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