lie forced him to open an east coast store, which he did, and lead to more success for the company.

·        What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

That he had to steal a file from the Japanese distributor’s suitcase instead of hammering with questions about if they are looking for another US distributor. I admired this act of stealing least, but at the same time, it was unethical that the Japanese distributor continued to lie to Phil about their exclusive agreement. Also, Phil had to deceive Kitami to keep his company alive and instructed an employee to lie to Kitami which lead him to quit his job. I think shady practices like this could have been avoided but I understand why he did what he did.

·        Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Yes, lots. He faced adversity first when he shoe manufacturer in Japan gave rights to a wrestling coach to be an exclusive shoe distributor for them and so the coach tells Phil he cannot sell the shoe manufacturer’s shoes. He solves this problem by flying to Japan and setting up an appointment with the company owner that let him have rights to sell the shoes in the Wester USA. In addition, he faced the problem of a bad breakup during this time but his sister consoles him through it.

Because of cash balance problems, Phil had to return to his accounting job. Because of having this extra money though, he was able to hire a passionate employee to help him through the tough time.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

Persistence and creativity. Phil Knight faced countless challenges but was determined to make his shoe company work. Phil always found a creative solution to get through his company’s financial, legal, and overall challenges.

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

I don’t understand why Phil didn’t immediately think to start manufacturing his own shoes from the beginning. I know there is a lot of money involved in this manufacturing, but right when he faced bad problems from the Japanese manufacturer I would have thought he would have immediately looked into his own manufacturing plant but he waited to do this.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

-> How did you handle leaving a secure accounting job to work full-time at the business you started? Did you face lots of criticism from family and friends?

-> What about you do you believe made you as successful as you are with Nike compared to other entrepreneurs? Was it hard work, luck, skill, some other aspect, or a combination of all of these?

These are the questions I would ask because I believe they relate to me. The first question is something I want to know because I want to start my own business but its hard to get away from the safe corporate route that so many people take and don’t enjoy. The second question is something where I want to know the amount he would contribute to hard work because I have the mindset that anything can be achieved with hard work if you put enough time into it and make the right relationships.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I think his opinion is that it is necessary, if not everything. He mentions that he worked so hard on Nike that he feels like it deserves to be called more than a company. Even when he started his first shoe business, Phil was working a full time accounting job so that he could have money to live off of while running Blue Ribbon Shoes at the same time.

Elevator Pitch #1

The Idea Napkin

You

Who am I?

Tough question to answer as I believe self-awareness is not easy to achieve. However, I have a few ideas and facts about who I am.

I am a 19-year-old white male that grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta and later Tampa. Now my parents and little brother live in Switzerland and from that and studying abroad, I have been opened up to a whole new world.

What are your talents?

One strength I know I have is an incredible work ethic. I am a big believer in putting in hard work to accomplish something you want to achieve. I also believe I am very good at getting along with and connecting with people. I love talking to people and being around people. I am good a presenting if I know the topic well but often struggle with excelling in public speaking and would like to make this one of my strengths. One more talent I believe I now have is the ability to take action. Lots of people theorize about things they could do but never start. I have learned how to start things I am interested in, and by organizing and writing tasks out, I am able to continue working on and achieving these things.

What are your experiences?

Well, I can go ahead and list off the "technical experiences" I have that you would find on my resume.
I am the scholarship chair at Pi Kappa Alpha, I work as a fitness coach and Gainesville Health and Fitness, I have worked as a server at a horse track in Tampa, I am a mentor and the director of marketing for the leadership development program, and I interned for a financial risk management conference company in London. Is this stuff actually important? Who knows?

What are your aspirations?

This is my favorite question. I love asking this question to others and hearing their answers. Currently, for me, there are a few that jump into my mind. The first one is I want to run my own business. I just think its the coolest thing ever to create something tangible from what started as a thought. I also aspire to create great relationships throughout life. I want an awesome family, to stay very close with my friends, make tons of new friends, and help lots of people. Another aspiration I have is to stay physically fit my entire life because of how important fitness is to me. Lastly, I want to continue to travel the world and experience completely new things.

How do you see this business playing a role in your life?

I would see it playing a huge role in my life, maybe not immediately, but when it starts making sales and I begin putting real amounts of hours into it, yes. I feel as if I will see my companies almost as children to me (not to be weird but in the sense as in something you created). Because running my own business is so important to me, I would definitely see this business as my career for a long time until I move on to starting another business.

What are you offering to customers?

I see this as 4-fold.

1.) We are offering them the tangibles. Dog toys, dog treats, and dog essentials.

2.) We are offering them an experience. An experience of surprise when they open the box. An experience to share with their dog as they enjoy opening and using their gifts. An experience that could be viewed as a monthly "mini-holiday" for the dog and its family.

3.) We are offering them saved time. With toys, treats, and essentials shipped to their house, owners don't have to spend their time going to dog stores to buy this stuff. They just have to buy dog food at the grocery stores they already shop at.

4.) We are offering them assurance and peace of mind. The gifts we will select for the boxes are ensured to be the best quality and items that your dog will benefit from. There is no need to worry about selecting the right toys and treats that will be safe for your dog because we do that for you.

Who are you offering it to?

Its offered to all dog owners. I believe every dog owner would benefit from this service. However, to get specific, there are a few specifics. This service will not apply to:

• To start out, anyone outside the US, for shipping purposes
• Anyone that cannot afford it...however, this will be priced slightly competitors based on the plan you choose since it is focused on the necessities and not pampering the pup completely
• People that do not like surprises and enjoy shopping for their dog's toys themselves
• Dog owner's whose dog is very picky or has severe allergies

So the people who are buying this subscription service would be USA dog owners that want to save time, can afford to provide their dog with toys & treats, and would enjoy the experience and assurance of having the best dog-items shipped to their door monthly.

Why do they care?

Why will people actually pay money for this service?

• The convenience of having these necessary items for their dog shipped right to their door
• There is more value offered in the box than what you could get at retail. The box offers a much lower overall price than what it would be to buy all the items at retail. And the price includes shipping! (This is because we can get items in our boxes for below retail price. This is because of the items we put in our box, we always buy in large quantities from the manufacturer and pay for bulk prices. In addition, we offer a major incentive for these companies to be in our box... it's free advertising for them! If one of our customers loves the company's product in our box, they will reorder from them! So this lets us get even lower pricing. We all win!)

What are your core competencies?

What sets you apart from everyone else?

This really comes from our companies mission. Its that we believe that every dog should reap the benefits of this service. Every dog. That is why for every box we ship to a customer, we hand deliver a gift to a dog in a shelter. It's our reason for existing that will drive us apart from everyone else.

What do you have that nobody else has?

To go beyond the gushy stuff I said above and to get to the facts...we cater to a different audience. Current competitors are all geared at the segment of owners that pamper their dogs and often include an overkill amount of useless items in their box. The value of the box goes down when not every item is useful. That's where we are different, we make sure that every single item is useful and can help the dog each month. Because of this, we can price more competitively too.

*The pet service industry is rapidly growing. Not every dog in America is being reached by these types of services. That is a big reason why I believe this opportunity exists. For every Coke, there is a Pepsi. I believe there is plenty more room for competition.

Do these elements fit together?

I do believe these elements fit together. Everything seemed to make sense as I wrote everything out. This is also because I am largely basing my business off an already proven similar model. I am very gung-ho about this idea so I could be blind to these elements not fitting and would like to hear what you all think.

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

The Details

I identified five dog owners at UF that are students to interview about this opportunity. I specifically identified college students because they typically do not have tons of money and would be skeptical about ordering a monthly dog subscription box. The stance I talked about in my solution explains that I believe that these boxes should be available to all dog owners, not just pup pamperers, so this is why I interviewed the people I did. Two of the students I interviewed were females and the other three were males, all undergraduates aging between 19 and 22.

Who

Yes. I have identified the who as all dog owners because I believe it makes sense and is affordable for nearly all dog owners, however, those that own dogs and are very poor would not be able to pay for this subscription and fall outside the boundary. There are also some cases where dogs may not enjoy toys or are very picky with treats and for them, they would not fall within the boundary.

What

Yes, their need is different. With those that are very poor, they primarily look to keep their dog healthy and fed whereas other dog owners with more money do that as well but also find it necessary that their dog has the best products for them and is always happy with toys and treats at their use.

Why

Yes. The outsider's need is caused by their financial circumstances and thus cannot allocate their money to buying products for their dogs whereas the people inside the boundary can.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who is in? è The people in the boundary are dog owners that can afford to and like treating and caring for their dogs	Who is not? è People who cannot financially afford this service, people with picky dogs, complete pup pamperers (although would probably include an upgrade option at checkout to upgrade to a pampers box)
What is the need? è To provide all dogs with the necessary items they need to live a healthy and happy life. Also, to save dog owners’ time by shipping these items directly to their door, this should be the alternative to having to go to PetSmart and deciding which toys are best and what you actually need	What the need is not è A traditional dog subscription service aimed at people that are absolutely in love with their dogs and want to spoil them
Why the need exists è The need exists because everyone is getting busier and has less time. Also, more Americans are getting dogs and are looking to care for their pets so the pet service industry is exploding	Alternative Explanations è People are lazy, they just think its cool to be surprised