30A – Final Reflection

My most formative experience was when we were going through the different news articles to search for opportunities. I had never thought of thinking of the new and problems as in the context of being entrepreneurial opportunities for me solve. It really helped shift my perspective and brought my thinking closer to the entrepreneurial mindset.

The experience I’ll remember years later is when I had to make multiple phone calls to experts in order to interview them. It was rough having to interview experts, since you had to locate them and try to contact people who are difficult to be contacted. There’s a sense of failure and rejection you will ultimately face when doing so.

My most joyous experience was when I was developing my first idea of seaweed. I really liked the idea as a concept and thought that the entire think worked really well as a whole to solve two problems at the same time. The ideas relevance to me by being in my locality inspired more enthusiasm on my part when I was researching it.

The experience I’m most proud of myself for accomplishing is the elevator pitches. It helped me develop my speaking skills and present my ideas concisely and clearly.

I do see myself as more an entrepreneur than I had before. I don’t think I would fully consider myself as an entrepreneur yet, but I have made definite progress. I feel myself moving in the direction of an entrepreneur.

I think I have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset throughout completing all the assignments in this course.  The constant interviewing really helped build my interpersonal skills and my interviewing skills. I have also started to look at the world in a different way.

I would recommend to future students to take the quizzes immediately after watching the lectures while the content is still fresh in their mind. It really helps when answering very specific questions based on small parts of the lecture.

I would recommend for them to start earlier and not underestimate how long it takes to acquire interviews. I would also suggest to list out all the specific requirements of the assignment so they can make sure to fulfill all the criteria. It is also helpful in overcoming the overwhelmingness of an assignment by breaking it down into the minutia of its steps.

To best foster their entrepreneurial mindset, I would suggest to think of problems in the sense of opportunities for them to solve. I would tell them to ask themselves how they could fulfill the unfulfilled needs of others.

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

1 VENTURE CONCEPT

• Opportunity:
• According to the US department of energy LED lights are the most efficient form of lighting yet have only reached 12.6% market penetration in the US as of 2016
• According to the US department of energy the average American using incandescent lights could save $75 a year replacing only their 5 most used bulbs, the average American home has 45 lights  and switching them all to LED’s to incandescents would save $230 a year in lighting costs.
• Stagnating wages have led to a need to save money for the average American
• The forces in the environment that created this opportunity were advances in efficient LED light technology, decreasing costs as technology develops, climate change, changing societal attitudes towards waste, greater awareness for the environment, stagnating wages in the American middle class.
• The window of opportunity is open until the switch to LED lighting reaches the masses, according to the diffusion of innovations chart we are entering the early majority phase. Therefore, I estimate my business to be profitable for the next 6 years.
• The opportunity is large and the entire market is worth $52 billion, but I am only trying to target a very small subset of niche residential needs that can be targeted through advertising. Based around the percentages of residential use and my target markets population size I  very roughly estimate it to be worth around $300 million a year.
• Customers are currently satisfying their need using traditional light or CFL’s because that was the last lighting break through.
• The window of opportunity will be open until market wide adaption of led lights, or when the late majority adopt them. This is around 70% market penetration.

• Innovation:
• For individual consumers I will offer a residential package that offers 45 lightbulbs for $60 and installation for $60 and it will offer in-house financing which is the key innovation that allows our business to harvest the savings of consumers who wouldn’t ordinarily make an investment in themselves.
• For businesses with different needs and a larger budget I would offer durable lights and more niche lights that aren’t as widely used as lightbulbs such as ballast lights, their installation and the general knowledge of what goes into that. The key innovation is the knowledge of the different electrical needs.
• Initial profits would be found with a very small $50 social media campaign targeting the key identifiers I found of someone needing this, being eco-friendly, older (or younger professionals), live in an older home or older side of town etc. This would also be used to refine and test if my interview collected information accurately reflects reality and the market at large.

• Venture Concept:
• Individuals will buy my product if they are concerned about the environment, are price conscious of their electric bill, are looking to save money, or need to replace dying lights
• Businesses will buy my product to decrease their operational costs and thus increase their net profits, they could also buy it to signal social initiative/responsibility. Due to the developing social and environmental consequences there’s a push for companies to be ethical and show they care about society/the environment. Modern day branding attempts almost try to humanize the corporation as an entity and signalling their values is integral to this marketing. Many companies are switching to green energy, this achieves the same goal as that by reducing pollution by reducing consumption.
• Online individuals will buy my product in order to be socially and environmentally conscious
• The major competitors are Home Depot, Lowes, and Amazon
• Price points: The price point will be based on the cost of goods sold, value of the convenience I provide, number of goods sold per customer, the savings I enlighten people about, the financing as well as competitors prices. They will be priced around $60 for 45 lightbulbs and $15 for 10 lightbulbs. Installation will cost $60 as well.
• Distribution: Ideally it will be initially online. There will be a webpage powered by shopify, possibly a blog and an account for the most important social networks. LED Lightbulbs bought in bulk from China will be repackaged with bulk branded cardboard materials. Labels will be printed and it will be shipped through USPS. Leads will be directed there by a targeted online ad campaign and by inbound marketing techniques.
• Customer Service: Plays a crucial role, convenience and customer relations are the lifeblood of any business to consumer type company. Also, my business’ blog and social media pages will be open to comments, critiques and advice from my customers.
• Location: It will mostly be based online, with the possibility of picking up the products in local stores until the ideal customer is confirmed; then a small location will likely open up in South East Gainesville by the apartments.
• Packaging:  Minimalist plain packaging based mostly around cardboard with no Styrofoam and minimal plastic and ink to really give the feeling and branding of of eco friendliness
• Employees:  I’m estimating around 1 employee to begin with in order to keep the company very lean and test the market and my assumptions, then if my business is successful I plan to hire up to 5/10 employees.
• They should be primarily skilled in online marketing but will do assist in the miscellaneous tasks as well.

•Minor Elements
• Unfair advantage: My unfair advantage are my public speaking skills, and my unique connections. My analytical thinking skills are also key in me identifying opportunities. The relationships I have built up with wholesalers and suppliers in the industry through this class and  the relationships I have built through UF as a whole
• What’s next: I want to reduce energy use, save the environment and generate profit.
• For Me: I think I tackled a very broad issue, next I would want to think of more innovative solutions to more local social issues so that I could more directly see my impact. I had an idea for seaweed fertilizer a while back and think I would want to look into that as a solution to the beach Seaweed problem we’ve been experiencing in Florida. I think I would be more driven to tackle a local issue than my initial issue.

2 FEEDBACK SUMMARY

For the “Venture concept No. 1” exercise I only received one comment, which was positive and approved my idea and how I described it, considering it well-detailed and realistic; but this comment didn’t provide any advice on how I could improve my business. However, I got some feedback from the previous exercises. The people I interviewed for the “What’s next” assignment suggested focusing on discounts, available if customers buy a certain amount of goods or with a bring-a-friend promotion. Also, other students suggested I could include younger professionals in my target group, without focusing only on older people; I was also suggested to think about the location of my business (if physical or digital) and I was told that an online store could be more profitable and reach more people than a physical one.

3 HOW I CHANGED MY VENTURE CONCEPT

I used the feedback I received and my further reflection to add some details to my venture concept, while I didn’t change the opportunity part. I decided to introduce discounts for the customers who bring a friend and for those who buy a certain amount of led lights, but I believe this discount to be more efficient when I target companies and not individuals. Customers will also be able to pick lights up in local stores, until I establish a small physical store in Gainesville. Also, I decided to work on the online presence of my business by creating a blog and different social media accounts, which will be managed by my employees but constantly controlled by me. I got this idea from the book I read for the third reading reflection, that is Inbound marketing by Brian Halligan. I believe if I used the inbound techniques described in that book it would be easier to target younger individuals. Finally, after reflecting about my exit strategy, I decided to hire up to 5/10 employees, but not more than this since I plan to keep running my business for the next six years more or less.

26A – Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed – whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don’t spare any details! It’d be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time.
During this past semester I often had a hard time getting interviews, both for this class and for my innovation academy class during Summer A. Many times, particularly when I had to interview experts, I would initially fail in getting the interviews I needed and would have to send many calls and emails to eventually get them. The problem was that they weren’t often in their offices or they were too busy to talk to me. It was very frustrating and exhausting because of the sense of discouragement you feel when you can’t achieve something, or in the face of innocuous rejection.

2) Tell us what you learned from it.
I learned that patience and consistency are very important when you want to achieve something, even if it’s just a simple 10 minutes interview. Also, I realized that maybe I would have a higher chance of success if I had looked for experts and numbers to call earlier, as well as if I had planned my interview pitch and interviews in advance. I had a better call back rate and interview rate after working out a pitch to tell the secretary, who would pass me on to the person I needed to talk to. I also learned to better accept being told no and not let that discourage me from calling. So, I think that arranging everything in advance could decrease the chances of failing, even if you always have to take into consideration possible setbacks and have lots of contingencies plan in who to contact if you don’t get the response you need

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn’t it? It’s embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failures (emotionally, behaviourally). Finally, talk about how this class changed your perspective on failure – are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?
I find failures very frustrating, above all if I realize my efforts are vain. Failures are also hard to accept, and I think that’s why they sometimes discourage me. I also didn’t like asking for something when I could be told no because it feels like failure. What I often do to handle failures is talking to a friend about it who tries to motivate me. Also, when I realize that most of my failures aren’t critical or serious, I manage to find the determination to keep trying. That’s why I believe that failures and tenaciousness are somehow linked. This class changed my perspective on failures; after reading the book by Scott Adams I started to see them as positive and inevitable if you want to be successful, because not only you learn from them, but you also gain experience and new skills. So, the next time I encounter a failure I’ll try to accept it and learn from it.

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
I read Inbound marketing by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah. Its general theme was inbound marketing and what a business can do to be found on the internet. This book explained all the techniques a business should use to go beyond traditional outbound marketing and start pulling potential customers toward your business through the internet.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect and enhance with what you are learning in ENT 3003?
I think there are many ways in which the book I read connects with this class. The book’s purpose is to explain how to attract more potential customers and at the same time this class allowed me to interview members of my target group to find out what I can do to make my business and idea more appealing. Also, ENT 3003 is a class that develops mainly around a blog and Inbound Marketing often highlights the importance of blogs, websites and social media to attract more visitors and convert them into real customers. I’d even go further and connect it to the whole marketing strategy of the business idea I developed through ENT 3003.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
If I had to design an exercise for this class, it would involve the creation of a remarkable blog content to be posted in our business blog. This content can include an article or a video with a catchy title and it can’t be used as an advertisement for our business/product. In fact, according to Halligan and Shah, the purpose of remarkable content is to attract as many visitors as possible, to make them take part in the conversation by leaving a comment and to make them subscribe, so that later they could become customers. Essentially it would be in exercise in developing value-added content similar to how Bob Ross created value added content in the form of free painting tutorials which acted a vehicle to sell his branded paint supplies.

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 didn’t really find any surprise moment while reading this book. The only thing that differed from my expectations was that inbound marketing requires a lot of effort and constant control, even when hiring specialized employees, because they have to fulfil certain requirements. In fact, there are ways to track your progress in every chapter of this book. Even if a lot of effort is required, this type of marketing is today more profitable and less expensive than the traditional one, so I believe it would be worth it to adopt all the techniques described in the book.

28A – Your Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make.
After about six years spent running my business, I plan to sell it, probably to a larger company interested in expanding their business or just acquiring the relationships and employees I’ve built up.

2) Why have you selected this particular strategy?
I’ve selected this particular strategy because I believe that in six years my revenues will start to decrease and the opportunity I’m taking advantage of now will disappear as the market penetration of LED lights reaches saturation. I would have to innovate new revenue drivers or there would have to be another technological shift for me to take advantage of. So I think that running this kind of business wouldn’t be as worth it as it is now. Before selling my business, I intend to conduct an analysis to identify another profitable opportunity in my surroundings and depending on whether my existing business would help me exploit it would affect my decision to sell. Then, I would invest the money earned from the sale of my business into this new company, which I’d like to be innovative and offer a solution to more local problems in Florida.

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 think my exit strategy has influenced many aspects of my venture concept. In fact, I identified an opportunity that is likely to end when LED lights reach the majority of the population. Other elements of my venture concept influenced by my exit strategy regard my growth intentions and the employees I intend to hire. In fact, I don’t plan to expand my business beyond nationally, I plan for my business to sell mostly in Florida and to operate mainly online. Also, at first, I’d hire only one employee and if my business is successful I’d hire others, but not more than 5/10 employees because I don’t believe in the longevity of the profitability of the business.

25A – What’s Next?

What I think is next: online store, the possibility to personalize your lights online, discount on lights if you purchase a lot of lights, discount on other eco friendly products if you purchase a minimum number of lights (thank to partnerships), and possibly the sale of connected lighting controls.
Existing Market interviews:
1. They are interested in the discounts and were thinking of another discount if you bring a friend
2. They like how they can personalize their lights online and were thinking of an option where they could pick them up in a store (like when they go shopping)
3. Interested in discounts and were thinking of a showroom (so partnership with those who produce Chandeliers) to display all the kind of lights (for parties, for the garden, for the house etc) to choose the one which suits them better
Reflection: they are mainly interested on discounts. I could do the bring a friend thingy cause it would mean more costumers and to enlarge my existing market. They all had different ideas to satisfy their needs. I also think it would be good if they could pick their LEDs in a physical store because it would take less time for them to get them. Overall, it seems that they liked my ideas to grow the existing market
New market: those who pay for their bills but are not interested in being eco friendly or in long term benefits and don't have money to invest. This target group would be very hard to reach because I would have to overcome the obstacles that prevent them to buy my product. I think that with information (after getting to know all the benefits for them) I could overcome these obstacles and make them interested in buying my product, but this would cost me a lot of money and time.
New market interviews:
1. Person in their 40s. They own a house but have no money to invest. I explained all the advantages and they agreed with the benefits but still weren't interested because they prefer to pay less for their lights, and they suggested they could anticipate a little money and give me the rest when they started saving from their electricity bills. He seemed more interested.
2. She owns an apartment, she's interested in saving but not in being eco friendly. She suggested selling a lot of lights to get discounts on their price and offer a satisfaction guarantee in order to entice people like her.
Reflection: the first person gave me a new idea and I realized that if they are informed they are more interested and this surprised me particularly. The second person gave me a suggestion I had already thought of. Overall,
I was right in thinking this target group is hard to reach because I would need a lot of money to make them interested in my product and I couldn't be sure they'd become interested, because they still don't seem to show all the needs my product would satisfy.  I was already thinking about offering a financing service for our sales so the interviews did strengthen some of my beliefs. Maybe other new markets could be better, like for example businesses, hotels, libraries and so on (those who want to renew their image), also because they would need a lot of lights.  The new market I picked is less attractive than the existing market.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1 Save on LIghting

SAVE ON LIGHTING

• Opportunity:
• According to the US department of energy LED lights are the most efficient form of lighting yet have only reached 12.6% market penetration in the US as of 2016
• According to the US department of energy the average American using incandescent lights could save $75 a year replacing only their 5 most used bulbs, the average American home has 45 lights  and switching them all to LED’s to incandescents would save $230 a year in lighting costs.
• Stagnating wages have led to a need to save money for the average American
• The forces in the environment that created this opportunity were advances in efficient LED light technology, decreasing costs as technology develops, climate change, changing societal attitudes towards waste, greater awareness for the environment, stagnating wages in the American middle class.
• The window of opportunity is open until the switch to LED lighting reaches the masses, according to the diffusion of innovations chart we are entering the early majority phase
• The opportunity is large and the entire market is worth $52 billion, but I am only trying to target a very small subset of niche residential needs that can be targeted through advertising. Based around the percentages of residential use and my target markets population size I  very roughly estimate it to be worth around $300 million a year.
• Customers are currently satisfying their need using traditional light or CFL’s because that was the last lighting break through.
• The window of opportunity will be open until market wide adaption of led lights, or when the late majority adopt them. This is around 70% market penetration.

• Innovation:
• For individual consumers I will offer a residential package that offers 45 lightbulbs for $60 and installation for $60 and it will offer in-house financing which is the key innovation that allows our business to harvest the savings of consumers who wouldn’t ordinarily make an investment in themselves.
• For businesses with different needs and a larger budget I would offer durable lights and more niche lights that aren’t as widely used as lightbulbs such as ballast lights, their installation and the general knowledge of what goes into that. The key innovation is the knowledge of the different electrical needs.
• Initial profits would be found with a very small $50 social media campaign targeting the key identifiers I found of someone needing this, being eco, friendly, older, live in an older home or older side of town etc. This would also be used to refine and test if my interview collected information accurately reflects reality and the market at large.

• Venture Concept:
• Individuals will buy my product if they are concerned about the environment, are price conscious of their electric bill, are looking to save money, or need to replace dying lights
• Businesses will buy my product to decrease their operational costs and thus increase their net profits, they could also buy it to signal social initiative/responsibility. Due to the developing social and environmental consequences there’s a push for companies to be ethical and show they care about society/the environment. Modern day branding attempts almost try to humanize the corporation as an entity and signaling their values is integral to this marketing. Many companies are switching to green energy, this achieves the same goal as that by reducing pollution by reducing consumption.
• Online individuals will buy my product in order to be socially and environmentally conscious
• The major competitors are Home Depot, Lowes, and Amazon
• Price points: The price point will be based on the cost of goods sold, value of the convenience I provide, the savings I enlighten people about, the financing as well as competitors prices. They will be priced around $60 for 45 lightbulbs and $15 for 10 lightbulbs. Installation will cost $60 as well.
• Distribution: Ideally it will be initially online. There will be a webpage powered by shopify. LED Lightbulbs bought in bulk from China will be repackaged with bulk branded cardboard materials. Labels will be printed and it will be shipped through USPS. Leads will be directed there by a targeted online ad campaign.
• Customer Service: Plays a crucial role, convenience and customer relations are the lifeblood of any business to consumer type company
• Location: It will mostly be based online but after the ideal customer is confirmed a small location will likely open up in South East Gainesville by the apartments.
• Packaging:  Minimalist plain packaging based mostly around cardboard with no Styrofoam and minimal plastic and ink to really give the feeling and branding of of eco friendliness
• Employees:  I’m estimating around 1 employee to begin with in order to keep the company very lean and test the market and my assumptions
• They should be primarily skilled in online marketing but will do assist in the miscellaneous tasks as well

•Minor Elements
• Unfair advantage: My unfair advantage are my public speaking skills, and my unique connections. My analytical thinking skills are also key in me identifying opportunities. The relationships I have built up with wholesalers and suppliers in the industry through this class and  the relationships I have built through UF as a whole
• What’s next: I want to reduce energy use, save the environment and generate profit.
• For Me: I think I tackled a very broad issue, next I would want to think of more innovative solutions to more local social issues so that I could more directly see my impact. I had an idea for seaweed fertilizer a while back and think I would want to look into that as a solution to the beach Seaweed problem we’ve been experiencing in Florida. I think I would be more driven to tackle a local issue than my initial issue.